All veterans treatment court programs in this state shall be established and operated according to the following ten (10) key components as adopted by the National Clearinghouse for Veterans Treatment Courts at the National Association of Drug Court Professionals:

(1) Veterans treatment courts integrate alcohol and drug treatment and mental health services with justice system case processing;

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 16-6-103

  • Nonadversarial approach: means that the district attorney general and the defense attorney work together for the benefit of the veterans treatment court program participants and the program. See Tennessee Code 16-6-101
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Veterans treatment court program: means a stand-alone veterans treatment court program established by a judge of a court of this state exercising criminal jurisdiction or a veterans court track created within an existing certified drug court. See Tennessee Code 16-6-101
(2) Veterans treatment courts promote public safety while protecting participants’ due process rights by prosecution and defense counsel using a nonadversarial approach;
(3) Veterans treatment courts identify eligible participants early and promptly place them in the veterans treatment court program;
(4) Veterans treatment courts provide access to a continuum of alcohol, drug, mental health, and other related treatment and rehabilitation services;
(5) Veterans treatment courts monitor abstinence by frequent alcohol and other drug testing;
(6) Veterans treatment courts establish a coordinated strategy to govern responses to participants’ compliance;
(7) Veterans treatment courts maintain ongoing judicial interaction with each veteran as an essential component of the program;
(8) Veterans treatment courts utilize monitoring and evaluation to measure the achievement of program goals and gauge effectiveness;
(9) Veterans treatment courts employ continuing interdisciplinary education and training to promote effective veterans treatment court planning, implementation, and operations; and
(10) Veterans treatment courts forge partnerships among the court, the veterans administration, public agencies, and community-based organizations to generate local support and enhance veterans treatment court effectiveness.
  Previous section
Next section  
 Chapter 6 Contents