In May 2017, New Jersey established the New Jersey Veterans Criminal Diversion Program, which provides access to counseling services, job placement, medical services and potential Veteran’s Administration benefits to veterans who find themselves in trouble with the criminal justice system.
Although the program went into effect in December, there is still a tremendous lack of awareness about it, said Thomas Roughneen, the immediate past chair of the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) Military Law and Veterans’ Affairs Section. To help remedy that problem and ensure the program is successfully implemented, on March 8 the NJSBA will host “No One Left Behind,” an educational seminar that will include an overview of the new law as well as a look at a similar, more local program that the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office has been running for many years.
