Today we welcomed our club’s 4-Way Test Essay Contest winner, Riannon and our Impact Club’s winner Brandon. They read their essays which were incredible! Great job kids.
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Today’s speakers were our own Magistrate Judge Todd Hyronimus and veteran Darla Crown, Mentor Coordinator for the Pennington County Veterans Court.
The program began about 10 years ago as an alternative sentencing program to avoid unnecessary incarceration of veterans with a goal of guiding them to recovery and providing them with the resources and earned benefits they need to lead productive law-abiding lives.
The Pennington County Veterans Treatment Court is a voluntary program that provides intensive case management to adult felony offenders whose service in the U.S. Armed Forces has resulted in substance abuse and/or mental health disorders.
The Veterans Treatment Court program is challenging and requires accountability on behalf of the veteran participants. The veteran participants are held accountable through regular court appearances before the Veterans Treatment Court Judge, frequent and random drug testing, substance abuse counseling and/or mental health counseling in individual and group settings, educational classes, a system of behavior modification based on incentives and sanctions, and intense community supervision by the Veterans Treatment Court Team.
The program length depends on each veteran participant’s progress in meeting the requirements of the Veterans Treatment Court, but is no less than one year.
The program has a retention rate of 66% and a graduation rate of 60.66%. The mentor program provides a veteran “battle buddy” that meets with the veteran and acts as a friend, advocate, role model and guide.
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