Dayton VA Medical Center, Ohio

The purpose of the Veteran Justice Outreach (VJO) initiative is to avoid the unnecessary criminalization of mental illness and extended incarceration among Veterans by ensuring that eligible justice-involved Veterans have timely access to VHA mental health and substance abuse services when clinically indicated, and other VA services and benefits as appropriate. VA is requiring justice-focused activity at the medical center level. Each VA medical center has been asked to designate a facility-based Veterans' Justice Outreach Specialist, responsible for direct outreach, assessment, and case management for justice-involved Veterans in local courts and jails, and liaison with local justice system partners. The difference between VJO and HCRV (Health Care for Reentry Veterans) program is that the HCRV targets Veterans who are already incarcerated and are planning re-entry back to community. The VJO program makes contact prior to incarceration as prevention. Dayton VA Medical Center is working on developing working relationships with the court system and local law enforcement and must now provide outreach to justice-involved Veterans in the communities they serve.