Identifying Those Who Served - Modeling Potential Participant Identification in Veterans Treatment Courts

• NCJ Number: 252723
• Journal: Drug Court Review Volume: 1 Dated: Winter 2018 Pages: 11-32
• Author(s): Julie Marie Baldwin; Richard D. Hartley; Erika J. Brooke
• Date Published: 2018
• Length: 21 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2015-VV-BX-K020; 2016-DC-BX-K008
• Agencies: BJA-Sponsored; NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Evaluation; Program/Project Description
• Award: Multi-Site Evaluations of Courts on the Frontline: Systematically Assessing Implementation and Intermediate Outcomes in Veterans Treatment Courts

Annotation

This study examined the ways in which eight veterans treatment courts (VTCs) operating in three states identified potential participants in the court.

Abstract

Process data were collected as part of the National Institute of Justice's (NIJ's) multi-site evaluation of VTCs. Results were examined for procedural successes and challenges in identifying potential VTC participants. Preliminary recommendations for VTC participants identification processes were developed, and implications for the field were determined. The eight locations were representative of urban, mixed, and rural settings, with county veteran populations ranging from 8 percent to 25 percent and various racial and ethnic compositions that ranged from 30 percent to 81 percent White, 6 percent to 38 percent Black, and 6 percent to 60 percent Hispanic. The programs and sites varied in structure, resources, access to VA hospitals and treatment providers, and proximity to military bases. The qualitative data came from the first 18 months (July 2016-December 2017) of field observations, VTC team surveys, and personal queries to VTC team members across the eight sites. The study findings show the primary identifying agents, identification methods, and referral pathways for the majority of potential VTC participants. The results are believed by the researchers to be applicable to numerous VTCs, because of the diversity of the eight programs and locations. Identifiers and referral chains are described in this report. Across the eight sites, four general mechanisms were identified: 1) verbal questions and prompts, 2) written questionnaires, 3) criminal justice agent paperwork, and 4) Veterans Reentry Search (VRSS). The VRSS is an electronic database operated by the Veterans Administration and the Defense Department. Overall, the VRSS is a beneficial mechanism that can be improved to increase efficiency and reliability, and should be publicized to increase its use. 3 figures, 1 table, and 29 references