Sedgwick County will soon have a Veterans Treatment Court that offers qualified veterans convicted of certain felonies related to mental illness or substance abuse the opportunity to serve time in treatment instead of prison.
The Sedgwick County Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to accept a $475,867 grant from the Kansas Supreme Court Office of Judicial Administration to support the court’s establishment.
The target date for implementing the court is July 1.
Funding runs through the end of July 2025, but Lori Gibbs, deputy director of the county’s adult corrections programs, told commissioners the goal is to make the Veterans Treatment Court a permanent part of the criminal court system in the 18th Judicial District of Kansas.
“This model recognizes the frequency that veterans suffer from untreated mental health conditions like posttraumatic stress and addiction as a result of their military service,” Gibbs said.
To qualify, convicted veterans must live in Sedgwick County, must have been honorably or other-than-dishonoraby discharged from the military and must agree to a probation term of 18 months.
A judge must determine that the crime a veteran is convicted of was related to their mental illness or substance abuse. Veterans convicted of felony sex offenses, drive-by shootings or other crimes involving the infliction of serious bodily harm, or any other serious felony levels 1 to 3, do not qualify. If a veteran is charged with domestic violence, they only qualify for the treatment program if they have no prior domestic violence convictions.
Qualifying program members will be paired up with veteran mentors, who will act as coaches and advocates during their probation.
“Military is a difficult job. I can tell you firsthand after 29 years of serving,” said Commissioner David Dennis, who served in the U.S. Air Force. “You’re away from your home an awful lot. When you come back, it’s difficult to integrate back into society sometimes.”
“This is part of that change to make sure we look at those veterans as people that have served their country and are still able to serve, but they have some issues that we need to be able to help them through.”
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, more than half of the 2.6 million military members who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan returned with mental health conditions related to their service. One in five has PTSD and one in six struggles with addiction.
“It’s about time,” said Commissioner Jim Howell, who also served in the Air Force. He said he would rather see people be rehabilitated in the community than incarcerated in the county’s already-packed jail.
“We’re starting with veterans,” Howell said. “I would argue that if there’s other people who are not veterans, this is a good model to follow for anybody who’s locked up.
“Number one, it saves taxpayer money so it’s conservative, but number two, I think it’s just better for everyone involved. It’s more effective.”