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Veterans Treatment Court
If you are a veteran facing charges in Fairfax County that trace back to addiction, PTSD or a brain injury, there may be a route through the courts that ends in treatment rather than a cell.
What the Treatment Docket is
The Fairfax County Veterans Treatment Docket is a specialized court track for veterans whose offenses are tied to service-connected problems — substance abuse, post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury. Instead of the ordinary criminal path, a participating veteran gets a structured treatment plan, regular court supervision, and a mentor who served.
Chapter 227 supplies those mentors. Under Don Sutherland, a chapter director, the chapter has become the leading source of volunteer mentors on the docket, and it funds the mentor program as a line item in its annual budget.
How to find out whether it applies to you
Eligibility is decided by the court, not by the chapter. If you or a family member is facing charges in Fairfax County, raise the Veterans Treatment Docket with your defense attorney, or contact the chapter and we will point you at the right person.
Volunteering as a mentor
The docket needs enough mentors to keep one-to-one coverage for every participant, and the program has expanded to a second docket covering juvenile and domestic relations cases. You do not have to live in Fairfax County to serve as a mentor. You do have to have served.
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Veterans Treatment Court mentoring
Don Sutherland
Watch how it works
Justice For Vets, the national organization behind veterans treatment courts, produced two short films — one on what mentors actually do, and one following a veteran through the program.