What can Family Courts Learn from Veterans Treatment Courts?

Abstract

While there is considerable awareness of servicemembers and veterans in contact with the criminal justice system, it is unclear to what extent they, and their readjustment issues, have surfaced in family courts across the country. Veterans Treatment Courts (VTCs) routinely encounter veteran defendants' family issues that could be addressed in a family court. This article provides administrative data from the Veterans Health Administration Veterans Justice Outreach program, which serves veterans in VTCs, that describe the court‐involved veteran and his/her family circumstances, as well as other social and clinical characteristics. It concludes with a discussion of the possible implications of these data in a family court context and suggestions for how family court judges use this and related information regarding U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs health care and benefits to improve their practice with veterans. Key Points for the Family Court Community The data presented in this article are the first to describe the characteristics and service needs of court‐involved veterans with minor children at a national level. These data offer family court practitioners a basic understanding of the potential issues presented by veteran families in their courts. This article identifies existing resources available to address these issues, which practitioners working with veteran families will find useful.