Start a Veterans Treatment Court in your area.

If you would like to start a court in your community, the Buffalo team is happy to work with you to share lessons learned and direct you to available training resources.  Please contact Jack O’Connor at oconnorj@erie.gov

The Buffalo Veterans Treatment Court team, the National Drug Court Institute (NDCI) and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) launched the 2010 Veterans Treatment Court Planning Initiative (VTCPI) in October 2010.  It was the first Veterans Treatment Court training program in the nation.

This pilot training program was conducted October 4-8, 2010 in Buffalo, New York. The VTCPI curriculum was a collaborative effort of NDCI (a professional services branch of NADCP), BJA, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the GAINS Center, the Battered Women’s Justice Project, and numerous Veterans Treatment Court professionals.

Training consisted of presentations, group breakout sessions, and a visit to the Buffalo Veterans Treatment Court  (the first Veterans Treatment Court in the United States) in order to observe case discussions and status hearings.

NDCI has been provided funding to award travel schoarships to defray the cost of airfare, ground transportation, parking, mileage, and per diem for approved jurisdictions.

New York State Office Of Court Administration Veterans Treatment Court Training

New York State Office of Court Administration and the National Development and Research Institute, Inc., have collaborated  pursuant to a grant by New York  Health Foundation on the Development and implementation of a curriculum and instructional trainings  of existing problem solving courts in New York State that have expressed interest in establishing veterans treatment courts in their jurisdiction. The training will be held over two days with participants from teams from 10 New York State courts: five from the New York City/Albany regions, and five from Western New York.

Information regarding this training and future training of New York State Courts should contact New York State Office of Court Administration, the office of Justice Judy Harris Kluger, Chief of Policy and Planning, New York State Courts.

Contact Address:

New York State Unified Court System
Office of Court Administration, Rm. 852
25 Beaver Street
New York, N.Y. 10004