Resources for Justice-Involved Veterans Training at Hocking College.
Dr. Ursula Castellano, Associate Professor of Sociology at Ohio University, presented on Veterans Treatment Courts at a training session for justice system professionals on Nov. 30.
Hocking College hosted the training session to provide an in-depth understanding of the resources and services available in the justice system for both civil and criminal issues for veterans and military service members. The more than 70 attendees included judges, lawyers, probation officers, treatment providers, social workers and other professionals working with veterans or military personnel in the justice system.
In a segment with Judge George P. McCarthy of Athens Common Pleas Court, Castellano introduced her video project on Veterans Treatment Courts. She showed a video, and participants provided feedback with a survey instrument.
Castellano was recently awarded a grant from the Ohio State Bar Foundation to finish a video project on Veterans Treatment Courts. Modeled after drug and mental health courts, these courts offer treatment in lieu of incarceration to men and women who served in the U.S. armed services.
The scope of the project is twofold: 1) A 10-minute promotional video on Veterans Treatment Courts for members of the legal and veteran communities. The content will introduce viewers to the courts in Ohio, how they work and why these courts are effective alternatives to incarceration. 2) A 15-minute public education video on Veterans Treatment Court participants. This video will focus on veterans’ personal stories, why they become involved in the justice system and their experiences with court-mandated treatment.
“Combined these videos offer enormous potential to positively affect the lives of justice-involved veterans and will provide court and treatment professionals with essential programmatic resources,” Castellano says. Both videos will be widely disseminated across Ohio for public use. She previewed the first promotional video at the Resources for Justice-Involved Veterans Training at Hocking.
The videography and editing work was completed by Cecil Houser, an alum of OHIO’s visual communications program who is now a master’s student in the film program. Babz Jewell, a Sociology graduate student, is the project assistant.
This project has also been generously supported by the Sociology & Anthropology Department, the College of Arts & Sciences, the Center for Law, Justice & Culture, and the Office of Sponsored Research.
The training, held at The Lodge at Hocking College in Nelsonville, officially marked the opening of Hocking College’s new Workforce Training and Development Center. The training was sponsored by the Hocking Institute for Social and Economic Advancement and the Athens-Hocking-Vinton Alcohol Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine was among the presenters and spoke about resources offered by his office. In addition to the Attorney General, other presenters included Mark J. Cappone from the Ohio Department of Veterans Services; Judge McCarthy, Athens County Common Pleas Court; Elma Walker, Chillicothe VA Medical Center; and retired Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton. Melissa A. Knopp, Esq., director of the Institute for Social & Economic Advancement at Hocking College, organized the entire training, along with Stratton.
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