In September, DBHDD joined Georgia’s Administrative Office of the Courts to host the 10th annual Accountability Courts Conference. The five-day conference in Cobb County featured education and training sessions for over 1,000 law enforcement professionals and stakeholders who attended.
DBHDD conducted an all-day session, Veterans Treatment Court: Mentor Boot Camp. During the workshop, which was open only to veterans, participants received mentor training, enabling them to help other veterans successfully navigate veterans’ court treatment programs. Graduates of the workshop are trained veteran mentors and are eligible to be assigned by a veterans’ court to mentor a defendant. The workshop was provided through DBHDD’s Jail Diversion Trauma Recovery grant initiative.
Currently, there are five veterans’ courts in Georgia. They operate using either drug court or mental health court models. In April, Governor Deal signed SB 320, which established the creation of a veteran’s court division in Georgia’s judicial system. The new law will allow for make it easier for jurisdictions to create veterans courts.
