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Trumbull County Probate Court starts veterans assistance program
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
Because military veterans sometimes return to the community after their military service with emotional needs that can lead to legal issues, the Trumbull County Probate Court has started a Veterans Assistance Program.
Probate Judge James Fredericka announced Monday that the program will begin next month, providing veterans with a way to get help for emotional, financial and legal problems.
The mission statement of the program is to “provide access to justice for our deserving veterans and seek solutions, treatment and diversion rather than punishment for the necessary support to help veterans lead stable, law-abiding and healthy lives as positive and productive members of this community.”
A treatment team consisting of coaches or sponsors who are also veterans, mental-health professionals, including the Trumbull County Mental Health and Recovery Board, will “devise a specific plan for each specific case,” Judge Fredicka said.
“Our goal is to rehab the returning veteran to get him treatment to return him to our community,” he said. “Studies indicate this program works. It’s a positive and productive program.”
It was organized through the Ohio Supreme Court and has the blessing of the judges and prosecutors in all of the municipal courts and county courts in Trumbull County. The county common pleas court is not included because the program is intended to be for veterans who have been charged “primarily with nonviolent misdemeanor or civil action.” Common pleas courts deal mostly with the higher-level felony cases.
Judge Rob Platt of Eastern District Court in Brookfield said giving help to veterans is “a wonderful concept,” adding that it’s overdue.
“When Judge Fredericka proposed this and asked if I was interested, I said, ‘Absolutely,’ and it’s a wonderful way to give back” to the veterans.
The prosecutor in each court will make the initial decision on whether a case is right for the Veterans Assistance Program; then, the judge will have to agree; and then, the Veterans Assistance Program, through the Probate Court at the county courthouse, will devise an assistance plan, Judge Fredericka said.
At the end of the process, if the veteran met the requirements of of the assistance plan, the judge handling the case will have the option to dismiss the charges, place the veteran on probation or sentence the veteran if he or she didn’t follow his or her treatment program, Judge Fredericka said.
Trumbull County’s program – sometimes called a veteran’s court – will be the 17th one of its kind in Ohio. Judge Fredericka said the probate court has experience with such matters already, having operated a seniors court for many years that is quite similar.
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, who participated in the announcement, said 22 U.S. military veterans per day die from suicide.
“It’s a heartbreaking statistic,” he said. “We can reduce that number. We need to make sure we don’t isolate these veterans. They may have made a mistake. They came back with scars we cannot always see.”
Herman K. Breuer, director of the Trumbull County Veterans Service Commission, said the announcement marks “a great day for veteran’s advocacy” and noted that legal issues are one area where his agency has not been able to assist veterans in the past.
“When veterans transition to civilian society, there can be bumps in the road,” he said.
Volunteer military veterans will serve a role in the veteran’s court much like the role of a sponsor in a 12-step program such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Breuer said.