The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Justice Outreach (VJO) Program is a preventionfocused component of VA’s Homeless Programs Office (HPO), whose mission is to end homelessness among Veterans. Since the program was founded in 2009, VJO Specialists at every VA medical center have provided outreach to justice-involved Veterans in various settings, including jails and courts. As of November 2020, VJO Specialists report serving in 601 Veterans Treatment Courts (VTCs) and other Veteran-focused court programs across the U.S. The number of these courts has grown significantly since June 2016, when VJO Specialists reported serving in 461 courts. 

VTCs are initiated, funded, and operated by local governments, rather than by VA. However, VA directly supports VTCs through the participation of its VJO Specialists as members of VTC treatment teams, and through the health care services it provides to Veteran defendants, most of whom would otherwise receive care at county expense. The Specialists assess Veteran defendants’ treatment needs, link Veterans with appropriate VA treatment services, and (with the Veterans’ permission) provide regular updates to the

court on their progress in treatment. VA’s role in a VTC is limited to the treatment-related aspects of the court process; VA does not decide which Veteran defendants should be admitted to a VTC or define the level of offenses (e.g., misdemeanor vs. felony) that a VTC will accept. VJO Specialists work closely with justice system partners as they plan new VTCs, informing the partners about VA services that would be available to Veterans defendants locally or regionally. However, as with all VJO-related services, the Specialists do not advocate specifically for the use a particular model or set numerical targets for desired VTC growth. Instead, they help communities plan to meet the needs of justice-involved Veterans using approaches that best fit local circumstances.