Conclusion

Veterans encountering the criminal justice system today confront a patchwork of interventions designed to assist them. These programs vary considerably across jurisdictions and are often inaccessible to veterans or undesirable because of location, strict eligibility criteria, and insufficient incentives. To build upon existing efforts, CCJ’s Veterans Justice Commission convened a group of experts to develop a model policy framework. The framework produced by the group broadens eligibility and creates a uniform set of alternatives to prosecution and incarceration based on best practices used in analogous problem-solving courts and community supervision. In so doing, this model policy framework sets the stage for more effective and appropriate interventions for veterans, and ultimately for better safety, health, and justice outcomes for veterans and their families and communities.

The Veterans Justice Commission presents this framework in the hope that the federal government and states will adopt these proposed policy reforms. Moreover, the Commission recognizes the resources required to effectively implement these changes and recommends that the federal government incentivize state adoption by providing funding for the training, data collection, and evaluation outlined in the policy framework.

People who have served this nation in our armed forces have sacrificed to protect us. It is time to better recognize that sacrifice and take steps to ensure that our veterans are not lost in our prisons and jails, but instead receive interventions that can help them resume their responsibilities to their families, their communities, and their country.