HR 2985 Veterans ID Card Act

P.O. Box 44 • Sandwich, MA 02563 • 508-888-1129 • veteransaction@gmail.com

December 20, 2011

The Honorable Bill Keating

297 North Street

Hyannis, MA 02601

Dear Representative:

The Cape and Islands Veterans Action Committee is requesting that Representative Keating co-sponsor the following bill, HR 2985; Veterans I.D. Card Act.

Atlantic County, NJ  Veteran ID

This bill would offer veterans a means of providing proof of having served in the armed forces of the United States.  Veterans must carry with them their DD214s in order to offer proof of service.  The I.D. card would provide a photo, thus, preventing fraud by some individuals.  The Veteran’s I.D. Card would be issued by request only.

WWII ID Card

A number of businesses offer discounts to veterans. The vast majority of veterans do not carry their DD214s with them resulting in the failure to receive those discounts.

Thank you for your consideration to co-sponsor this legislation.

Respectfully,

Richard D. Carey

Executive Director

Click here to read entire bill !

Patrol Officer Richard F. White Appointed as New Military Support Officer

THE YARMOUTH POLICE DEPARTMENT

MEDIA RELEASE

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Patrol Officer Richard F. White Appointed as New Military Support Officer

Yarmouth Police Department Patrol Officer Richard F. White has been appointed to serve as our first Military Support Officer.

The Yarmouth Police Department strongly supports and recognizes our Veterans and their families. We realize the sacrifices made and want to insure that all of the needs of our Police Officers and their families serving in our Armed Forces are recognized and met. We further recognize our nation’s large scale and long term commitment to two wars and the reliance on National Guard and Reserve Forces and that many of these individuals are past, current, and future members of the Yarmouth Police Department and the profession of Law Enforcement.

The creation of a Military Support Officer is a proactive step and part of our ongoing Community Policing Plan.  The appointment of Patrol Officer White is based on his record of serving with distinction for the past 24 years as a full time Yarmouth Police Department Patrol Officer. In addition, Patrol Officer White served for three years as an active duty soldier in our United States Army and for 18 years as a Military Police Officer in our United Army National Guard.  Furthermore, Patrol Officer White has earned an Associate Degree in Applied Science from Central Texas College and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Law Enforcement from Western New England College. Patrol Officer White resides in Yarmouth and is married and the proud father of three adult children.

In addition to his regular patrol duties, Patrol Officer White will serve as the point of contact between our Command Staff and front line Supervisors, Veteran Officers, and our Armed Forces.  Some of his areas of assignment are:

·         Understanding Today’s Military

·         Veteran Officer Reintegration Guidance

·         Employing Veteran Recruits

·         Available Veteran Resources 

·         Identify Issues and Make Referrals to the      Appropriate Resources

The men and women of the Yarmouth Police Department welcome Patrol Officer White to his new assignment and recognize the value of our Veterans and earnestly appreciate their ongoing service and sacrifice.

This media release was prepared and distributed by Yarmouth Police Department Deputy Chief of Police Steven G. Xiarhos

Phone:  508-775-0445 extension 2150 or 

Email: 

sxiarhos@yarmouth.ma.us

Towns faulted on aid to veterans Assistance mandates go unmet, state says!

Towns faulted on aid to veterans

October 25, 2011|By Brian MacQuarrie, Globe Staff

Massachusetts veterans and their dependents appear to be forfeiting hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual state benefits because some municipal officials who serve veterans are unaware of available aid, not working state-mandated hours, or not trying hard enough to locate retired service members, state officials say.
As a result, officials said, thousands of financially struggling veterans might not be receiving cash payments and medical reimbursements they are entitled to get.

Twenty-three communities have no veterans agent or do not employ a full-time officer, as required by law. A total of 177 cities and towns failed to meet the state’s Sept. 1 deadline to document the status of their veterans agents, according to officials.

Dear Friends of Veterans, and Veterans Agents, Public Officials and interested parties.

Until last week on December 7th, 2011,(Pearl Harbor Day 70 years later,) we in Harwich, had no listing for our towns' veterans agent!

• http://www.harwich-ma.gov/Public_Documents/HarwichMA_VetAgent/index

Brewster still has no listing on their town's website for their veteran agent as well, it would behoove us all to contact our various town web masters, as I have in Harwich and ascertain as to WHY we to seem hide our veterans service outreach telephone number numbers and email addresses.

Veterans have done their share and we continually disrespect them, and their families sacrifice, we at least owe it to ourselves and our veterans never forget the contributions and help these warriors and their families to have all services made directly and inconspicuous  available.

We must go beyond the yellow ribbons, and Veterans Day parades, and memorial day celebrations to actively help our veterans and their under-served families, by developing real outreach in actions, directories, and websites since this the the new medium of ideas and community information.

We should have town blogs and facebook communities helping each-others' communities as well, in the spirit of rationalization. We should also have a county wide veterans task force to be introspective and be in consultation with all towns to do a needs assessment of our Barnstable veterans.

We also I believe need a county mental health coordinator to connect the dots with both regular citizens, and their families as well as veterans, and their familie, to secure the much needed substance abuse counseling and treatment other than incarceration in the Barnstable House of Corrections.  Perhaps we should correct out thinking about treatment of mentally un-well individuals, and as the ADA acts states not  treat these folks as felons and criminals, but left untreated with PTSD and other maladies, they will cost our communities one way or another, and not forget that the human cost of war is ongoing as collateral damaged folks who live, and work among us. We need a alternative plan of action, rather that locking them up, and trowing away the keys. The real key is prevention, assessment and treatment and transportation to such treatment, county wide.

Why do we seem to incarcerate our veterans at an alarming rate in our state prisons and county jails? Why don't we have a census of the veterans in jails? The Massachusetts Bar association when asked recently how many members are veterans, stated "they knew not how many were veterans and never counted them!

We propose a new sensitivity for and to veterans, but it up to all of us to point the way forward and embrace our retuning brothers and sister veterans in facts and in deeds.

John Bangert

Veteran Advocate

Court docket tailored to veterans' needs will be welcome in Cleveland: editorial | cleveland.com

Court docket tailored to veterans' needs will be welcome in Cleveland: editorial | cleveland.com

Click on Link to Watch Introduction

HBO WARTORN 1861-2011

How many veterans are there in state?

How many veterans are there in state?

May 26, 2011

How many veterans are there in state?

New state secretary of Veterans Affairs is wanting to find out

By Jeff Mullin, Senior WriterEnid News and Eagle

ENID — As a veteran herself, retired Air National Guard two-star general Rita Aragon knows she is one of a large group of Oklahomans who have served in our nation’s military.

The trouble is, she doesn’t know how large that group actually is.

Presently, there are some 327,000 known veterans in the state of Oklahoma. That total, however, is based on the number of veterans receiving services from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

But Aragon, the new state secretary of Veterans Affairs, believes the actual number of vets in the state is much higher.

“We believe that there is probably double that number,” she said. “I don’t get services from the VA, neither does my father or my uncle. What we want to do first is establish a guideline, how many veterans do we really have in the state of Oklahoma, and what are the needs of those veterans?”

Aragon was appointed as state Veterans Affairs secretary by Gov. Mary Fallin. She replaced Enid’s Norman Lamb, who had held the position since 1995.

The past 10 years of war has produced a large group of young veterans, Aragon said, and their needs are far different from those who fought in World War II, Korea or Vietnam.

“We need to establish what the needs are, and then try to find how do we partner with private enterprise and other public entities,” Aragon said.

One such initiative, she said, is veterans’ courts. These are similar to the drug court concept in which non-violent drug offenders are diverted from jail into structured, supervised treatment programs.

Veterans’ courts, Aragon said, would divert veterans who get in trouble with the law away from the criminal justice system into one that would provide counseling, supervision and treatment that would be paid for by their veterans’ benefits, rather than by the state. Veterans’ court programs already are in place in Tulsa and Oklahoma City.

“We’ve introduced legislation to enable it across the state to any entity that wants to do it,” she said. “It actually saves the taxpayers a lot of money and it’s the right thing to do for the young Americans who have put their life on hold for us.”

The No. 1 veterans’ issue, Aragon said, is suicide prevention. A quarter of all suicides in Oklahoma, she said, involve those who are or have been in the military, and these people represent only 1 percent of the state’s population.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is working with city and county mental health associations across the state to begin offering free counseling services for veterans.

Oklahoma Bar Association is offering Oklahoma Lawyers for America’s Heroes, through which all 44,000 members of the state bar have offered to do one pro bono case for a military or veteran family in the next year.

The Oklahoma Legislature also is considering increasing the amount of a veteran’s income that is exempt from state income tax, Aragon said.

“Oklahoma loves our veterans,” Aragon said. “We have a great mindset here.”

Communicating with state veterans, particularly in rural areas, is another area of concern, she added, particularly since the state has only 33 benefits counselors. Younger veterans are comfortable accessing benefit information on the Internet, older veterans much less so. Aragon’s agency is working with groups like the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and Disabled American Veterans to train people to help older veterans navigate the Internet in search of benefit information.

“Almost all our communities have libraries and those libraries have computers, if we just have someone who knows how to use them,” she said.

Aragon was in Enid Thursday wearing another of her many hats, as the governor’s representative on the Oklahoma Strategic Military Planning Commission, which held its regular meeting at Vance Air Force Base.

The focus of the commission, Aragon said, is not simply protecting state military facilities from future Base Realignment and Closure rounds, but making them more attractive to possible expansion.

“How do we go and bring in missions?” Aragon said. “This is an extremely competitive environment right now.”

Aragon lauded the relationship between Vance and the city, state and Oklahoma’s congressional delegation.

“Vance does a great job of communicating with Washington and Pentagon sources,” Aragon said. “Mike Cooper (city of Enid military liaison and chairman of the Oklahoma Strategic Military Planning Commission) is known all over the hill and all over the Pentagon as a guy who’s really aggressive about the support for Vance Air Force Base, Enid and Oklahoma in general.”

Vance’s joint mission is an asset, Aragon said. Vance is the only Joint Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training base, teaching not only airmen, but also naval personnel and Marines to fly. Vance also is home to one of seven state Armed Forces Reserve Centers, housing Army Reserve and Oklahoma National Guard troops.

“You now pull the dollars from the Department of the Army and the Department of the Navy, as well as the Air Force,” she said. “You want to diversify. That’s the key to staying relevant in this next century of the military. We will be doing more with less in the military.”

In seeking increased efficiency, Aragon said, the services won’t necessarily wait for a Congress-mandated BRAC round. An example is the Air Force’s recent announcement it was planning to close the Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals squadron at Vance. That prompted Oklahoma Sens. Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn and Rep. Frank Lucas, to write a letter to the secretary of the Air Force and Air Force chief of staff asking for evidence such a move would actually save money.

“What makes the most sense in the short-term might not make the most sense in the long-term,” she said. “Our job is to stay aware so we can explain to them the long-term effects of what they are about to do.”

Court blasts VA for mental health care

BY JEANETTE STEELE

TUESDAY, MAY 10, 2011 AT 8:41 P.M.

In an impassioned legal decision that quotes Tennyson and Abraham Lincoln, a federal appeals court in San Francisco said the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department has failed to provide adequate mental health care to battle-traumatized veterans and ordered the agency to overhaul its programs.

The language in the 104-page decision, handed down Tuesday by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, could hardly be stronger.

“There comes a time when the political branches have so completely and chronically failed to respect the people’s constitutional rights that the courts must be willing to enforce them. We have reached that unfortunate point with respect to veterans who are suffering from the hidden, or not hidden, wounds of war,” said the decision, written by Judge Stephen Reinhardt.

San Diego is home to the nation’s largest population of recent veterans, estimated at more than 28,000.

DOCUMENT

Download: VA decision

VA officials wouldn’t respond to the court’s ruling Tuesday afternoon, referring questions to the U.S. Justice Department, whose spokeswoman said the decision was being reviewed.

In the past, VA-San Diego officials have said they learned from the lessons of the Vietnam Warera and have bulked up their psychotherapy staff. Last year, the La Jolla hospital reported it had 12 psychiatrists and 30 other health-care professionals assigned to work with post-traumatic stress disorder patients, either one-on-one or in group sessions.

The lawsuit against the VA was filed by two nonprofit groups, Veterans United for Truth in Santa Barbara and Veterans for Common Sense in Washington, D.C. The court agreed with their argument that veterans were being denied their right to care because of huge wait times and ordered the VA to negotiate with the plaintiffs on fixes.

At least one local Iraq veteran says the VA has improved but it still has a long way to go before it treats PTSD in a realistic way.

Joseph Qualls is a 30-year-old Chula Vista resident who served in Iraq as an Army infantryman in 2004 and 2005.

Qualls said the VA system should be refined so wait times are reduced and experienced people are processing benefit claims. It took him two months to get his first therapist appointment for treatment of PTSD.

“As far as long-term service, if you say I’m not suicidal, I’m not homicidal, it’s going to take anywhere from a month to three for an Iraq or Afghanistan veteran. One guy called me and said, ‘Hey man, it’s been six months.’ ”

He added that it can take longer — six months to a year — for a veteran with PTSD to get financial benefits that would help him exist in civilian life even as he struggles to keep or find a job and relate to his family.

A lawyer for the groups that filed the lawsuit said the backlog of cases keeps growing despite increases to the VA budget and staff.

“A lot of people have been hired by the VA. There’s a tendency to hire social workers at a lower cost, as opposed to psychiatrists. There’s been a major trend away from individual therapy. Instead they use group therapy because it’s cheaper,” said Gordon Erspamer, lead attorney for the veterans groups.

“There’s been a huge decline in the number of inpatient beds at VA hospitals. They deal with people on an outpatient basis. I think that has led to a lot more suicides because they can’t be given the same level of care,” Erspamer said.

The court decision highlighted the prevalence of suicide among veterans, quoting the statistic that 18 military veterans will end their lives on an average day. Of those, roughly one quarter are enrolled with the VA.

“The VA’s unchecked incompetence has gone on long enough; no more veterans should be compelled to agonize or perish while the government fails to perform its obligations,” Reinhardt wrote in the court’s decision.

“Having chosen to honor and provide for our veterans by guaranteeing them the mental health care and other critical benefits to which they are entitled, the government may not deprive them of that support through unchallengeable and interminable delays.”

The VA can appeal Tuesday’s decision to the full 9th Circuit court and, ultimately, to the U.S. Supreme Court.

John J Bangert

Veteran Advocate John Bangert & Congressman Bill Keating discussing Veterans Court !

Parente: Justice delayed: A veteran's story

Parente: Justice delayed: A veteran's story

Free Joe Bangert from Barnstable County Jail.

Why Are We Throwing Traumatized Vets in Jail for Calling 911?

Joe Bangert is being jailed for doing exactly what he was trained to do: calling for backup when he feels threatened.

April 21, 2011  |  

Joe, with brother John.

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MASSACHUSETTS PAROLE BOARD 

12 MERCER ROAD 

NATICK, MA 01760 

Attention: Julie Pease

Please send your letters of support to  get an early parole to MA Parole Board and also Governor Deval Patrick to Commute and or to Pardon Joe Bangert's sentence.  Joe has been sentenced for 9 months, after already serving 5 months at the Barnstable House of Corrections. 

On March 4, 2011, the Honorable J. Thomas Kirkman, addressed the defendant in Barnstable Massachusetts' Second District Court:  "Mr. Bangert, I see that you served your country honorably. It's time to do that again. I'm asking you to serve your country honorably again by (spending) nine months in the house of correction."  And the gavel came down.  

Joe's crime? Calling 911.   

Joe Bangert is being punished for doing exactly what he was trained to do: calling for backup when he feels threatened. The problem is that, since September 11, it's not always clear to him whether the threat is coming from outside or inside. His PTSD keeps him constantly on full alert, trying to keep everything and everyone out beyond what vets call the "kiss me/kill me" range.  

No question about it: Joe can be a civic nightmare. When he's upset, things get messy, rules get broken. But that should come as no surprise. We have studies going back 100 years connecting wartime experiences with traumatic injuries that lead to criminal behaviors.

For 30 years we've been experimenting with specialty courts because we know that putting someone with a mental health issue or an addiction in prison instead of treatment is not only cruel, it's much more expensive. For three years, we've been tentatively opening that model to veterans, who often fit into both categories. Since the attack on the Twin Towers, tens of thousands of veterans of previous conflicts have flooded VA facilities across the country, with PTSD by far the most common diagnosis. Ten years later, those old soldiers are being joined by younger veterans, in equally daunting numbers, who are similarly haunted by their memories and overwhelmed by the symptoms of their psychic injuries.  

They use drugs or alcohol to manage their nightmares, red-line their Harleys to feed their addiction to adrenalin, keep guns under their pillows to feel safe, and when they have flashbacks, muscle-memory takes over and they default to combat survival skills. Rages at the terrible images that colonize their minds get misdirected at innocent bystanders, often the people who love them the most—all known symptoms of PTSD, all predictive of trouble.   

Joe Bangert could serve as a poster boy for any veterans' courts. He has all of the above symptoms—except for the firearms. Those, he doesn't touch. Thirty years of treatment reports have swollen Joe's VA file to something he compares to "two metropolitan phone books"-- twice as thick as his FBI file. But he left it out in the yard and it's now swollen with rain so size comparisons are approximate. Nonetheless, the history recorded in that soggy file is one of non-violent progressive activism when Joe was successfully managing his trauma. When not, his police record is an impressive accretion of nuisance arrests that signal not criminal intent, but the self-medication he uses to mask his pain and his panic. When the pain and panic win, he needs a voice on the other end of the phone.  

And Joe is only charged with a misdemeanor. Though some judges have gone so far as to accept violent felony offenders in special veterans' courts, the vast majority are more conservative, accepting only misdemeanor or non-violent felony offenders for diversion.  

The judges who have established veterans' courts are already outside the norm. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, their Honors, in the aggregate, are more punitive when it comes to veterans. Veterans are not only disproportionately represented in the nation's prisons, but they are more likely to get longer sentences than non-veterans-- on average, more than two years longer -- for the same crime. 

Help Set Up Veteran Courts and Free Joe the Veteran!

<http://www.change.org/petitions/please-support-the-establishment-of-veterans-treatment-court-in-massachusetts

Bill S01836 By Mr. Tolman, petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1836) of Tolman for legislation relative to substance abuse services for veterans [Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs].

Section 1. The General Laws are hereby amended by inserting after Chaper 282 the following new chapter:-

Section 2. (a) There shall be a commission on veterans which shall consist of the Massachusetts Veterans Commission existing as leadership of the veterans’ substance abuse courts,

(b) The Massachusetts Veterans Commission may consist of:

(1) district attorneys;

(2) judges;

(3) court officers; or

(4) other necessary officials.

Section 3. (a) According to MGL chapter 29 section 2BBBB, the veterans’ substance abuse courts may be funded by the Commonwealth Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Fund.

(b) Additional funding for a veterans' substance abuse court and a specific veterans’ substance abuse court fund may come from the state treasury outside the General Fund and may be composed of:

(1) money transferred to the fund at the direction of the legislature;

(2) money deposited to the credit of the fund;

(3) money contributed voluntarily from citizens from fundraising programs developed by the legislature or another acting body;

(4) gifts and grants contributed to the fund;

(5) the earnings of the fund; and

(6) fees collected under Section 9.

(c) Money in the funds may be appropriated to the Massachusetts Veterans Commission and a veterans’ substance abuse court to:

(1) improve, develop, enforce and administer goals of a veterans’ substance abuse court;

(2) enhance or improve veterans' assistance programs;

(3) make grants to address specific veterans' needs; and

(4) administer the veterans’ substance abuse court fund.

Section 4. (a) A veterans’ substance abuse court shall:

(1) integrate services in the processing of cases in the judicial system;

(2) use a non-adversarial approach involving prosecutors and defense attorneys to promote public safety and to protect the due process rights of court participants;

(3) identify and place eligible participants in a veterans’ substance abuse court or related treatment;

(4) have access to a continuum of controlled substance related treatment and rehabilitative services;

(5) carefully monitor treatment and services provided to veterans’ substance abuse court participants;

(6) have ongoing judicial interaction with veterans’ substance abuse court participants;

(7) monitor and evaluate veterans’ substance abuse court goals and effectiveness;

(8) continue interdisciplinary education to promote effective court preparation, implementation and operation;

(9) develop partnerships with public agencies and community organizations, including the United States Department of Veterans Affairs; and

(10) use a presiding judge to decide a defendant’s case.

Section 5. (a) The Massachusetts Veterans Commission may establish a veterans’ substance abuse court for veterans arrested for crimes involving or relating to substance abuse.

(b) A defendant shall be eligible to participate in a veterans’ substance abuse court established under this chapter only if the representing district attorney consents to the defendant's participation in a veterans’ substance abuse court and if the court in which the criminal case is pending finds that the defendant:

(1) is a veteran or current member of the United States armed forces, including a member of the reserves, national guard or state guard; and

(2) suffers from controlled substance dependence as defined by the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) and approved by the licensed clinician administering a point of entry examination.

(c) The representing district attorney and presiding judge may prevent eligibility of a defendant for a veterans’ substance abuse court and subsequent treatment, at any time, because the defendant:

(1) has committed a crime involving or relating to the death of a person; or

(2) is considered inappropriate for a veterans’ substance abuse court.

(d) Proof of matters described by Subsection (b) may be submitted to the court in which the criminal case is pending in the form the court determines to be appropriate, including military service records, medical records, previous determinations by a veteran's organization or by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and prior determinations of eligibility for benefits by a state or county veterans office.

Section 6. (a) A veterans’ substance abuse court established under this chapter shall:

(1) ensure a person eligible for a veterans’ substance abuse court is provided legal counsel before proceeding through the court and while participating in the court;

(2) allow a participant to withdraw from the court at any time before a trial on the merits has been initiated;

(3) provide a participant with a court-ordered individualized treatment plan indicating the services that will be provided to the participant;

(4) ensure that the jurisdiction of a veterans’ substance abuse court continues for a period of not less than 6 months after placement, allowing case management and coordination with necessary bodies; and

(5) provide progress reports and other information about a defendant’s experience with a veterans’ substance abuse court to a district attorney upon request.

(b) A veterans’ substance abuse court established under this chapter shall publish court procedures and information to ensure maximum awareness and participation of eligible defendants.

Section 7. The Massachusetts Veterans Commission and a veterans’ substance abuse court of two or more counties may elect to establish a regional veterans’ substance abuse court under this chapter for the participating counties.

Section 8. (a) The Massachusetts Veterans Commission established under this chapter may assign to appropriate legislative committees, including the House Ways and Means, Senate Ways and means, Joint Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse and Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs, duties relating to the oversight of a veterans’ substance abuse court established under this chapter.

(b) A legislative committee or the governor may request the state auditor to perform a management, operations or financial or accounting audit of a veterans’ substance abuse court established under this chapter.

(c) A veterans’ substance abuse court established under this chapter shall:

(1) notify the criminal justice division of the governor's office, district attorneys association and the Interagency Taskforce on Substance Abuse and Prevention, before or on implementation of a veterans’ substance abuse court; and

(2) provide information regarding the performance of the court to that division on request.

Section 9. (a) A veterans’ substance abuse court established under this chapter may collect from a participant in the court:

(1) a reasonable court fee not to exceed $1,000; and

(2) A testing, counseling and treatment fee in an amount necessary to cover the costs of testing, counseling, or treatment performed or provided under the court or related treatment.

(b) Fees collected under this section may be paid on a periodic basis or on a deferred payment schedule at the discretion of the judge or court official. The fees must be:

(1) based on the participant's ability to pay; and

(2) used only for purposes specific to a veterans’ substance abuse court.

Section 10. This act shall take effect 6 months after its passage.

The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The General Court provides this information as a public service and while we endeavor to keep the data accurate and current to the best of our ability, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.

Bill Summary for HD 2300

Bill Summary for HD 2300

An Act Relative to Support for Veterans

Filed in 2011 by: Rep. Carolyn Dykema

SECTION 1:  Adds a “section 10” to Chapter 276A of the General Laws

Section 10 states that any probation officers must inquire whether the defendant is a veteran or current service member, or have history of military service in the armed forces of the United States. This screening is done to enable the judge at an arraignment to consider the defendant for diversion to a program or part of disposition.

-If the defendant is eligible for diversion or treatment, a 14 day continuance by the court may be afforded, to allow time for an assessment by the US Department of Veterans Affairs, the Massachusetts department of Veterans Affairs or the department of veterans' services or another federal or state agency. This report will be used in court to assist in sentencing or diversion.

- Any recommendations from diagnosing or treating mental health professionals for the defendant for pretrial diversion or imposition of a sentence

- If the defendant accepts the offer of the 14 day continuance for such an assessment, he or she must notify the judge, who directs the defendant to an assessment program, upon which a 14 day continuance will follow.

- If the defendant is not eligible for a diversion, a 14-day continuance for assessment may be granted by the judge, taking the prosecutions' opinion into consideration.

SECTION 2:

In order for any court personnel to recognize veterans issues and to determine the appropriate treatment for veterans in court, the court personnel shall work with the department of veterans services to adopt a training program which shall prepare the personnel.
All trial court employees who interact directly with a veteran defendant must complete the training. The administrative office of the trial court and the department of veterans' services must consult with the US Department of Veterans Affairs and provide at least one of the training sessions to the court personnel at no administrative cost to the commonwealth.

SECTION 3:

The administrative office of the trial court along with the US Department of Veterans Affairs and the department of veterans’ services shall conduct a study. The purpose of the study is to examine the intake and review process and disposition of veterans who face criminal complaints in the courts.

This section includes a listing of specific information that shall be collected in a study including but not limited to:

-number of defendants who are veterans, service members, or have a history of military service, who enter the courts each year

-number who are eligible to enter treatment and diversion programs

- The number screened and assessed for the placement of those programs
-the number who successfully completed a program

-the number who do not complete the program and the reasons therefore

-the number that enter and complete a program but reoffend and enter the criminal court systems within one year of the completion

The written report of the study will serve to set forth an annual reporting requirement provided by the courts related to veterans in the criminal justices system. This report will be provided by the chief justice of administration and management to the department of veterans services, the joint committee on veterans and federal affairs and the joint committee on the judiciary by April 1, 2013. Reports shall be reported annually by the administrate office of the trial court before December 1, 2013 and each year thereafter.

DRAFT   ONLY   NOT 

A  NUMBERED  BILL  YET !

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2300

FILED ON: 02/18/2011

HOUSE • • • • • • • • • • • • • •  No. XXXX
The  Commonwealth of Massachusetts 

PRESENTED BY:
Carolyn C. Dykema

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the passage of the accompanying bill:
An Act relative to support for veterans.
PETITION OF:

NAME:                       DISTRICT/ADDRESS:     
Jason M Lewis            31st Middlesex     
Dennis A. Rosa           4th Worcester     
Frank I Smizik            15th Norfolk     
Jennifer E. Benson     37th Middlesex     
Martin J. Walsh          13th Suffolk     
George Ross               2nd Bristol     
Kate Hogan                3rd Middlesex     
James Eldridge           Middlesex and Worcester     
Karen Spilka               Second Middlesex and Norfolk     
Denise Provost           27th Middlesex     
Gloria L. Fox              7th Suffolk     

HOUSE [Pin Slip] • • • • • • • • • • • • • • No. xxxxx

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
In the Year Two Thousand Eleven
An Act relative to support for veterans.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

    1     SECTION L Chapter 276A of the General Laws is hereby   amended by adding the following
      2     section:-
      3     Section 10.  The probation officers of a district, municipal or superior court, or their official
      4     designee, when gathering information in accordance with section 85 of chapter 276, shall, at or
      5     prior to arraignment of a defendant on a criminal complaint, make inquiry of the defendant as to
      6     whether he or she is a veteran or current servicemember of, or has a history of military service in,
      7     the armed forces of the United States. The probation officers or their official designee shall
      8     screen the defendant for the purpose of enabling the judge at arraignment to consider the
      9     eligibility of the defendant for diversion to a program, or treatment as part of disposition. 

    10           If the defendant is determined to be a veteran, or current servicemember, or has a history
    11     of military service in the armed forces of the United States and is eligible for diversion or
    12     treatment, he or she may, at arraignment, be afforded a 14-day continuance by the court for the
    13     purpose of seeking an assessment by the US Department of Veterans Affairs, the Massachusetts
    14     department of veterans , services or another state or federal agency with suitable knowledge and
    15     experience of veterans affairs to provide the court with treatment options available to the
    16     defendant, including diversion programs, if appropriate; provided, however, that if the defendant
    17     has demonstrated symptomatology suggestive of a mental illness, a written report shall be
    18     prepared by a qualified psychiatrist or clinical psychologist or physician, in consultation with
    19     said Department of Veterans Affairs or the department of veterans' services or another federal or
    20     state agency and said report shall be provided to the court to assist in sentencing or diversion.
    21     The court may consider the recommendations of any diagnosing or treating mental health
    22     professionals for the defendant for pre-trial diversion or the imposition of a sentence.

    23     If a defendant chooses to accept the offer of a continuance for the purpose of such an
    24     assessment, he or she shall so notify the judge at arraignment. Upon receipt of such notification,
    25     the judge shall grant a 14-day continuance. The judge, through the probation office or its official
    26     designee, shall direct the defendant to an assessment program and shall inform said program of
    27     such action and require that the program provide the probation department and court with its
    28     findings.

    29     The judge may, in his or her discretion, grant a defendant who is preliminarily determined not to
    30     be eligible for pre-trial diversion, a 14-day continuance for assessment. In arriving at such a
    31     decision, the opinion of the prosecution should be taken into consideration. Such a continuance
    32     may be granted upon the judge's own initiative or upon request by the defendant.
    33
    34     SECTION 2. The administrative office of the trial court shall work with the department of
    35     veterans services to adopt a training program to educate and assist court personnel, including
    36     court staff, probation officers, their designees, court officers, prosecutors, defense counsel, and
    37     judges in recognizing veterans issues and determining the appropriate treatment for veterans
    38     within the court. All trial court employees who interact directly with defendants shall be required
    39     to complete the training; and provided, further, that the administrative office of the trial court and
    40     the department of veterans' services shall, in consultation with the US Department of Veterans
    41     Affairs, provide at least one ofthe training sessions offered to court personnel at no
    42     administrative cost to the commonwealth.
    43
    44     SECTION 3. The administrative office of the trial court shall, in consultation with the US
    45     Department of Veterans Affairs and department of veterans' services, conduct a study to
    46     examine the intake and review process and disposition, including treatment and diversion
    47     options, of veterans who face criminal complaints in the courts. The study shall include specific
    48     information including, but not limited to, the number of defendants who are veterans,
    49     servicemembers or have a history of military service who enter the courts of the commonwealth
    50     each year, the number who are eligible to enter treatment and diversion programs, the number 

    51     screened and assessed for the purpose of being placed in a program, the number that successfully
    52     complete a program, the number that do not complete a program and the reason therefore, the
    53     number that are diverted to a program and obtain a dismissal of their court proceedings, and the
    54     number that enter and complete a program but reoffend and enter the criminal court system again
    55     within one year of successful completion. A written report of the study's findings shall set forth 

    56     annual reporting requirements to be provided by the courts related to veterans in the criminal
    57     justice system. Said report shall be provided by the chief justice of administration and 

    58     management to the department of veterans , services, the joint committee on veterans and federal 

    59     affairs and the joint committee on the judiciary by April I, 2013. Reporting shall be provided 

    60     annually by the administrative office of the trial court to said department and said committees on 

    61     or before December 1,2013 and each year thereafter.
    62