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Eric Horwood
Nov 225 min read

Serving Michigan’s Justice Involved Veterans


Michigan has been at the forefront of the Treatment Court field since its inception. Within three years of the creation of the first Treatment Court in the United States in 1989, Kalamazoo County launched Michigan’s first, in the form of a Women’s Drug Court1. Michigan currently operates 210 Specialty or Problem Solving Courts2; 27 of which are Veterans Treatment Courts (VTCs), nearly 5% of the nation’s approximately 600 VTCs3.


Recent studies have shown that trends in alcohol use have increased in male veterans, contrary to typical decreasing rates in alcohol use among the United States’ male population as a whole4. Similarly, female veterans are also at an increased risk from the civilian population for alcohol use, as well as other substance use disorders and mental health disorders including suicidal ideation5. Anyone who has worked with justice-involved veterans in any capacity should not be shocked by these statistics.


There are over 18 million veterans currently living in the United States.


  • All Rise estimates that close to 20% of our veterans nationwide suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or other significant mental health disorders, while approximately 16% of deployed veterans suffer from substance abuse disorders; many of which are co-occurring6.

  • Alarmingly, although not entirely surprising, nearly 30% of female veterans and 2-3% of male veterans reported being sexually assaulted (military sexual trauma or MST) in the duration of their service7. And, as we know that approximately 63% of sexual assaults go unreported8, the amount of MST in the military is likely far higher.

  • While these percentages may seem relatively or statistically low, this translates to tens of thousands of vets nationwide, and many thousands in Michigan, that suffer from these issues.


These mental and behavioral health concerns tend to fester un- or under-treated until they manifest into other concerns, which can result in criminal justice involvement. Following Judge Robert Russell’s development of the VTC model in 20089, it became a national understanding that veterans needed, and deserved, a different method when interacting with the justice system.


My father is a former Marine Corporal who served during the Cold War. Following his discharge from the military, my father served for 28 years as a police officer. Wanting to follow in his footsteps, I also studied criminal justice and became employed as a detention officer. While working at a city jail, I met a man who had just been arrested for a multitude of charges: Operating With the Presence of Drugs (OWPD), Operating While Intoxicated (OWI), Felony Firearms, etc. At first, he seemed like any of the other hundreds of inmates I had processed.


After booking him in, I chatted with him for a moment – I soon found out he was a veteran, and this moment turned into quite a long conversation. By some coincidence, he was a former Marine who had served in the same exact unit at the same exact time as my father; the United States Marine Corps (USMC) C 2nd Radio Battalion stationed out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Following his service, my father had returned home and gone to college, graduated top in his class in his police academy, and served as a police officer for nearly three decades, and this other man came back to despair; wallowing in drugs, alcohol, and his deteriorating mental health. This stark contrast was eye opening; this could very easily have been my dad – this could very easily have been any of our family members.


Months later, I found out that this man had gotten into a local VTC and was on the track to success. I knew I had to be a part of this program, and just a couple years later I was hired as a probation officer to supervise that very same VTC. I have had the honor of being involved in this challenging VTC work, for about 5 years as the probation officer and case manager in that Ingham County VTC, and for the past couple years with helping to develop a new VTC program in Kalamazoo County. In my years of working with veterans, I’ve realized the nuances and challenges, as well as the unique rewards of dealing with the population.


Just as a participant is more than their diagnosis or the extent of their criminal history, a veteran is more than their branch of service and their military occupational specialty. Utilizing available services such as:


  • VA inpatient programs like PTSD Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (PRRTP), Mental Healthier Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (MHRRTP), or Substance Abuse Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (SARRTP);

  • VA outpatient programs like Strength at Home or Anger Management;

  • Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) or outside agency treatment programs for mental health and substance abuse; as well as CBOC, VA Hospital, or civilian physical health care agencies;

  • Veterans Justice Outreach Coordinators, Veteran Navigators, and Veteran Service Officers; and

  • Education, transportation, housing, and employment assistance agencies

 

It is the obligation of the VTCs to address, and attempt to correct, all recognized risk and need concerns of the veterans that they are tasked with.


Frankly, it’s worth the effort. We can recite the statistics that $1 invested into a treatment court can prevent $3 dollars of taxpayer money from being spent in the justice system, as well as, reducing recidivism by over 50% in communities with treatment courts10.


But I would argue that the changes matter on the small level – on the community level – on the human connection level. Any effort, whether time, money, or other resources, invested into a justice-involved veteran, or any Treatment Court participant for that matter, is worth it because it is the right thing to do.


We have thanked our active-duty soldiers and our veterans for their service with our words, now let us take the next step and thank them with our actions.

 

Important Resources for Justice Involved Veterans:

 

About the Author: Eric J. Horwood, MS, CCJP-M, is a probation officer and treatment court case manager with the 8th District Court. He has a Masters Degree in Forensic Psychology specializing in Military Psychology and Trauma. He serves on the MATCP Communications and Legislative Committees, as well as on the executive board of the Michigan Association of District Court Probation Officers. 


References:

1)    White, M. T., Kunkel, T. L., Cheesman, F. L., II, Kimble, K., & Raffaele, C. (2017, May). Michigan's Adult Drug Courts Recidivism Analysis Summary of Findings and Recommendations. Michigan Courts One Court of Justice. https://www.courts.michigan.gov/498c7b/siteassets/court-administration/best-practices/psc/ncsc-adult-recidivismanalysis.pdf.

2)    Michigan Courts (2024, February 15). Current Number of Drug/Sobriety Courts in Michigan. Michigan Courts One Court of Justice. https://www.courts.michigan.gov/administration/court-programs/problem-solving-courts/drug-treatment-courts/.

4)    Hoggatt, K. J., Chawla, N., & Yano, E. M. (2024). Differing time trends for alcohol misuse and alcohol use disorder among Veteran men: A comparison of population surveillance and clinical data. Addictive Behaviors, 148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2023.107862.

5)    Kameg, B. (2023). The Relationship Between Substance Use, Suicidality, and Access to Care Among Women Veterans: A Secondary Analysis of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration National Survey on Drug Use and Health. (Unpublished) [Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburg]. Institutional Repository at the University of Pittsburg. https://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/46241/.

6)    All Rise (2023). Justice For Vets. All Rise. https://allrise.org/about/division/justice-for-vets/.

7)    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Mental (2021, May). Military Sexual Trauma. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Mental Health. https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/docs/mst_general_factsheet.pdf.

8)    National Sexual Violence Resource Center (n.d.). Statistics About Sexual Violence. National Sexual Violence Resource Center Info & Stats for Journalists. https://www.nsvrc.org/sites/default/files/publications_nsvrc_factsheet_media-packet_statistics-about-sexual-violence_0.pdf 

9)    Buffalo Veterans Court (n.d.). Veterans Treatment Court Information Center. Veterans Treatment Court. https://www.buffaloveteranscourt.org/ 

10)  All Rise (2023). About treatment courts. All Rise. https://allrise.org/about/treatment-courts/.

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