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A Veterans Court for Santa Rosa County , Florida
By Lt Col Carmen Reynolds , USAF , Ret .
The concept of a Veterans Court in Santa Rosa County , Florida , began during a February conversation with Army Reserve Brig . General T . Patt Maney ( Ret ), a retired Okaloosa County judge currently serving as a state legislator .
Judge Maney ’ s efforts lead directly to the passage of F . S . 394.47891 , the T . Patt Maney Veterans Treatment Act , which created Veterans courts in Florida ’ s legal system . In 2012 , the state ’ s first Veterans court was created in Okaloosa County ; since then , 31 such courts have been established in Florida .
There are 25,803 Veterans in Santa Rosa County . According to Santa Rosa Veterans Services Officer Keith Bernarducci , Santa Rosa is considered No . 3 in terms of the percentage of Veterans in the state , behind only Okaloosa and Sumter counties (“ The Villages ”). Bernarducci is on board , saying , “ I think it ’ s a great idea , as we have a lot of Veterans with PTS . If even two percent are in that category , getting them back out , re-educating them , and getting them to succeed is just a feather in the cap .”
Sheriff Bob Johnson is also on board with anything beneficial to Veterans , according to Deputy Chief Shane Tucker . But Tucker told us that currently there is no way to track Veterans once they are arrested .
The issue is that when an arrestee is asked whether or not he or she is a Veteran , many don ’ t self-identify as that if they didn ’ t actually retire . So we searched until we found a way to register their true status .
Okaloosa County uses a form during the intake process that asks , “ Have you ever served in the U . S . military ?” This includes , of course , the National Guard . Okaloosa is willing to share the form with us , so that Santa Rosa ’ s corrections supervisor as well as its Veterans justice outreach specialist can visit with those Veterans to ensure they are represented . Often , these Veterans are eligible for programs or medical assistance of which they are unaware .
Having resolved a way to identify incarcerated Veterans , we began fact-gathering with Veterans Court coordinators in Okaloosa and Escambia counties , requesting their judges ’ permission to attend their Veterans court sessions and staff meetings . We even consulted and met with one of the licensed mental-health counselors working with Baldwin County Veterans Court in Alabama .
Lengthy discussions with the money holders in District 1 courts then ensued . Unfortunately , the feedback indicated that they had no dedicated funding to support our Veterans Court initiative for Santa Rosa County . But without a willing judge , we didn ’ t have a reason to be fretting about the lack of funding yet .
Undaunted , we sent a letter in early April to the experienced judge who Judge Maney had recommended , asking if he would be interested in heading up a Veterans court in Santa Rosa County . His answer was one we didn ’ t anticipate .
Judge Jose “ Tony ” Giraud , himself a Veteran , quickly answered in the affirmative , explaining that he had wanted to start a Veterans court for years but could not because of funding constraints . We aim to change that !
We have now formed a Veterans Court Committee to map the path forward . We are also visiting Santa Rosa County ’ s military
affairs committees with our message and documenting ways to reach Veterans organizations . Lists are being compiled of Veterans interested in becoming trained mentors , as well as business owners who can offer employment to help affected Veterans realize a second chance at life . Many who have indicated an interest in helping are retired military members on the Santa Rosa County staff . We find it very reassuring to have this level of interest .
A Veterans Court is a diversionary treatment court that encourages change in behaviors in order to help a Veteran return to life as a productive citizen . However , it is not just Veterans who are impacted by behaviors that land them in the criminal justice system . Families , too , bear emotional , physical , and financial burdens due to their loved one ’ s aberrant behavior , which is often connected with military service .
Santa Rosa ’ s neighboring counties are currently running Veterans Court programs . Now with an enthusiastic judge secured , Santa Rosa is well on its way to providing a Veterans Court program of its own .
AHERO MAGAZINE SUMMER 2021 57