Delaware’s Superior Court, Department of Justice and Office of Defense Services are discussing expansion of the state’s Veterans Treatment Court program.
The treatment court launched in 2011 as a means to divert veterans charged with nonviolent felonies and misdemeanors away from incarceration.
The Department of Justice, Office of Defense Services or a judge can refer veterans to the court, provided the veteran agrees to the diversion; DOJ can also review assessments of the veteran’s eligibility for treatment court. The program then assigns veterans to treatment plans, designed on a case-by-case basis to address substance use disorders, diagnosed mental illnesses or other challenges that may have brought them into contact with the criminal justice system.
This winter, stakeholders in the veterans treatment court began examining whether to increase the program’s reach, including potentially expanding the types of offenses for which someone can be referred. State Prosecutor AJ Roop says fine-tuning the program is relatively uncontroversial, if not a necessity.
“In this type of environment, if we’re not constantly looking at what we’re doing, ways to be better and what best practices are, then we’re really regressing," he said.
Notably, the veterans’ treatment court currently does not exist in Sussex County; anyone eligible for the program in Sussex County is referred to the Kent County Superior Court. Starting on January 1, 2023, however, the state will open its first veterans' treatment court program in Sussex County.
