Travis County Commissioners Court
Tuesday, October 4, 2011 (Agenda)
Item 6b
>> 6 b.
6.
review and approve requests regarding grant programs, applications, contracts and permissions to b.
ratification of annual contract with the office of the governor, criminal justice division, to continue the Travis County veteran's court program in the criminal courts; mr. Sullivan.
>> good morning, judge, good morning, county Commissioners.
>> good morning?
>> my name is paul sullivan, I live here in Austin in Travis County.
I am a gulf war veteran.
I work at a non-profit organization called "veterans for common sense in washington." so that means that I spend a lot of time on airplanes between Austin and washington d.c.
I'm here today to thank you for establishing the veterans court and for refunding it.
I especially want to thank judge denton, who has been leading the court, and making sure that our veterans get the proper access to -- to the courts and due process so that they can be returned to society with a very low recidivism rate.
I also want to thanks constables elfant and conchola for their leading efforts here in Travis County to set up the court.
what I would like to do is also let you know that your actions were very pragmatic, very progressive, and far ahead of the curve.
because nationwide, the statistics on our returning iraq and afghanistan veterans paint a very serious and somber picture.
yesterday, veterans for common sense released our report that comes out each quarter describing the impact of the iraq and afghanistan wars on our country.
and just a few highlights, I'll give you a copy of the report when I'm done, just a few highlights.
our nation has deployed 2.2 million service members to the wars in iraq and afghanistan.
of those, 1.4 million are now veterans and eligible for health care and disability benefits from the department of veterans affairs.
what's very important to know is that 712,000, more than half, of the iraq and afghanistan war veterans are patients at v.a.
hospitals.
more than half, about 368,000, are mental health patients at v.a.
this is why it's extra ordinarily important to have this veterans court.
so that when a veteran is identified in the jail population that can be brought before a judge who understands veterans and v.a.
can be brought into the court, and any medical or benefit needs the veteran might have can be addressed as -- as any part of the deliberation of the court.
I'm here to ask three quick things of this Commissioners court.
the first is to please continue the veterans court.
it's doing great things here in Austin, you serve as a model of one of many veterans courts that are popping up around the country.
the second is that you continue the Travis County veterans assistance lead by oly pope here in Travis County.
we want to make sure that the veterans not only get the health care they need, but the benefits that they earned.
and finally, it might be a good idea for Travis County leaders to ask the federal department of veterans affairs to provide you with statistics, how many veterans from all wars are here in Travis County and what kind of patient load is there at the v.a.
facility.
as you know, v.a.
is going to be building a huge new facility to meet the increasing demand.
and it will be, I understand, the largest non-hospital clinic in the country.
so I think increasing cooperation between Travis County and the v.a.
is important.
and the first step along those lines is to get information about how many veterans are here and what kind of v.a.
services they are using.
thank you very much.
>> thank you.
>> thank you for your input.
>> move approval.
>> second.
>> thank you --
>> discussion on the motion?
>> let me say this one thing to you.
and the court has -- thank you for that recognition, the court has definitely been aggressive in trying our best to address many of the veteran concerns in this community.
of course you refer to oly pope who is really a strong advocate because of his position with the county as far as addressing many, many needs that our veterans have and of course under the dva, department of veterans affairs,
>> [indiscernible] surgery, the other type of veterans benefits, all of those different arms of our veterans must be encroached upon to make sure that we get every veteran that's worthy of the service that they deserve for their service to this country is addressed.
and I thank you and I applaud all of the veterans here for your service in Travis County, in the nation.
thank you.
>> thank you, Commissioners.
what we do at veterans for common sense is encourage veterans to get care at v.a.
we also want to make sure that v.a.
has adequate staffing, funding and policies to provide prompt and high quality care when the veterans go get help.
>> thank you.
>> thank you.
>> thank you.
>> all in favor?
that passes by unanimous vote.
now, for those here, let me indicate my intention to call up item 3 and 4.
then 2 and a 1.
we will call up 2 and bring up a 1 right afterwards.
3 and 4 should be are fairly quick.
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