They are the men and women who did their duty for us. And now, acknowledging the duty society has to veterans, Jackson County officials are establishing a court especially for them. It will offer alternatives to incarceration for some veterans charged with non-violent crimes. "For 10 years we've been sending them off to fight our wars for us," said Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker. "And it's hard to argue that some are coming home with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) issues." Similar veterans courts have been successful in other areas of the country, and the Kansas City Municipal Court has been operating a veterans court since August 2009. Jackson County's version is a collaborative effort between the circuit court, the prosecutor's office and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. It follows a model that Jackson County pioneered for its drug court in 1993. Instead of putting offenders on the usual criminal prosecution track, drug court focuses on substance abuse rehabilitation. Participants get treatment and job training and pledge to stay drug-free.