Veterans treatment courts.

Existing law provides for the diversion of specified criminal offenders in alternate sentencing and treatment programs. Existing law authorizes a court to order a defendant who is a member of the United States military who may be suffering from sexual trauma, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, or mental health problems as a result of that service into a local, state, federal, or private nonprofit treatment program for a period not to exceed that which the defendant would have served in state prison or county jail, provided the defendant agrees to participate in the program and the court determines that an appropriate treatment program exists. This bill would authorize superior courts to develop and implement veterans treatment courts for eligible veterans of the United States military with the objective of, among other things, creation of a dedicated calendar or a locally developed, collaborative, court-supervised veterans' mental health program or system that leads to the placement of as many mentally ill offenders who are veterans of the United States military, including those with post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, military sexual trauma, substance abuse, or any mental health problem stemming from military service, in community treatment as is feasible and consistent with public safety. The bill would provide that county participation is voluntary. The bill would declare the intent of the Legislature that, where there are statutory requirements for certain education or counseling programs to be included in the terms of probation, the components of those counseling terms be incorporated into the treatment programs that are designed to treat the underlying psychological disorders rather than requiring them in lieu of the psychological treatments. The bill would require, to the maximum extent possible, that veterans who are participating in a veterans treatment court or who are eligible for diversion, as specified, be referred to the federal Department of Veterans Affairs for the purpose of obtaining federal benefits. The bill would encourage veterans treatment courts to maintain information and statistics on the success rate of their court for use by the Legislature and the Judicial Council of California, and would authorize all superior courts to apply for federal grants to establish new veterans treatment courts.