When I stepped into streaming for the first time, I can feel the positive energy, you really can. And I describe my process of healing as a process of unraveling just counterintuitive, because you think of unraveling as coming apart. But in my case, how I pictured it was all of my life experiences that I've had in this, the skills that I felt and, and you know, some of the combat trauma and everything else that happened to me, were wrapped around me so many times like a rope, and it was squeezing, and that was to code and I didn't know what to do, I couldn't get out of it. And that better treatment 14 was there on route that well take it off to release that pressure.
That's Chris Carter. When Carter left the Marine Corps after 20 years of service, he departed with as he puts it, his fair share of issues plagued by PTSD, survivor's guilt, and a failing marriage, he fell into a pattern of alcohol abuse and racked up three DUIs over a single year. Carter says he was lucky not to have heard himself or anyone else during this time. Faced with several years in jail, and with seemingly nowhere to turn, Carter was able to heal emotionally in a veteran's treatment court in Johnson County.
When I graduated, I felt like I felt like a whole person. I was excited about life. And that is a gift that that these veterans receive when they graduate better shoot record completed successfully, and it is the most powerful thing that I've seen.
This is the Kansas reflector podcast. I'm no it's aborda. This week, we explore veteran's treatment courts, a form of specialty court intended to provide structure and rehabilitation for military men and women. With eyes on criminal justice reform across the country. Several legal leaders in Kansas are encouraging more treatment courts be adopted across the state. They say it can help address high rates of justice involved veterans like Carter. In a 2015 report from the US Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, nearly 8% of all inmates serving in state and federal prisons, and local jails were veterans. Despite these staggering numbers, diversion options are few and far between. In 2008, however, wheels were put in motion to provide a more structured approach for veterans. When Judge Robert Russell, the presiding judge of the buffalo drug and mental health courts created the nation's first veteran's treatment court. Since their creation veteran's treatment courts have been praised by criminal justice advocates and law experts. Data shows veterans involved in these treatment courts experienced lower rates of recidivism, about 14% down from 23% nationwide. One of the loudest supporters of increasing the number of these treatment courts in Kansas is a lot in us the former Chief Justice of the Kansas Supreme Court.
It's another arrow in the quiver, if you will to try to solve problems in our criminal courts. It is not a one size fits all. And what works for some people may not work for others.
NASA himself is a veteran and hails from a family with strong ties to the US military. His father served his four uncle served and his son served as well. While non work career military, this connection drove the former Chief Justice his interest when he heard of these veterans courts eight years ago, NUS had long been a supporter of all forms of specialty courts advocating for expanded drug courts and behavioral courts across the state during his time as Chief Justice. Now he is focused on veteran's treatment courts, aimed at veterans who have been accused of committing a low level felony or misdemeanor, those veterans must also have a psychologist or counselor diagnose them as having a mental health issue that arose out of military service. Once the veteran is deemed eligible, he or she will embark on an intense supervision program. They are surrounded by a team working on the case that consists of the judge assigned to the case, probation officers, representatives from the VA. And most importantly, they're assigned a fellow veteran mentor,
the defendant better as having an issue. This veteran will say, All right, let's go out and have a cup of coffee or Let's go meet in a park. What's going on here? What are the problems? Oh, I've been through that myself when I got back from Iraq five years ago. Here's how I handled it.
These interactions are a key part of the equation.
So that mentor, fellow veteran, by some people has been called the secret sauce in these courts, because sometimes it takes a military potion to connect with another military person.
The veteran mentor relationship focuses on the three E's, engage with the veteran and encourage them throughout the process and empower them for their life after the program. Veterans also report their progress as often as every week to the judge. In addition, the team of people assigned to aid the Veterans often meet to discuss how the program should proceed.
They will meet privately to talk about each of these veterans on the docket to see how they're doing, who's doing well, who needs some more incentive, who's in danger of dropping out of the program because they're not following what they're told to do.
If program participants aren't following through on requirements some rubber man is likely to follow. In some cases, defendants may find themselves in jail for a week, and other more extreme cases, they will be dismissed from the program entirely. So it's not an easy process by any means. And for those who are able to remain in the program, it often takes 12 to 18 months to graduate. The regimented approach is often compared to military service, just as Judge Timothy McCarthy of the 10th judicial district who spearheaded the veteran's treatment court in Johnson County.
We had to convince the defense attorneys, you know, to convince their clients because this is harder than a diversion or regular probation. I mean, the treatment that they go through, they're tested for drugs and alcohol twice a week through the 12 months or 18 month tracks of the program. I mean, it's harder than then what other options are
Kersey began looking into specialty courts as an option for Johnson County in 2014, as a newly appointed judge in criminal court, here's McCarthy now speaking during a recent webinar on the subject, more on that webinar later,
I started looking at adult drug courts in 2014, as a new judge, as a defense lawyer, and they put me in a criminal court. And pretty quickly I could see, my estimate was half the cases that I saw were substance abuse related and 25% mental health. We had 68 veterans with an active case and over 100 on probation. You know, we went to our Chief Judge, along with Katherine Marsh, who's the head of our foundation said we think we ought to have veterans treatment court and he said go do it.
So on January 13 20 1618, months after first meeting to plan the program, McCarthy and colleagues launched the first and only veteran's treatment court in the state of Kansas. What began as a small team with a prosecutor, public defender and probation officer has since expanded to allow a more thorough treatment process, I
went out and spoke to every organization that would listen to us, both legal the bar associations to talk to the defense lawyers, defense lawyers associations to try to convince them about the court. But anybody that would listen and what I do when I go out to speak, is try to speak to veterans groups whenever I can, and try to recruit mentors, because it makes all the difference in the world.
Now McCarthy's team has more than quadrupled in size, with 15 people on the court team and 10 people on the steering committee to oversee operations. The added staff allows them to work with 20 to 25 veterans at once and offer the option of a treatment court to nearly all who have served.
What we do now in our county is everybody who was arrested is asked the question did you serve in the United States military? If they answer yes, and they're not a one, two or three felony. They're placed in my court, and we put them on a separate document where we can pretty quickly educate them in their attorneys about veterans treatment court and see if it's something that they want to apply for.
Since the court began, McCarthy and company have graduated 41 veterans with eight awaiting graduation and several more in the pipeline. Unfortunately, the court is still the only one of its kind in Kansas, leaving justice involved veterans in other areas of the state without this diversion option. But efforts to change that are already underway by some of Canada's foremost legal experts, including the current chief justice of the Kansas Supreme Court, Marla lucre. As part of the effort lucrin has worked to organize a series of webinars to spread the word about and advocate for veteran's treatment courts. You just heard McCarthy speaking at the first virtual forum, which also featured Carter and NUS as well. And attendees to that forum included judges, attorneys and law enforcement officers from across Kansas, and some from out of state as well. lugard said these webinars should help buffer the good work being done in counties beyond Johnson.
So at this point, we only have the Johnson County Veterans treatment court and we have interest from several of our other district courts and setting up these courts. Wyandotte County, for example, has made some initial plans. Shawnee County is in the process of some planning as well as several other courts. And then some of those smaller courts who have drug treatment, courts are looking at ways that they could perhaps develop a track related to veterans
if it weren't for the pandemic luchar believes they would have been even further along in establishing these courts. However, efforts to expand veteran's treatment courts could receive a boost next legislative session after the Kansas criminal justice reform commission recommended a specialty courts commission be established.
Right now what we have often is the court and commission The A is competing with the court and community Why? For the same grant dollars, there will still of course be a need to figure out how various courts are supported. But the thought is that by having the commission really be a place for that funding to flow through and then distribute to the local courts will, first of all allow us to have a broader impact that makes a, you know, tells a story when you're writing that grant application, as well as helping with that distribution.
This progress is pivotal to addressing rising rates of re incarceration in Kansas, Lucas said, she recalled how time spent working in a drug treatment court inspired her to pursue more specialty courts in the state,
I was able to observe how it goes through data and anecdotally, success and the ability to get people involved in treatment was reducing recidivism, you know, jail time and and really allowing people to get their lives back on track
record says the program isn't a perfect solution. But it's encouraged by the supporting evidence and progress being made.
Of course, it's not 100% that success wouldn't be wonderful. We could find that, that formula, but it is highly successful in reducing recidivism, which of course improves the safety of our communities. But in also in putting the participants whether they be veterans or a participant in the court, on a path that they have tools to allow them to be productive members of society.
Chris Carter is living proof of that, once part of the first class of graduates of the Johnson County program. Carter now serves as a mentor giving back to those who are following in his footsteps every graduation and Carter said he can see the impact veteran's treatment courts have had on himself and those around
him saw a veteran graduating that was that was choked up. You see the mentors as well. You see tears at graduation. You see these these strong bonds have been formed, are so clearly evident at that time, and it's it's very powerful. It's a powerful thing to watch to be a part of. And from the bottom of my heart, thank you to the veterans treatment court team at Johnson County. It truly changed my life continues to change my life. So I'm eternally indebted
to everybody. I know it's aborda Thank you for listening to this edition of the Kansas reflector podcast. If you want more information on veteran's treatment courts, you can visit justice for vets.org. We'll be back next week with another episode. Until then, thanks for listening.