Olivia P Tucker
Times Reporter
The Scott County Board of Commissioners approved a new Veteran Court Probation Officer position at their regular meeting on Oct. 4.
Scott Circuit Court Judge Jason Mount told the commissioners that Scott County shares a judicial district with Clark and Floyd County. Both of those counties have had a Veterans Court for several years that Scott County has been able to take advantage of, he said.
Mount said that the other two counties would like to partner with Scott County for the veteran’s court and there is a grant with $90,000 that would start January 1 to pay for a probation officer that would work with the veteran’s court. He said that the position needed to be approved immediately before the grant is able to fund the position.
The judge explained that Veterans Court is a specialized court that handles minor offense cases for veterans who have been diagnosed with service related illnesses. This special court doesn’t just acknowledge the service to the U.S. from the person, it also acknowledges Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that can sometimes lead to substance abuse, said Mount.
“Another reason I am excited to get involved with Veteran’s Court, everybody always says, ‘Why doesn’t Scott County have a drug court?’ Two reasons we never had a drug court is first we didn’t have the judicial resources, which now we have the magistrate we do have. Secondly, we don’t have the physical resources, we are working on those things,” Mount said.
Mount added that his getting more involved with veterans court would allow him to learn the model to be able to expand upon adding a drug court in the county’s judicial system.
County Attorney Zach Stewart said that the decision of the job description would be decided upon by the commissioners and it would be up to the county council to approve the funding for the new probation officer.
Commissioner Randy Julian expressed concerns about having enough space in the courthouse to have another probation officer.
“Well, not really but, you know, now is the time. We are going to have to find a way to make that work,” Mount replied. He said that they would find a temporary solution to fit another probation officer.
The commissioners unanimously approved the job description for the probation officer for the Veterans Court. It will be up to the Scott County Council to approve funding for the new probation officer at their next meeting.