kaitlynpolinsky

[kaitlynpolinsky]

Macro-Post #4

Wednesday, November 17, 2021, was the day of our presentation to the courthouse and our final court visit. It was a bittersweet day to finally be wrapping up our Fall 2021 practicum as Team Combat. This whole experience has been inspiring and I am so grateful for the experience to work with the Veterans Treatment Court, including the staff and the veterans themselves.

In our presentation, Jordan and I presented our finding from the needs assessment we created for the Veterans Treatment Court in the beginning of the semester. It was very rewarding the present the results of our own needs assessment to a group of individuals who will be able to assist in the needs that the veterans identified. The main topics we covered in our presentation included: how we developed the questionnaire, the analysis of the needs assessment responses, what these responses tell us, a focus on mental health key findings, findings that we personally found to be interesting and suggestions and steps we found for future use of the needs assessment.

For the first section of our presentation, developing the questionnaire, there were many aspects we took into consideration to create an efficient and useful questionnaire to gather the needs of the veterans. The things that we took into consideration when making the questionnaire were to consider the wording of the questions, we asked to help prevent response error. Secondly, we incorporated questions from previous established questionnaires, such as the US Interagency Council of Homelessness, to ensure validity for the questions being asked, as well as be able to obtain the most useful information. Secondly in developing the questionnaire, we had to develop a code for analyzing the analysis. Basically, we created a color code for the initial responses, and then created a number system to assess a needs assessment score for each veteran. The color code we created consisted of three or four colors depending on the number of possible answer choices and indicated low need (green), medium need (yellow or orange) and high need (red). The number system we created was the lowest need (green)=0, medium need (yellow)=1, medium/high need (orange)=2, and high need (red)= 3.

For the second section of our presentation, analyzing the responses from the needs assessment, we used the code to determine a need score for each individual veteran. The needs scored we identified ranged from 14 to 118, from the 16 veterans who completed the questionnaire. On the questionnaire, each veteran was asked to identify their top three overall needs from a list of topics discussed in the questionnaire. We found it interesting to compare what they identified as their top three needs versus what the questionnaire showed as their top three needs. For example, one veteran identified family support, social well-being, and physical health to be their top three needs, while the questionnaire indicated that wellness, spiritual enrichment, and education were the veterans top three needs. While it is important to be mindful of what the veterans identified, it was intersecting to compare the two.

For the third section, we broke down each section of the questionnaire and ranked them from highest to lowest overall need from the veterans. We did this for what the veterans identified, as well as what the survey indicated. Our finding from this showed that the questionnaire identified 1. Mental and behavioral health, 2. Spiritual enrichment, and 3. Wellness, while the veterans identified 1. Mental/behavioral health, 2. Income and 3. Social enrichment.

For section four, because mental health was such a highly expressed need, we created pie charts for each mental health question on the survey, so that the VTC staff could see how the individual questions were answered by the veterans. As for section for, the things we found interesting we included pie charts and bar graphs on sleep rating, education, spiritual enrichment, goal setting, money management and veteran health apps.

Lastly, the final section, suggestions and future recommendations, there were several things we identified that may make the questionnaire more efficient in the future. The first suggestion we have is to reword some of the survey questions to make them easier to understand. Secondly, adjusting the format of the questionnaire and adding a section for the veterans to add comments. Third, creating and adding additional questions to some sections to receive more information of said category. Fourth and final suggestion we had was to eliminate the wellness section and add the questions under that category to other sections, because many of the questions were repetitive.

Overall, it was such an educational and rewarding experience to be able to provide this information to the veteran’s treatment court staff and the judge. Following the presentation, the judge presented each member of our group with a Harnett County, District 11A Veterans Treatment Court Coin of Excellence, which was a very special moment for all of

[kaitlynpolinsky]

Macro-Post #3

Macro-post #3

On Wednesday, November 10, 2021, the Harnett County District 11A Veterans Treatment Court celebrated their 8-year anniversary. During this celebratory day, several awards were given out to both VTC staff, as well as veterans who have completed the program. Along with this, 4 additional veterans graduated from the program, and a graduation ceremony was held for them. The entirety of the event consisted of foundational competency number 18 and foundational competency number 19 (18.” select communication strategies for different audience and sectors, and 19. Communicate audience-appropriate public health context, both in writing and through oral presentation.)

At this event, the awards that were given out to veterans and veterans treatment court staff were the Silver Eagle Award, Order of the Eagle’s Nest Award, SGT Nieves Ramirez Compliance Award, Veteran Thomas Steve’s Mentor Award, Mentor of the Year, and the Judge Albert A. Corbett Gold Eagle Award. Presenting these awards and recognizes members of the program on their hard work relates to public health competency number 16 (“apply principles of leadership, governance, and management, which includes creating a vision, empowering other, fostering collaboration and guiding decision making.”) under leadership. Recognizing the work that both the veterans and Veterans Treatment Court staff puts into the program, is vital to the success that the program has within the community.

Along with the awards given out, four veterans graduated into the program, two of which graduated with honors. Of the four veterans, there were two Army veterans, one Navy veteran, and one Marine Corps veteran. As a symbol of their success each veteran was awarded with a graduation certificate, a judge’s coin, and a letter. All of the veterans have been enrolled in the program for roughly two years, so it was very rewarding to celebrate this achievement with them and hear their final comments on how the Veterans Treatment Court has helped benefit them.

Overall, being able to attend an event that honored our veterans in their success in the Veterans Treatment Court program, as well as the eighth anniversary of the Veterans Treatment Court was very rewarding. Even though I was only present in the court for a semester it was amazing to see the progress that the veterans made for themselves with the help of the court.

[kaitlynpolinsky]

One of the incentives used for veterans who are “allstar” in court.

[kaitlynpolinsky]

Today I attended the celebration of the 8 year anniversary of the Harnett County District 11A Veterans Treatment Court!

[kaitlynpolinsky]

I attended the annual Coats Farmers Day to hand out brochures on behalf of the Veterans Treatment Court.

[kaitlynpolinsky]

Macro-post #2

On October 1, my team members and I attended an off-site veteran’s treatment court workshop. At this event we listened to all the Veteran’s Treatment Court members discuss what they learned at a convention they previously attended. This workshop was very insightful, as we heard similar topics discussed here, that we also have heard and learned about in our class sessions. The members of this meeting included: the Chaplain, District Attorney, Clerk of Court, Mentor, Case Manager, Defense Attorney, and the Regional Resource Coordinator. It was very interesting to listen to them and make connections between what they were talking about to what we have been learning in class. The first thing talked about that related to something we have discussed in class related to Foundation Competency 17, “Apply negotiation and mediation skills to address organizational or community challenges”. Suzanne, the elected district attorney for Harnett and Lee counties, and for the treatment court talked about what she learned about effective use of incentives and sanctions. For the treatment court there is a direct correlation between the use of incentives and sanctions. When incentives as simple as affirmations or simple gifts, can lead to an increase in desired behaviors and a decrease in unwanted behaviors. Another foundational competency that was mentioned amongst the experiences of many members was competency number 5 “compare the organization, structure and the function of health care, public health, and regulatory systems across national and international settings”. At this convention, veterans’ treatment court staff had the opportunity to meet and hear from other state’s veterans’ treatment courts and learn what they do and implement new things into their own court. For example, Gordon, the Mentor for the Harnett County veteran’s treatment court said he learned about the importance of finding more resources for the veterans and becoming more involved with the community in order to increase community engagement. The last takeaway I had from attending this workshop was in relation to race and inclusion in the courthouse program. Currently, minorities enrolled in the program have a lower graduation rate than their white counterparts. As a whole the staff recognized this problem and have begun brainstorming new ideas and practices, they can implement into the court to address this issue. Genevie, the case manager for the veteran’s treatment court attended a class at the convention that focused on making the court program more inclusive for minority members. One idea they had was to identify the differences in how different cultures view subjects. For example, different cultures view mental health differently and addressing this off the bat and finding a therapist who can understand and relate to the culture of the veteran specifically, may be more beneficial in the end. Another idea they had was to create an advisory board at the courthouse for people of other cultures to have their needs met. With this advisory board resources for minorities will be better accessible, as an individual may be more familiar with the community and resources to best fit them. Overall, the information obtained from this workshop and shared amongst one another will hopefully make a positive impact on the veterans treatment court and for the veterans of our community.

[kaitlynpolinsky]

Today Jordan, Brandon and I went to the courthouse to record footage for our presentation video!

[kaitlynpolinsky]

We have received back the needs assessments from all of the veterans who completed it. We now have all the data in one spreadsheet, color-coded and ranked for the different levels of needs to give an overall needs score to each veteran.

[kaitlynpolinsky]

Jordan and I at a court session!

[kaitlynpolinsky]

Macro-Post #1:

Over the past month, I have had the honor of working with the Harnett County, District 11, Veteran’s Treatment Court. This experience has opened my eyes to what Veteran’s in our very own community deal with on a daily basis. I have had the opportunity to meet and work alongside a group of very talented and strong-willed individuals who want to make a difference.

Veteran Treatment Court was created in 2008 in New York, by Honorable Robert Russell. There are currently four Veteran’s Treatment Courts (VTC) in North Carolina. The counties that currently have a VTC are Harnett County (District 11), Cumberland County (District 12), Forsyth County (District 21) and Buncombe County (District 28). Because there are only four within the whole state, many veterans enrolled in the program travel long distances, nearly every week to attend the program. The goal of the VTC is to “connect eligible veterans with benefits and treatment earned through military service.” The structure of the VTC is similar to other drug treatment and mental health courts, because they are made up of court officials, community partners and law enforcement. Like foundational competency nine “design a population-based policy, program project or intervention”, the VTC has a list of components that they follow during the court.

At my first visit at the courthouse on August 25, 2021, my practicum team and I had the opportunity to observe both a council meeting and a court session. During the council meeting the VTC team, came together to discuss what the last week looked like for the veteran, the progress they were making and address any needs of the veteran. The council is made up of the VTC director, a district attorney, two defense attorneys, the clerk of court, a mentor, and a case manager. This group continuously works with the veteran’s, week after week. During the actual court session, the Veterans come in in two group depending on their status. The two groups consist of low-risk, high need (1st session) and high-risk, high-need (2nd session). In this process each veteran is called to the judge where they submit a drug test and present their court assignment for the following week. Following this, each veteran who was compliant the following week is given a prize as an incentive for their hard work.

Along with this, my practicum team was split into two groups to work on two different projects: a need assessment and Recovery Trek. Jordan and I are currently working on the needs assessment project. Our assignment is to take the current needs assessment and create a new system so that the VTC can have a further explanation of what the veterans feel they are lacking.

The current system is a form that the veterans fill out upon entrance to the program, and then again, every quarter. The current form has a number of service categories such as housing, mental health, benefits navigation, spiritual enrichment, and transportation, where the veterans will rate each category based on their current situation. The options for rating are full support, marginal support, will need help and need help now. There is also a small section where veterans can make comments on each service category. While this version does help provide insight on the veteran, we were asked to create a questionnaire that will allow the council to have a better understanding of the needs for each category.

We spent the first several weeks of our practicum creating a new questionnaire to assess the needs. In this questionnaire we create 3-10 questions for each category that ask specific questions to better understand their current conditions. We also took into account specific questions related to living in a rural community, and how that affects the needs they are currently facing. This past week we completed the questionnaire, and it has since been given to some of the veterans to complete. As more veterans attend their assigned court date it will eventually be given to all of them.

As we receive the result to the questionnaire, we will be making a spread sheet that will have all of their answers in one place. We will then use this spread sheet to analyze their needs amongst one another and the court will also provide them with resources to assess the needs they are currently facing.

It has been a great opportunity thus far to be able to work on this project and help to make a difference in the lives of the veterans in our community. I look forward to continuing to work with the VTC for the remainder of the semester.

[kaitlynpolinsky]

Jordan and I have begun working on a more in-depth questionnaire that the Veteran’s Treatment Court will be using to better assess the needs of the Veterans in their program.

[kaitlynpolinsky]

The form above is what the Veterans Treatment Court currently uses to assess the needs of the Veterans. To get a better understanding of what the needs of the Veterans participating in this program are, we have begun creating a more intensive questionnaire based on the categories above.

[kaitlynpolinsky]

First official meeting at the Harnett County Courthouse. We had the opportunity to meet the director, Mr. Teachey, as well as observe a staff meeting and see how the court process works.

[kaitlynpolinsky]

My teammates and I exchanging contact information to begin working together on Team Combat!