In collaboration with the City of Glendale Municipal Court, the Goodyear Municipal Court and Goodyear City Prosecutor's Office are making efforts to address criminal cases involving veterans more effectively, seeking better outcomes for our community and our veterans.

Approve the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the City of Glendale and City of Goodyear, to allow for case referral of veteran defendants in the Goodyear Municipal Court into the Glendale Municipal Court, and for the qualified judicial officers of Judge of the Glendale Municipal Court to have authority to adjudicate cases referred to the West Valley Veterans Court. (Crystal Whelan, Court Administrator; Justin Atkinson, City Prosecutor)

Goodyear will be charged a flat fee per case referred to the WVRVC. The flat fee is based on the average projected cost per case. The average cost per case is calculated dividing the projected total costs by the projected volume as determined by previous fiscal year case totals. The flat fee will include the costs associated with the WVRVC Coordinator, and a Court Services Specialist, and court operating expenses and will be offset by the applicable grant funding amount available to the City of Glendale. The Goodyear Municipal Court currently has adequate specialty court funding available through our own funding budgeted for the Problem-Solving specialty court costs, and will absorb any additional case processing fees into our existing budget, if necessary.

On December 8, 2022, the Presiding Judge of the Maricopa County Superior Court issued Administrative Order 2022-158, which established the West Valley Regional Veterans Treatment Court ("WVRVC") for the municipal courts in the West Valley of Maricopa County, including Glendale, Avondale, Buckeye, El Mirage, Goodyear, Litchfield Park, Peoria, Surprise, Tolleson, Wickenburg, and Youngtown Municipal Court. Prior to issuance of Administrative Order 2022-158, Glendale has operated its own Veterans Court. In July of 2021, the Goodyear Municipal Court presented to the City of Goodyear Mayor and Council, seeking temporary funding for a Problem-Solving Pilot Court, to address cases involving homelessness, mental health and veteran eligibility. With the vacancy of a permanent Presiding Judge, the Goodyear Municipal Court has paused the Problem-Solving Court pilot program. In order to continue addressing the case involving veteran defendants, the Goodyear Municipal Court wishes to enter into the WVRVC agreement to ensure uninterrupted Veteran defendant case resolution. The Goodyear Municipal Court historically and currently participates in the 'Stand Down for Veterans' and 'Stand Up for Veterans' annual events, held by other Courts such as the Tempe Municipal Court.

The aim of the program is to assist veteran defendants with new and active cases, where traditional judicial recourse is not the best course of action when faced with sentencing options. The mission is to enhance public safety and to provide justice while reducing recidivism, by addressing the root causes of conflicts with the law involving Veterans. Veterans Court is not a panacea, but it is an effective treatment of crime involving veterans. In October of 2021, the City of Glendale implemented a Veterans Court without supplemental funding. Later, in 2022, with the help of Senator Sinema, Glendale was awarded a DOJ grant to supplement and expand the offerings of the West Valley Veterans Court. The Goodyear Municipal Court recognizes the importance and undertaking of such a robust specialty court which specializing in Veterans defendant case resolution. Because of the success of an on-going, well-established Veteran Court program, Goodyear is seeking to partner with Glendale to allow for qualifying Goodyear defendants to participate in the specialty Court program. This participation would be in addition to Goodyear's long-standing participation in other specialty court events such as "Stand Up for Veterans' and "Stand Down for Veterans'. Nearly 95% of veterans in the criminal justice system have substance abuse issues. Many are self-medicating. The recidivism rate in traditional courts is between 70 - 80%. Veterans Courts nationally report a recidivism rate of about 25%. The Phoenix and Mesa City Courts operate a Veterans Treatment Court, as well as the Maricopa County Justice Courts out of the Northwest Valley Justice Center. Glendale WVRVC will leverage VA support and benefits, including the use of a Veterans Outreach Social worker, to be present in the Glendale Veterans Court once per month. As the program grows, the VA has committed to expanding their presence to meet the Courts needs. Community-based organizations also have good record of supporting Veterans Courts. Following national and local models that have proven successful, Goodyear will adopt practices that will allow qualifying defendants to voluntarily participate in the WVRVC.