LOS ANGELES (April 2026) — For James DeBacco, a second chance was not a single moment. It was a decision, made day after day, to rebuild a life with purpose.
After serving 30 years in prison, DeBacco, a Marine Corps veteran, reentered the community in 2019 facing a reality familiar to many justice-involved individuals: limited opportunities and an uncertain path forward.
“I didn’t know what to do with my life,” he said. “Because who’s going to hire somebody like me? I didn’t have any skill sets.”
Today, DeBacco serves as a Veterans Treatment Court liaison with the Los Angeles County Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (MVA) Justice-Involved Veterans (JIV) Division. He is also completing his doctorate, continuing a path shaped by growth, accountability, and service.
His path to that work began long before his release. DeBacco grew up in foster care and later served in the military before his incarceration. After his release, he faced the challenge of rebuilding stability and navigating unfamiliar systems.
“You go through life and you don’t know anything,” DeBacco said. “And it takes people that trust you and want to believe in you to actually allow yourself to start believing in yourself.”
For DeBacco, that turning point came through education, connection and the people who saw him beyond his past. He earned an associate’s degree in human services with a focus on addiction studies, followed by a Bachelor of Science degree and a Veteran Services certificate from California State University, Los Angeles. He later completed his Master of Social Work at USC.
“I live by a simple philosophy, that I’m trying to elevate myself to the highest level that I can so that I can reach back and lift others up to join me,” he said.
DeBacco also confronted difficult experiences from his military service, including surviving military sexual trauma, something he said was critical to his ability to move forward.
“That’s not easy to even talk about,” DeBacco said. “But it was being able to talk about that… that enabled me to move forward.”
That personal experience now informs his work with justice-involved veterans. In his role with the JIV Division, DeBacco helps veterans navigating the court system connect to housing, behavioral health care, benefits and other support that can help stabilize their lives.
“Where I’m at today in my life is light years from where I’ve come from,” he said. “But it’s because of those experiences that I’ve gone through as how I’m able to reach across the aisle and talk to judges, talk to DAs, and openly have communication and conversations with people that I used to hold contempt.”
In Veterans Treatment Court, DeBacco works with justice system partners to connect veterans to treatment, services and support aimed at long-term stability.
“To be a part of the Justice-Involved Veterans Division has got to be the greatest honor that I could ever acknowledge in my life because it really shows that what we’re trying to do is to change lives,” he said.
That mission is rooted in understanding the trauma many veterans carry, whether from combat, military sexual trauma, personal hardship or the difficult transition from military to civilian life.
“Trauma is real,” DeBacco said. “But the bottom line is that many veterans don’t really understand when they’re experiencing trauma.”
For DeBacco, veteran-specific support matters because military service leaves an imprint that is not always visible to others.
“Veterans go through experiences that nonveterans will never understand,” he said. “From the moment you sign your name on that dotted line, from the moment you step off that bus and for Marines who land on those yellow footprints, your world now becomes transformed.”
That understanding shapes how the JIV Division approaches its work. DeBacco said the goal is not to excuse harm or erase accountability, but to recognize the humanity of veterans who are struggling and help them access treatment, services and a path forward.
“Just because you’ve made some poor decisions and bad choices in your past doesn’t mean you’re thrown away,” he said.
In Veterans Treatment Court, DeBacco sees that transformation take shape over time.
“It’s exciting to see somebody go through a 12- to 18-month process, get their life back on track and be rebirthed back into society,” he said.
Second Chance Month, observed each April, recognizes the importance of creating real opportunities for people impacted by the justice system to rebuild their lives. For DeBacco, that meaning is deeply personal.
“I think having a second chance is priceless,” he said. “Having people believe in you for who you are, not for what you’ve done in the past and risen above, but who you are in the moment and what you represent as a human being in the present.”
Today, DeBacco is helping others find the support, patience and belief that helped change his own life. Through the JIV Division, that work continues across Los Angeles County, connecting justice-involved veterans to services, dignity and the possibility of a different future.
Story by Ashley Cohen, Public Information Associate, Los Angeles County Department of Military and Veterans Affairs
