"Executive Summary: National Survey of Veterans Treatment Courts"

The title of this post is the title of this notable new paper on SSRN by Julie Marie Baldwin.  Here is the abstract:

This summary reports the major results from the author’s dissertation research using data collected from a national survey administered to 79 Veterans Treatment Courts (VTCs) in 2012.  This research produced a comprehensive national overview of VTCs; the complete findings, additional analysis, and an in-depth case study of a VTC can be found in her dissertation titled “Veterans Treatment Courts: Studying Dissemination, Implementation, and Impact of Treatment-Oriented Criminal Courts” (University of Florida).

And here are just a few of the notable findings from the paper's list of 28 "key findings":

VTCs are actively operating in most states with increases in membership and continuing to disseminate nationwide.

About one in five eligible veterans opt out or drop out, primarily because they consider the VTC program too rigorous or they do not want treatment....

The majority of VTC participants are male, white, and between 21 and 30 years of age; served in OIF/OEF/OND and in the Army; and have veteran status and trauma experience....

In the VTC participant population, there is a significant overrepresentation of veterans who are African American, Hispanic or Latino, under the age of 40, from the OIF/OEF/OND era, or served in the Marine Corps.

Drug-related offenses were the most reported type of offense to bring male and female veterans to VTC.

The majority of male and female VTC participants face substance abuse, mental health, and family challenges.

The majority of VTCs broadly define their target populations in their mission statements, but nearly half of VTCs exclude veterans who have been dishonorably discharged or have a current felony charge.

Funding sources vary between VTCs, and slightly less than half receive funding outside of their traditional court budget.

Most VTCs have a single judge, use a reward/sanction ladder, operate at the county level, and utilize peer mentors....

Overall, VTCs evaluate many areas of possible need and offer a wide variety of services to participants, including mental health, substance abuse, housing, vocational, and transportation services....

All VTCs require participants to attend treatment sessions, and the majority require participants to frequently appear in court and check in with VTC personnel, sign a contract, plead guilty, and go on probation....

Passing drug screens was the most difficult requirement for both male and female participants; however, difficulty levels with all other requirements varied by sex....

Overall, the majority of respondents believe there is definitely or probably a relationship between military service, personal challenges, and involvement in the criminal justice system.