Martin Bean
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and counties create partnerships to enhance access to and continuity of care for veterans in local justice systems. The federal government should expand programs that help connect justice-involved veterans with benefits they have earned through the VA. The department’s Veterans Justice Outreach (VJO) program, for instance, funds 314 VJO specialists across the country, who have served more than 180,000 justice-involved veterans since the creation of the program in 2009. Programs such as the VJO help identify veterans when they are processed into local jails, thereby allowing jail health administrators to better meet the unique health needs of these individuals, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or substance use disorder.
Veteran treatment courts help justice-involved veterans rehabilitate and avoid recidivism. They allow communities to serve justice-involved veterans in a way that is specifically tailored to their needs and experiences. For example, veterans treatment courts are experienced with (PTSD), and the judges overseeing these courts are more familiar with the VA, state Veterans Affairs departments, locally based veteran service organizations, and other veteran-specific resources that may be outside of the justice system but can still help a veteran rehabilitate and avoid their recidivism.
Veteran Detainees at Pre-Trial
Upon arrest, the court detains an individual in a pre-trial release hearing. During that hearing, a judge rules on whether to release the individual and whether any conditions, such as bail, should be set for that release (The Hamilton Project, 2018). Pre-trial detainees are divided into two categories: those who a judge has remanded because they are a danger to the community or pose the risk of failing to appear at trial and those who are detained purely on the inability to afford bail.
Pre-trial detainees are also disproportionately people of color. Blacks and Latinos represent 50 percent of the total pre-trial detainee jail population and are more likely to be held due to their inability to pay monetary bail. Data indicates that the average black man, black woman, and Hispanic woman in local jails who are unable to post a bail bond, lived below the poverty line before incarceration (Prison Policy, 2016).
service-connected
If you are in jail for a felony, the VA will reduce or terminate your disability benefits after your 61st day in jail. If you were rated at 20% or higher for a service-connected disability prior to going to jail, your monthly benefit will get reduced to 10%.
Eligibility–VA can pay certain benefits to Veterans who are incarcerated in a Federal, State, or local penal institution; however, the amount depends on the type of benefit and reason for incarceration.
Severance of Disability
VA can stop a veteran’s disability benefits if it deletes service connection for the veteran’s disability. Veterans do have certain due process rights when VA proposes to sever their service-connected disability, such as VA must give them notice that they are proposing to sever service connection and give the veteran an opportunity to argue against the proposal. However, if VA finds that severance of service connection is now warranted, it will discontinue the veteran’s disability payments as the veteran will no longer be service connected for that condition.
VA can only properly delete service connections for a veteran’s disability if fraud is detected or if they made a clear and unmistakable error in the decision that granted service connection. When the veteran has been service connected for the condition for ten years or more, how can VA benefits be reinstated after incarceration? Since the VA does not automatically reinstate a veteran’s benefits when released from incarceration, the veteran must apply to have his or her benefits reinstated. The application must include official documentation of the veteran’s release from incarceration.
Jail Incarceration Programs
San Diego, California, known for its beautiful beaches and year-round weather, is called America’s Finest City. It also shares a distinct military namesake of Navy Town USA. In a calm and orderly pod of North San Diego County’s Vista Detention Facility an occasional “Ooh-rah,” the solidarity cry of the U.S. Marine Corps interrupts the quiet that is a rarity in county jails. The 32 men incarcerated here, from all branches of service, are part of an experiment in which they address the special needs of military veterans to improve their odds of success upon release. Military veterans often cite PTSD, traumatic brain injury, depression, anxiety, drugs and alcohol as the cause of legal woes.
In November 2013, the Sheriff’s Department and Veterans Administration launched the Veterans Moving Forward Program, a structured and therapeutic jail unit to address veterans’ needs in a supportive environment. Jail administrators began introducing the idea of the veterans’ pod about six months before it opened to prepare staff for the change. “It’s an ongoing battle to educate staff, but they are seeing it is easier to manage this population,” said a jail administrator.
It quickly became a model that has positively influenced even the neighboring pods housing administratively segregated inmates, who often emulate the behavior they see and have become easier to manage, jail officials say. Veterans attend classes from 6:30 a.m. until 4 p.m., and sometimes later. They must work and study alongside all of their peers, no matter race or nationality. That alone separates it from other jail groups where combative cliques often are formed based on ethnicity and gang affiliation. Veterans are used to living in a group, following rules and regulations in a structured environment.
They tend to have a higher level of education than our other inmates, know how to work together for a common cause, and there’s a brotherhood that exists. Almost all of them, from Day 1, support each other,” said a jail commander. “Something we did not expect was that the other inmates are changing their ways out of respect for the veterans.” As of August 2014, 85 offenders had been a part of the program, we have released 44, and six went back to the general population because they didn’t want to take part in programming. There have been zero disciplinary incidents in the unit. Only three veterans have returned to jail, two for violating the terms of their electronic monitoring and the third for a technical probation violation. One went back into an in-patient drug treatment program a few days later. Fifty inmates are on a waiting list, and jail officials are exploring the addition of a second unit.
“I was at a point when I couldn’t take it anymore,” said Kevin, a former Marine, who is taking part in the unit. “I have anger problems; I know that. Here we try to be conscious of each other’s problems and understand where each other is coming from. I know there’s a reason I’m here, and I thank San Diego County for this process.” San Diego County is home to Camp Pendleton, the Marine Corps Naval Air Station Miramar, the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, the Naval Base Coronado, and Point Loma Navy Base, as well as 250,000 veterans. But other counties are adopting similar programs, including Kern and Riverside. Jail officials looked at several national and state veteran modules, including one in San Francisco, before adapting their own program.
The veterans receive group and individual incentives for good behavior and programming success, including soda machine vouchers, access to art supplies, extra telephone time and visits, more exercise time, and a pillow. “My daily plan for my life no longer consists of staying out of jail. That’s how I was living and I know that it’s flawed. Thinking for a change is such a simple concept, but it’s good,” said another offender who is one of the original 32 men assigned to the unit. “In the past, I made my decisions as emotional snap judgments,” said Anthony, a US Navy veteran. “In this module, I’m forced to face situations I’m uncomfortable with in a non-hostile environment.”
Probation-Veteran Reentry Release Plans
Prior to their release, the veteran’s justice outreach specialist from the VA catches up with their wellness coverage and completes their healthcare plus other benefits so that their progress can continue outside the wall. Most go into in-patient and out-patient programs. We refer others to VA-funded homeless outreach programs such as the Veterans Village of San Diego, which delivers psychological, substance abuse, and other services to homeless vets. Each veteran leaves with a reentry plan. They have risked their lives in order to maintain a free America, and providing them with steps that positively impact their lives, is a simple, yet resounding way to thank them for their service.
Dakota County Minnesota Program
In 2018, Dakota County, under the watch of Sheriff Tim Leslie, established the Justice-Involved Veterans (JIV) program to improve
service delivery to veterans involved with the county’s criminal justice system. The program is an integrated service delivery model that was created to not only identify the unique issues faced by veterans in the criminal justice system but to make available existing systems for veterans to interact with additional needed services.
Through further collaboration with the community corrections department, the sheriff’s office, and the veteran’s services department, the program creates a network of care that addresses the underlying behavioral health and other issues that lead veterans into the criminal justice system, while maintaining Dakota County’s public trust and safety.
Seminole County Florida Program
Seminole County Chief Laura Bedard, Ph.D. details their Veteran’s Program, which is maintained in a separate designated professional pod for assigned incarcerated veterans’ successful rehabilitation. “We fly the flags of all the military branches and provide classes. We have related program opportunities both in person and via our electronic system,” said Chief Bedard. Recreation opportunities and group participation activities are available daily. The jail facility provides on-site mental health staff professionals with a more relaxed atmosphere than other structures on the jail compound.
Chief Bedard mentioned that incarcerated adults self-report their military involvement which is then verified with the VA upon their arrival. The results have been encouraging and the VA assures continuity of care for each veteran upon their release, completing the full circle of their care network.