Indiana Cnty. C.P. Veteran Court Policies and Procedures 19

B. Milestones:

a. Acceptance into the VTC Program – Participants receive a VTC Wristband

and VTC Handbook.

b. Phase Advancement – Participants shall receive an award or certificate, Gif

Card ($20.00), handshake from the Judge.

c. Graduation – Participants will handshake from Judge and Team Members,

and award memorializing their successful completion of the program.

C. Sobriety:

a. Participants will receive a round of applause in Court whenever they

indicate the number of days sober.

b. Sobriety as defined in each phase – receive an award that participant will

carry and bring to each Court session, including graduation.

D. Random Drawing – Every Participant that has progressed to Phase II, III, IV, or V,

that is in attendance and has been in full compliance, made all Court sessions,

probation contacts, treatment appointments, and complied with all other VTC

requirements for the Preceding month will have their name placed in a bowl for a

random drawing. The winner will receive a $20.00 gift card.

**The VTC Team and the Court may provide rewards when appropriate and at their

discretion for various other achievements and milestones.

SANCTIONS

Participants who fail to comply with program requirements (supervision, treatment,

urinalysis, etc.) will be held accountable through the imposition of sanctions. Sanctions

demonstrate that there are immediate consequences to inappropriate behavior. The VTC

Team recognizes that the participant is an integral part of the team. As such, in

determining the appropriate sanctions, the team will ask that the participant what

sanctions may be beneficial to the Participant, and what may have helped the participant

in the past to successfully address the behavior.

A. Examples of types of sanctions:

1. Verbal Admonishment from the Judge

2. Increased supervision and/or treatment

3. Increased drug testing

4. Community Service, additional hours

5. Electronic Monitoring

6. Incarceration

7. SCRAM

8. Journaling

9. Demotion to previous phase

10. Delay graduation to next phase

11. Court room penalty box

12. Termination from Drug Treatment Court

13. Letters of apology

14. Essays

15. Increased Community Restrictions

*The Indiana County Veterans Treatment Court will continue to examine the latest

research and continue to modify the list as necessary.

B. If a participant commits a Veterans Treatment Court violation of any kind, a

sanction(s) will be imposed on the participant. A matrix of typical sanctions is

set forth below.

a. Low Level violation.

i. Verbal Admonishment.

ii. Letters of Apology.

iii. Essay Assignments. Topics may include:

1. Definition of Recovery

2. Relapse Triggers

3. Drug/Alcohol Refusal Skills

4. Managing Cravings

5. Lying and Dishonesty

6. The Disease of addiction

7. The impact of addiction on the family

8. Role of treatment

9. Role of peer support groups

10. The benefits of utilizing the Mentor.

iv. Daily Activity Logs.

v.Journaling.

vi. Life Skills Assignments. Include:

1. Obtain Bank Account

2. Obtain state ID Card

3. Reinstate Driver’s License

4. Enroll in Educational classes, GED, H.S. or college

5. Job Search

vii. Jury Box Observation – non-compliant participants may be

required to sit in a designated area during Court proceedings.

viii. Increased Community Restrictions – impose curfew, or earlier

curfew, restrictions of persons that the participant may interact

with, or restrictions on areas on the community.

ix. Team Roundtable – Participant meets with the entire VTC

team.

b. Moderate Level Violation

i. Increased Supervision.

1. More frequent Court hearings.

2. More frequent Probation Contacts.

ii. Increased Random Drug and Alcohol Testing.

iii. Increased Random home or community visits by probation.

iv. Delay in Phase Advancement.

v.Phase Demotion.

vi. Community Service. Severity of violation, will define number

of additional hours. Service may include:

1. Set up or clean after court sessions.

2. Wash police or Sheriff Department Vehicles.

3. Clean around Courthouse.

4. Pick up trash along roadside.

5. Clean graveyards.

6. Clean Animal Shelters.

vii. Monetary Fines or Fees.

viii. Holding Cell – Participant may be escorted to the holding cell

as located in the Indiana County Sheriff’s Office. The Participant

will be held in the cell for the remainder of the Court session, and

will be brought back in to Court prior to the end of the day.

ix. Warning Tours. May include:

1. Jail, prison, conference with Coroner, residential treatment

facilities.

2. Local Emergency Room.

c. High Level Violations. May include:

i. Daily Reporting.

ii. Daily Drug and Alcohol screen.

iii. Electronic Surveillance (ankle monitor, SCRAM device, Car

interlock, phone GPS monitoring).

iv. Home Detention.

v.Defined Curfew.

vi. “Flash” Jail Sanctions.

1. Depending on the severity of the Veterans Treatment Court

violation, the participant may be promptly detained and a

hearing shall be held as soon as the Court becomes

available. If a participant commits a probation violation of

any kind, the participant may promptly be detained and a

hearing shall be held no later than two business days after

the arrest date. The court may impose a term of

imprisonment of up to:

a. Three (3) days for the first violation

b. Seven (7) days for the second violation

c. Fourteen (14) days for the third violation

d. Twenty-one (21) days for the fourth or subsequent

violation of probation.

vii. Termination from the Program. Termination from Veterans

Treatment Court may happen at any time, for any violation, by

discussion from the Veterans Treatment Court Team. The amount

of time for a sanction shall not count towards credit for time served

if you fail to successfully complete Veterans Treatment Court.

VETERANS TREATMENT COURT POLICY ON PRESCRIPTION AND

OVER THE COUNTER MEDICATIONS

Due to the high potential for certain prescription medications to interfere with treatment

and recovery efforts, the Indiana County Veterans Treatment Court prohibits the use of

all addictive medications. This includes a policy of prohibiting the use of narcotic pain

medications (Vicodin, Percocet, OxyContin, etc.), muscle relaxers (Flexeril, etc.), sleep

aids (Soma, Ambien, etc.), caffeine pills, and the use of benzodiazepine medications

(Xanax, Klonopin, Valium, etc.). Participants are not to consume any food item

containing poppy seeds. Positive drug tests for opiates will always be deemed positive for

illegal substances. Consuming diet pills while in Veterans Treatment Court is strictly

prohibited

Offenders seeking entry into Veterans Treatment Court are expected to consult with

their physician and/or psychiatrist to seek non-addictive medications with no abuse

potential, to treat conditions such as chronic pain and anxiety. Participants using such

medications while participating in the program are subject to sanctions. Exceptions to this

policy will be made only in extremely rare instances where there is documented

medical emergency treatment by a primary care physician. Participants who

habitually seek exception to this policy are subject to increased sanctions and/or

termination.

Additionally, NO participant of the Indiana County Veterans Treatment Court may take

any dietary supplements or vitamins, as they may contain substances that would alter the

normal color of urine or cause a positive drug test for illegal substances. This includes but

is not limited to specific vitamins, multivitamins, or any other dietary supplement.

The consumption of salvia, kratom, morning glory seeds, K2/Spice, or any other such

mood altering, synthetic/designer or hallucinogenic substance is strictly prohibited. All

cough medications must be pre-approved by a probation officer. Ingredients such as

alcohol, codeine, and dextromethorphan (DXM) are also prohibited.

Any medication prescribed by a doctor must be approved by the Probation Officer prior

to use. The only exception to this is in an emergency situation. All medication must be

kept in its original container. Any non-approved medication will be confiscated by the

Probation Officer. The Probation Officer will immediately contact prescribing Physician

to ensure medication is necessary. To ensure your doctor’s awareness and cooperation as

well as your compliance with Veterans Treatment Court policy, a MEDICAL FORM has

been attached to the end of this manual to use any time you are prescribed medication or

have a surgical procedure. Also required, the participant must sign a MEDICAL

RELEASE FORM for each encounter to seek medical treatment and/or treatment.

If the participant is required to have surgery while he/she is enrolled in Veterans

Treatment Court and is prescribed an otherwise banned prescription, the Veterans

Treatment Probation Officer, must be immediately informed of any and all treatment

decisions. These individuals shall only have the prescription for a maximum of two (2)

weeks, unless otherwise direction by a medical professional.

Any over the counter medication must be approved by the Probation Officer prior to

use. This includes, but is not limited to, cold/flu medicine, headache medicine, antacids,

etc. All medication must be kept in its original container. Any non-approved medication

will be confiscated by the Probation Officer.

MEDICATION-ASSISTED TREATMENT

Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) is an evidence-based substance abuse treatment

protocol, and the VTC supports the availability for individuals to have access to appropriate

MAT under the care and prescription of a physician. The VTC recognizes that not all

participants may have access to MAT due to a lack of physicians who are able to prescribe and

oversee patients using anti-alcohol and anti-opioid medications. This alone will not preclude

individuals from applying to VTC and where and when available VTC supports the participants

right to access MAT. This right extends to participation in VTC and VTC encourages the

involvement in MAT-related treatment by any participant with an opioid addiction to the extent

MAT is clinically indicated.

The VTC will not deny any eligible participant access to the VTC because of their use of

FDA-approved medications for the treatment of substance abuse (e.g., methadone;

buprenorphine products, including buprenorphine/naloxen combination formulations and

buprenorphine mono-product formulations; naltrexone products, including extended-release and

oral formulations; disulfiram; and acamprosate calcium). Further, methadone treatment rendered

in accordance with current federal and state methadone dispensing regulations from an opioid

treatment program and ordered by a physician who has evaluated the participant and determined

that methadone is an appropriate MAT for the individual’s opioid abuse will be permitted.

Similarly, FDA-approved medications available by prescription will be permitted unless the

judge determines the following conditions have not been met:

1. The Participant is receiving those medications as part of treatment for diagnosed

substance abuse.

2. A licensed clinician, acting within their scope of practice, has examined the

participant and determined that the medication is an appropriate treatment for their

substance abuse. and

3. The medication was appropriately authorized through prescription by a licensed

prescriber.

In all cases, MAT will be permitted to be continued for as long as the prescriber

determines that the FDA-approved medication is clinically beneficial. The VTC assures that

participants will not be compelled to no longer use MAT as part of the conditions of the VTC

program if such a mandate is inconsistent with a licensed prescriber’s recommendation or valid

prescription for FDA-approved medication.

Under no circumstances will the VTC Judge, other judicial official, or any other staff

connected to the VTC deny the use of such FDA-approved medications when made available to

the participant under the care of a properly authorized physician and pursuant to regulations

within an opioid treatment program or through a valid prescription and under the conditions

described above. The VTC Judge, however, retains judicial discretion to mitigate/reduce the risk

of abuse, misuse, or diversion of these medications.

DATA COLLECTION

The program realizes the need to measure the programs performance outcomes by

utilizing the Problem-Solving Adult and Juvenile Court Information System (PAJCIS) to

measure and to monitor the success and failures of program initiatives and objectives, and

to give insight as to any necessary program modifications and implementations. Currently

the program measures: ethnicity, gender, marital status, employment, education,

community service, terminations, successful offenders, violations (new arrest and

technical), and withdrawals, admissions, urinalysis, officer contacts and field work, risk

and needs evaluations, incarceration days saved, and offenders in program phases.

SUSTAINABILITY

The Indiana County Veterans Treatment Court’s plan for sustainability has a multiple

option approach. The Indiana County Veterans Treatment Court has the County Judges

support and has received support from the Indiana County Bar Association. Through

press releases, an informational brochure, the attendance at community events, and

information presentations with local organizations, the Indiana County Veterans

Treatment Court intends to seek additional support.