Military experience is life-changing. Following active duty, many Veterans experience difficulty integrating back into civilian life. Unfortunately, some Veterans enter the criminal justice system instead of getting the help they need – services that can help change lives, support reintegration, intervene in substance abuse and mental health issues, and prevent repeated arrests.
Since
October 2008, the Lexington VA Medical Center has been working with the court system
and local law enforcement to identify justice-involved
Veterans to prevent homelessness, decrease re-incarceration, and reduce the
effects of medical, psychiatric, and substance abuse problems on readjustment. We believe our Veterans Justice Outreach and
Healthcare for Re-Entry Veterans programs are needed now more than ever.
Veterans Justice
Outreach: One of our goals is to avoid unnecessary
criminalization and incarceration of Veterans with mental health and/or other
issues. Today, VA continues to make a system-wide effort to ensure access to
services for the justice-involved Veteran. A justice-involved Veteran is one who:
·
is
in contact with the local law enforcement who can be appropriately diverted
from arrest into mental health or substance abuse treatment;
·
in
a local jail, either pretrial or serving a sentence; or
·
is
involved in adjudication or monitoring by a court.
Each VA medical center has a Veterans Justice Outreach
(VJO) specialist, who serves as the liaison between Veterans, VA, and the local
justice system. In this role, they work with the courts to help eligible
justice-involved Veterans get needed mental health and substance abuse services
when clinically indicated, and other VA services and benefits. These can
include assessment, treatment planning, and referrals to VA.
VJO specialists may be involved in various types of
cases, misdemeanors or felonies. However, it is the responsibility of the court
to decide if diversion and/or release is in the interests of public safety and
justice. With a Veteran's consent, the specialist can:
·
assist
the courts in developing a service and linkage plan,
·
keep
officers of the court informed of Veteran’s compliance with their treatment
programs, and
·
provide
training for law enforcement officers about the signs and symptoms for Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder and traumatic brain injury.
Healthcare for
Re-Entry Veterans: This program provides
outreach and assessment to Veterans who are within 6 months of release from
state and federal prisons, with the goals of:
·
preventing
homelessness
·
reducing
the impact of medical, psychiatric, and substance abuse problems upon community
re-adjustment
·
decreasing
the likelihood of re-incarceration
Some of the services
we provide include:
§ outreach and pre-release assessments
§ referrals to medical, psychiatric, and social services
including employment services upon release
§ short term case management
At Lexington VA Medical Center, we are committed to healing justice-involved Veterans by providing effective justice
outreach and re-entry programs. If you are
currently working with Veterans and would like more information on these
programs, please contact Kathy Vasquez,
LCSW at (859) 233-4511, ext. 3177 or Janis
Durham, LCSW at (859) 233-4511, ext. 3125.
