Veterans Treatment Courts Research Articles

Are Victims’ Rights Honored in Veterans Courts? A Statewide Assessment of Law on the Books versus Law in Action

ABSTRACT Veterans treatment courts provide alternative resolution of a wide variety of crimes, including crimes of victimization, for eligible veterans. These courts have been evaluated on multiple fronts, from eligibility to outcomes, yet almost no scholarly attention has been given to whether these courts incorporate victims’ rights into operations. This study of veterans treatment courts in one state employs content analysis, surveys, and interviews to examine these courts through a victims’ rights lens. The authors conclude that the courts omit victims’ rights from most of their procedures but seem amenable to adopting policy changes to improve responsiveness to victims’ needs.

Noble Intent Is Not Enough To Run Veterans Court Mentoring Programs: A Qualitative Study of Mentors’ Role Orientation and Responsibilities

Mentoring is a key component of veterans treatment courts, a diversionary problem-solving court for justice-involved military veterans. Mentoring programs are unique to veterans’ courts; no other problem-solving courts systematically include them as critical components of their court programming. Despite their prominence in veterans courts, little is known about mentor program operations and court expectations for mentors’ roles and responsibilities. This study examines mentors’ roles and responsibilities as perceived by mentees, mentors, and veterans treatment court staff. Using in-depth interview data from respondents from each of these groups, supplemented by observational data from court hearings and pre-court meetings, we identify three types of mentoring styles: enforcers, sponsor/advocates, and friend. We find a lack of clarity in mentors’ roles and responsibilities, which negatively impacted mentor-mentee relationships and mentors’ relationships with the court. The three mentoring styles identified in this study offer veterans treatment courts a framework to shape and refine the mentor role and guide future efforts to provide standardized training for mentors.

Perceptions of legal legitimacy in veterans treatment courts: A test of a modified version of procedural justice theory.

Perceptions of the legitimacy of a society's legal system help explain individual responses to courts and legal actors. Normative considerations such as fair and respectful treatment as well as social identification have demonstrated the ability to enhance perceived legal legitimacy and future cooperation. Veterans treatment courts (VTCs) are a rapidly disseminating and understudied intervention. Their targeting of a socially esteemed group presents an interesting venue to explore normative theories of justice. The present study tested a modified version of Tyler's theory of procedural justice in this setting. We hypothesized that procedural justice, social bonds, and receipt of gratitude for military service would be positively associated with veteran identity and legal legitimacy. We further hypothesized that participants' identification as veterans would mediate the relationships between the three independent variables and legitimacy. A cross-sectional survey design was used with a convenience sample (N = 191) of participants in two VTCs. Analyses controlled for race, ethnicity, recidivism risk, and combat exposure. Perceptions of procedural justice, social bonds, and receipt of gratitude were positively associated with veteran identity and perceptions of legal legitimacy. Further, veteran identity was found to be a significant mediator between the first three constructs and legal legitimacy. The results support the importance of procedural justice in explaining perceptions of legal legitimacy in a novel context that is rapidly proliferating and understudied and has unique social identity considerations. The addition of gratitude and veteran identity to Tyler's model raises implications for VTC practice and further inquiry. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Special Therapeutic Justice Program for the Crime Treatment of Risk Taking Government Employee with PTSD: Focusing on the Veterans Treatment Courts in the United States

국가와 국민을 위하여 헌신하여 위험한 업무임에도 불구하고 자신의 직무를성실히 이행하였으나, 그로 인하여 정신적 충격을 받고 외상 후 스트레스 장애를 입게 되는 공무원들(경찰공무원, 소방공무원, 군인 등)이 있다. 미국은 치료적 사법개념과 문제해결법원 제도가 어느 정도 정착되어 있었는데 이를 기반으로, ‘베테랑 치료법원’이라는 새로운 문제해결법원을 설립하였다. 전쟁의경험으로 인해 외상 후 스트레스 장애를 입게 된 베테랑 출신의 범죄자들을대상으로 특별한 치료프로그램을 제공하여 이수자들의 재범률을 줄이고 있다. 미국은 베테랑 치료법원을 통해 국가에 봉사한 사람을 배려하고, 그 희생에 대하여 성실하게 보상하며, 선량한 시민으로의 복귀를 촉진하여 결국 국가의 비용을 감축하게 되었다. 하지만 베테랑에 대한 특혜라는 논란, 선정범위 논란, 필요성과 효과성에 대한 의문, 적법절차에 대한 비판, 공평한 이용과 비표준화된 참여기준, 그리고 베테랑에 대한 고정관점의 고착화라는 비판들은 중요한문제점과 고려사항을 간과해서는 안 된다. 따라서 이러한 논의를 바탕으로 우리나라에 이 제도를 응용하여 적용할 수 있는지에 대한 방안을 말미에 간략히 제시하였다.Civil servants(policemen, firefighters, soldiers, etc.) who engage in dangerous tasks sometimes suffer post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from the tasks. The United States of America has implemented and settled the Therapeutic Justice Program and Problem-Solving Court, which paved the way for the Veterans Treatment Court. The Veterans Treatment Court contributes to reducing the recidivism rates of program-completed-veteran who experienced PTSD from the war by providing a special treatment system. It serves the people who served the country, compensates them for their sacrifices, helps them return to society, and helps save government cost. However, programs supported by the Veterans Treatment Court have to consider a privilege for the veterans, selection range of them, their necessity and effectiveness, due process of law, fair application and non-standardized participation criteria, and stereotyping of veterans. In the end, we briefly suggest how to apply this program in South Korea.

Veteran Treatment Court Clients’ Perceptions of Procedural Justice and Recidivism

Studies surrounding the effectiveness of veterans’ treatment courts (VTCs) are now emerging. Absent from this scholarship is an examination of the presence of procedural justice within VTCs and the influence of procedural justice on future criminal behavior of VTC clients. To begin this dialogue, this study surveys 41 clients enrolled in two VTCs in a Southern state. We explore client perceptions of procedurally just treatment by their judge and assigned supervision officer. Using an average follow-up time of 20 months, this study also examines the effects of perceptions of procedural justice on recidivism of court clients. Results find VTC clients perceive their judge and supervision officer treat them in a procedurally just manner. Interestingly, perceptions of procedural justice during interactions did not result in reduced recidivism among the current sample. Policy and program implications along with recommendations for future research are provided.

If You Build It, Will Vets Come? An Identity Theory Approach to Expanding Veterans’ Treatment Court Participation

Veterans’ treatment courts (VTCs) provide a veteran-centric diversion option to traditional court case processing. These courts have proliferated across the United States without much consideration about whether veterans want, or need, a specialty court. In this article, we investigate the underlying importance of a veteran identity in the decision to enroll in a VTC. Based on in-depth qualitative interviews with veterans, we identify four primary implications for practitioners. First, veterans are ashamed of their criminal justice involvement. Second, they are concerned about increased punitiveness by criminal justice actors, particularly law enforcement, because of their veteran status. Third, veterans perceive the VTC process to bestow upon them stigma and retaliation. Fourth, veterans resist VTC involvement for fear of dishonoring their branch of service. To expand enrollment, results demonstrate that practitioners should consider how veterans reconcile their veteran and offender identities when considering VTC enrollment.

A National Survey of Veterans Treatment Court Actors

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.

Embedding a Co-occurring Disorders Rehabilitation Intervention in Veterans Courts: A Pilot Study with Male Veterans.

Veterans treatment courts (VTCs) have expanded dramatically despite their limited empirical base. This pilot study examined MISSION-Criminal Justice (CJ), a co-occurring disorders wraparound intervention, delivered alongside two VTCs. Baseline data from 26 male veterans enrolled in two VTCs and MISSION-CJ, and 6-month follow-up data for 18 of the 26 veterans, are presented. Veterans on average were 37.5years old, 85% Caucasian, had significant histories of criminal justice involvement (14.3 lifetime arrests), had an average of 14.7years of alcohol use and 9.3years of illicit drug use, and roughly three-quarters reported mental health symptomatology. At 6-month follow-up, veterans demonstrated improvements in behavioral health, substance use, and criminal justice outcomes. This study demonstrated promising preliminary outcomes of MISSION-CJ in VTCs. A randomized controlled trial is a critical next step to examine whether these outcomes remain consistent with a more rigorous design.

Do you think some veterans are receiving a “get out of jail free” card? Examining support for Veterans Treatment Court as a function of mental health and offense type

To investigate if and how support for Veterans Treatment Court changed as a consequence of the veteran’s mental health label (PTSD, war injury, no mental illness) and offense type (DUI, DUI with injury, aggravated battery). Participants read one of nine fictitious news articles about a veteran recently arrested for a crime, and were then asked questions regarding whether that veteran’s case should be allowed in Veterans Court, stigma of the veteran, and perceptions of this specialty court. Those who believed the veteran had PTSD were the most supportive of his participation and the least likely to believe the program was a “get out of jail free” card. Additionally, despite including a violent crime, participants across each offense type were supportive of the veteran’s participation in the court. While some research notes veterans may experience shame because of their PTSD diagnosis, we found that this label resulted in more support for the program. The inclusion of some violent offenses was also supported; however, further research is needed to explore where that backing ends.

Worthy of Justice: A Veterans Treatment Court in Practice

This article examines the purpose and practice of a Veterans Treatment Court (VTC), a new type of problem‐solving court designed to connect qualifying former service members in the criminal justice system with social services. While existing studies of VTCs explain these courts by focusing on veterans' distinct needs or deservingness based on their military service, this article argues that these courts are being created because of societal beliefs about veteran worth. By revealing how court staff, participants, and volunteers in one VTC invoke beliefs about veteran worth, the findings of this study show that VTCs link worth to veteran identity, leaving participants suspended in conflicting notions of state and individual responsibility for criminal behavior.

Comparing the treatment needs of participants with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders in drug and veterans treatment courts

ABSTRACTObjective: Despite the growing research on the effectiveness of specialty courts, including drug treatment courts (DTCs) and veterans treatment courts (VTCs), little is known about the unique treatment needs of individuals with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders (COD) who are commonly served by these courts. This pilot study examines individuals with COD across two DTCs and two VTCs in Massachusetts to understand the characteristics and treatment needs of these unique populations.Methods: Baseline data for 112 individuals enrolled in a community-based COD treatment program within two DTCs (N = 86) and two VTCs (N = 26) with a Monte Carlo simulation of 10,000 samples were analyzed to assess differences in treatment needs.Results: DTC participants experienced more lifetime convictions (p = .000), months incarcerated (p = .000), and had a longer lifetime history of illicit drug use (p = .004). Meanwhile, a higher proportion of VTC participants experienced trauma (p < .002) and chronic medical problems (p < .001), and VTC participants experienced more severe acute behavioral health symptoms as measured by the BASIS-32 (p = .021).Conclusions: Given the unique differences in treatment needs between DTC and VTC participants, these findings have implications for specialty court management such as treatment planning, referrals to meet participants’ service needs, and even docket sizes.

Take a Load off Fanny: Peer Mentors in Veterans Treatment Courts

This article explores the role of mentors in three veterans treatment courts (VTCs) in two Midwestern states. VTCs have existed for more than 10 years and continue to flourish across local, state, and federal jurisdictions. Yet, little is known about the factors related to program compliance, completion, and reductions in recidivism. Many VTCs consider peer mentors as a key link between the court workgroup, program participants, and ultimately program outcomes. Thus, this study uses individual and focus-group data from interviews with veteran mentors and VTC team members along with field observations in various VTC settings to better understand the role of peer mentors. The research begins with an overview of the recruitment, selection, training, and retention of mentors. Secondly, the study examines the impact of these mentor programs and concludes with recommendations for further evaluation of the role of mentors and other key stakeholders regarding program compliance, completion, and recidivism reduction.

Participants Perceptions of Veterans Treatment Courts: A Qualitative Assessment and Systems Model

This qualitative study explores veteran treatment court (VTC) participant perceptions of the judicial processes within the court, their experiences with the judge and other court actors, and the relationship between their military service and criminal activity. Purposive sampling was employed to recruit a sample of 13 justice-involved veterans, who at the time of interviewing, were being adjudicated in a VTC located in the southeastern United States. Semi-structured interviewing was used to capture veteran perceptions of VTC. Five unique themes emerged, while perceptions of court actors and the connection between their military service and crime had three themes, respectively. From these themes, we developed a maladaptive coping model to illustrate the experiences of veterans in veteran courts. The study results are intended to inform policy makers, judicial actors, and veteran service providers as they design judicial responses for veteran offenders.

When a Veterans’ Treatment Court Fails: Lessons Learned from a Qualitative Evaluation

ABSTRACTMore than 500 veterans treatment courts (VTCs) provide thousands of eligible veterans across the nation alternative means of resolving criminal charges through a therapeutic, judicially supervised programs. The majority of those VTCs mandate that veteran participants work with a volunteer veteran mentor throughout their tenure in VTC programs. Mentoring has been heralded as a critical and valuable component of VTCs, and it is believed that mentoring discourages substance abuse and promotes adherence to substance abuse interventions. But very little is known about how mentoring actually works. Scant research documents how mentors interact with mentees, what their responsibilities are, or what impact they have on veterans’ progress through rigorous VTC protocols. Through interview data collected following the death of a veteran mentee in a northeastern Study VTC, this research provides in-depth analysis of how mentors and mentees understand their responsibilities with respect to illicit substance use and violations of VTCs’ sobriety requirements. This article provides background data on VTCs and veterans who participate in them, then explores interview and documentary data as part of a case study of a policy failure in the Study VTC. The article concludes with recommendations that could improve mentor/mentee relationships and VTC participants’ access to treatment.

Pausing in the wake of rapid adoption: A call to critically examine the veterans treatment court concept

Veterans treatment courts (VTCs) are currently the fastest growing specialized court in the United States. In the wake of this rapid dissemination, the field has begun to empirically research VTCs but has acknowledged that little is known about them. While initial examinations of VTC program structure, operation, and outcomes have been conducted, the concept itself has yet to be critically examined to date. Therefore, this work calls attention to the need for critical discussions and evaluations of the VTC concept itself, specifically its underlying assumptions and ongoing policies and practices. To begin this inquiry, we first discern several assumptions on which the VTC concept exists and then analyze the related discourse and criticism available to assess the validity and potential effects of these assumptions. Next, several VTC policies and practices that are based in these assumptions and have the potential to be discriminatory are identified, and their current implementation and effects are investigated. A discussion of the identified assumptions and practices congruity with punishment philosophies ensues. Finally, state of empirical knowledge on VTCs is reviewed, revealing its infancy. The conclusion highlights key elements discovered in this work and presents corresponding recommendations and guidance for future consideration and research.

A Qualitative Examination of the Experiences of Veterans Treatment Court Graduates in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

U.S. Veterans treatment courts (VTCs) serve justice-involved Veterans with behavioral health and reintegration issues. However, there is paucity of efforts examining VTC participants' experiences and distinguishing the unique operations of VTCs. We summarize a descriptive history of a large VTC program in a major metropolitan area (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) and examine the experiences of this VTC's participants. We used content analysis to code VTC graduation proceeding transcripts with complementary content data from resources distributed by the presiding Judge to entering participants. From 2009 through 2016, 118 Veterans were graduated, averaging 9 to 12 months for completion for those with felony or non-felony charges, and blended monitoring with positive reinforcement within a three-stage program. From 62 VTC graduates across eight graduations, testimonies centered on gratitude toward the treatment team, treatment readiness, treatments received, and reintegration. As several theoretical frameworks on behavior change exist, opportunities remain to enhance the delivery of the VTC.

Veterans Treatment Court Impact on Veteran Mental Health and Life Satisfaction

Veterans Treatment Court Impact on Veteran Mental Health and Life Satisfaction Linda M. Montgomery, Ph.D; James N. Olson, Ph.D. Abstract After discharge from the military, veterans may experience significant readjustment stress, including involvement with the criminal justice system. For veterans who find themselves in the criminal justice system, the Veterans Treatment Court (VTC) offers a pre-trial diversion program rather than incarceration. In 2016, the 285th District Court in Midland Texas began accepting veterans in theirnew VTC. Participation involved mental health and/or substance use treatment, attending mentoring groups, and employment.Over 18 months, 29 Veterans were invited to participate in the VTC; 26 entered the program, and of these, 16 successfully completed the program (graduated); 3 were discharged due to continued arrests, substance use, or failure to show for services. A battery of mental health and life satisfaction questionnaires were administered upon entry, 6 months, and 1 year. For Veterans who graduated, the PCL-5 and DASS-21 showed reducedPTSD symptoms, depression, anxiety, and stress. Furthermore, the number of Veterans scoring in the normal range of symptoms on the PCL-5 and DASS-21 increased after 6 months. Graduates exhibited greater life satisfaction, social support, and psychological well-being, andhad no interaction with law enforcement. It was suggested that peer restoration components of VTC programs are vital for success. Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/jpbs.v6n1a1

The Best-Fitting Uniform: Balancing Legislative Standards and Judicial Processes in Veterans Treatment Courts

The Best-Fitting Uniform: Balancing Legislative Standards and Judicial Processes in Veterans Treatment Courts

Serving those Who Served: Outcomes from the San Diego Veterans Treatment Review Calendar (SDVTRC) Pilot Program

Veterans Treatment Courts (VTCs) are a type of specialty treatment, problem-solving, criminal court. Though the number of VTCs has increased over the past decade, few research studies have examined their effectiveness. This paper examines the data collected concerning a particular VTC experience, the first 82 Veterans enrolled in the Veterans Treatment Review Calendar Pilot Program conducted by the California Superior Court of the county of San Diego from February 2011 until July 2014 (SDVTRC.) The evidence presented herein concerns the nature of this cohort’s population, the SDVTRC program structure in which these Veterans participated, and the outcomes of participation. SDVTRC participants showed a significant decrease in symptoms on 11 of 12 clinical measures from baseline to 12 months. Particular outcomes of the SDVTRC program were related to factors of military service, such as length of service, number of awards, and discharge status. There were also significant relationships between symptom decrease and court process factors, such as length of time in program and sanctions imparted. This court has a 0% recidivism rate, which is believed to be related to its systematic data collection process that was used to inform individualized treatment plans for participants. Implications for other VTCs are provided.

A Longitudinal Examination of Veterans Treatment Courts' Characteristics and Eligibility Criteria.

Although the number of Veterans Treatment Courts (VTCs) has been growing at a rapid rate, thus far, VTC components have not been standardized, due in part to a lack of empirical evidence on the extent to which components vary across VTCs nationwide and change over time. This study analyzed data collected by the Department of Veterans Affairs' Veterans Justice Program, on VTCs in 2012 (n = 173 Courts), 2013 (n = 266), and 2014 (n = 351), to describe Court characteristics, participant eligibility criteria, and Courts' mentoring component. Despite growth in VTC numbers, the survey found consistency over time in these aspects of VTCs. Regarding characteristics, the majority of Courts had jurisdiction at the county level. Across survey years, the range of means was 22-24 for veteran participant census, 10-14 for number of months spent in the Court for misdemeanors, and 18-19 for number of months spent in the Court for felonies. Eligibility requirements suggested openness to veterans of different backgrounds and status. Less than two thirds of Courts had the mentoring component; Courts with the mentoring component had a higher participant census and a longer duration of participants' time under Court supervision than Courts without this component. Existing mentoring programs were organized mainly by volunteers. VTCs' adherence to policies supportive of veterans may benefit from having paid mentor coordinators in order to further ensure this hallmark of VTCs.