About the Project

The purpose of the Veteran Justice Outreach Initiative (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.  VA Medical Centers have been strongly encouraged to develop working relationships with the court system and local law enforcement and must now provide outreach to justice-involved Veterans in the communities they serve.

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.

Principal Investigator	Colleen Clark, PhD
Affiliated Research Faculty / Staff	Annette Christy, PhD
Funding Agency	SAMHSA
Award Amount	$390,000
Dates	10/02/2009 - 09/30/2014