CATLETTSBURG, Ky. — Boyd County Circuit Court is setting up a veterans treatment court that will allow honorably discharged veterans who run afoul of the law to get services through the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Huntington.

by Arnaldo Rodgers

Similar programs have been set up in Wayne County Circuit Court and Putnam County Circuit Court in West Virginia. Officials also are trying to get the program in Cabell and Kanawha County circuit courts. The program allows veterans to get inpatient and outpatient services through the Veterans Administration.

“This is not a get-out-of-jail free card,” said Boyd Circuit Judge George B. Davis III. “This is a way to help those people who helped us. The program is available for veterans with honorable discharges who suffered combat deployed injuries or training injuries.”

Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Will T. Scott, a Vietnam War veteran, was on hand for the announcement Friday in Boyd County Circuit Court in Catlettsburg. “This is a great program for Kentucky and for our veterans,” he said. “The wounds of war have changed. We’re seeing more traumatic brain injuries.”

“Right now, one in ten inmates are veterans,” Tammy Miller, veterans service outreach specialist for the Huntington VA, said Friday. “This program allows us to assess their needs, get them in inpatient and outpatient services. My hope is to get veterans the help they need and get them back on track in their life.”

Boyd Circuit Judge C. David Hagerman said the judges weren’t doing anything for veterans they aren’t doing for other defendants. “We need to use veterans services,” he said.

“Not every veteran is appropriate for the program,” Hagerman said.

“We won’t put dangerous defendants in the program. There will be safeguards in it. The public will be protected.”

The program is being made available at no additional cost, he said.

Miller said courts in 12 Kentucky counties, 10 West Virginia counties and two counties in Ohio (Lawrence and Gallia) is available through the VA in Huntington. “These services have been available for several years.”

Similar programs to have veterans justice outreach officers are being set up across Kentucky counties, Scott said.

“We’re really excited about this program,” Davis said. He applied about a year ago to get the program in Boyd County.

“One in six veterans coming back have mental and substance control issues,” Davis said. “We want to help our vets as much as we can.”

While it’s a pilot program, it is one that will be kept in Boyd County, Davis said. “We’ll see what works and what doesn’t.”

The program is for lower level offenders and not for violent offenders, he said. “It’s not for someone who has hurt someone. It’s a way to plug veterans into services they normally wouldn’t have gotten into through the justice system.”

“Judge Hagerman and I want to create a docket specifically for veterans,” Davis said. “Veterans often have substance abuse and mental health issues that contribute to encounters with law enforcement.

A veterans docket will allow us to more quickly connect them with services that meet their unique needs.”