Veterans courts.

Existing law provides for the diversion of specified criminal offenders in alternate sentencing and treatment programs. Existing law authorizes the court, with the consent of the defendant and a waiver of the defendant's speedy trial right, to postpone prosecution, either temporarily or permanently, of a misdemeanor and place the defendant in a pretrial diversion program, if the defendant was, or currently is, a member of the United States military and if he or she may be suffering from sexual trauma, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, or mental health problems as a result of his or her military service. This bill would require superior courts to develop and implement veterans 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 make a related statement of legislative intent. This bill would require a county and court stakeholders to utilize a collaborative process to develop a plan for a veterans court that satisfies the bill's requirements. The bill would require a veterans court to be administered by a veterans court team led by a judicial officer to preside over the court, and would require that other members of the veterans court team, to the extent feasible, include, but not be limited to, a prosecutor, a public defender, a county mental health liaison, a substance abuse liaison, a county veterans' service officer, a probation officer, and a Veterans Administration social worker to assist the court with screening veterans court candidates for eligibility and suitability in Veterans Administration funded programs. The bill would require the veterans court team to determine the frequency of ongoing reviews of the progress of the offender in community treatment in order to ensure the offender adheres to the treatment plan as recommended, remains in treatment, and completes treatment. By increasing the duties of local officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would authorize a superior court, in order to satisfy the bill's requirements, to partner with another superior court in the same county or a superior court in a neighboring county to provide access to a veterans court if that veterans court satisfies the bill's requirements. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.