HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	278
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

REQUESTING THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE HAWAII SUPREME COURT TO CONVENE A COMMITTEE TO IDENTIFY AT WHICH POINT VETERANS AND RETURNING RESERVISTS AND NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERS ENTER THE JUSTICE SYSTEM, AND HOW BEST TO ADDRESS THEIR NEEDS, INCLUDING DEVELOPING A VETERANS COURT.

     WHEREAS, approximately 120,000 military veterans and 40,000 active-duty military live in Hawaii; and

     WHEREAS, since September 11, 2001, members of the United States armed forces and reserves and the Hawaii National Guard have been engaged in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq at an unprecedented rate and pace; and

     WHEREAS, recent research confirms that a significant number of soldiers -- in some estimates, one in five -- will return home from war with a combat-related mental-health condition, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, military sexual trauma, substance abuse, and other mental and emotional health conditions; and

     WHEREAS, according to conservative estimates by the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, one of every three homeless men has put on a uniform and served this country; and

     WHEREAS, Mental Health America of Hawaii has launched a Healing the Trauma of War project to identify the unmet needs of returning soldiers and their families, and to coordinate community discussions on how to address these needs; and

     WHEREAS, in September 2009, Mental Health America of Hawaii contracted with theStrategist, a healthcare advisory firm, to assemble and lead an executive board of military, business, and community leaders to propose policy, program, and process changes to help National Guard and Reserve soldiers and their families after deployment, and since then, theStrategist has consulted with other states that have established special courts to deal appropriately with veterans and their cases by connecting them with the services they need; and

     WHEREAS, the first veterans court was established in 2008 in Buffalo, New York, and since then, similar models have emerged in counties across California and Oklahoma and in the states of Illinois, Nevada, Texas, and Alaska; and

     WHEREAS, the veterans court in Buffalo began with a judge who in his role as both the drug court and mental health treatment court judge, identified veterans who were already on his court docket, scheduled them to appear separately, and staffed the hearing with a representative from the United States Department of Veteran Affairs who was equipped with a laptop to connect veterans, on-demand, with a wide range of support services including healthcare insurance, mental health and substance abuse counseling and treatment appointments, job placement, housing assistance, school tuition scholarships, and other federally-paid benefits and services from systems that specialize in assisting veterans; and

     WHEREAS, veterans courts strictly monitor the rehabilitation progress of the veterans, then graduate them from the judiciary process as law-abiding citizens who are able to resume contributing positively to the community; and

     WHEREAS, the veterans are also paired with peer mentors who help keep them on track; and

     WHEREAS, these courts – modeled as a hybrid between drug court and mental health treatment court -- boast recidivism rates that are far better than any other treatment court; and

     WHEREAS, such a hybrid treatment court will save the State as much as $50,000 for each convicted offender each year based on national estimates; and

     WHEREAS, a veterans court would also help a significant portion of the homeless population through the intervention provided, saving the State from the costs of related social services; and
     WHEREAS, the United States Congress (Congress) has recognized the success of these courts in effectively rehabilitating veterans by providing alternatives to incarceration; and

     WHEREAS, veterans courts are primarily funded with federal dollars from various resources, and there is additional legislation moving through Congress that would provide matching funds for 75 cents of every dollar spent on veterans courts; and

     WHEREAS, Hawaii has been at the forefront of developing and implementing innovative programs and treatment courts; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2010, the Senate concurring, that the Chief Justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court is requested to convene a committee to identify at which point veterans and returning reservists and National Guard members enter the justice system, and how best to address their needs, including developing a veterans court; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Chief Justice, Director of Veterans' Services, Director of the Department of Veterans Affairs Honolulu Regional Office, and President of the Oahu Veterans Council.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Veterans Court