A National Survey of Veterans Treatment Court Actors

Abstract

Several controversies surround Veterans Treatment Courts (VTCs), such as excluding veterans who commit violent offenses and requiring a direct relationship between a veteran’s charges and mental health diagnosis. The aim of this study was to examine VTC actors’ perceptions of these issues via a national survey. VTC Judges, Coordinators, and Veterans Affairs liaisons were presented two randomly assigned hypothetical clients and asked their perceptions of the hypothetical clients’ eligibility for VTC. The violent crime committed by the clients and their mental health diagnoses were manipulated in these scenarios. Participants were also asked for their perceptions of VTC issues and to describe the current practices of their VTCs. Results indicated participants were supportive of the domestic violence client’s participation in VTC, regardless of diagnosis, however most were not supportive of the involuntary manslaughter clients’ participation. Implications for future research and policy are discussed.