HB 440 – Add Veterans Treatment Court in Judicial District 4
Primary House Sponsors: Rep. George Cleveland (R-Onslow); Rep. Phil Shepard (R-Onslow)
Summary
This bill establishes a Veterans Treatment Court in the Fourth Judicial District and outlines the court’s goals as follows: 1) reduce alcoholism and other drug dependencies and to provide effective treatment of co-occurring mental health issues among program participants; 2) reduce criminal recidivism; 3) reduce the alcohol-related and other drug-related court workload; 4) provide accountability for program participants; and 5) promote effective interaction and use of resources among criminal justice personnel, the VA and advocacy personnel, and community services.
This bill also requires the court to order the defendant to participate in one or more of the following services under the program: 1) mental health services; 2) drug treatment services; 3) alcohol treatment services; and/or 4) other services designed to address the specialized problems faced by veterans.
This bill appropriates $100K to the Administrative Office of the Courts in recurring funds in each year of the 2021-2023 fiscal biennium to be used to fund a coordinator position to run the program.
Movement
Filed – 3/29/2021