The 10 Key Components of Veteran

1
The 10 Key Components of Veterans Treatment Court

• Presented by
• The Honorable Robert Russell

2

• Veterans Treatment Courts have adopted with
  slight modifications the essential tenements of
  the Ten Key Components as described in the U.S.
  Department of Justice Publication entitled
  Defining Drug Courts The Ten Key Components,
  (Jan. 1997).

3
Key Component 1

• Integrates alcohol, drug treatment, mental health
  treatment, medical services with justice system
  case processing

4

• Veterans Treatment Court promotes sobriety,
  recovery and stability through a coordinated
  response to veterans dependency on alcohol,
  drugs, and/or management of their mental illness.

5
Key Component 2

• Using a non-adversarial approach, prosecution and
  defense promote public safety while protecting
  participants' due process rights

6

• To facilitate the veterans progress in
  treatment, the prosecutor and defense counsel
  shed their traditional adversarial courtroom
  relationship and work together as a team.

7
Key Component 3

• Eligible participants are identified early and
  promptly placed

8

• Early identification of veterans entering the
  criminal justice system is an integral part of
  the process for placement in the Veterans
  Treatment Court program.
• The trauma of arrest can be an opportunity for
  the veteran to address denial issues.

9
Key Component 4

• Access to a continuum of alcohol, drug, mental
  health and rehabilitation services

10

• Participants in Veterans Treatment Court may have
  different levels of need in a wide variety of
  service domains.
• Issues such as PTSD, TBI, Domestic Violence and
  homelessness may need to be assessed and
  addressed.
• Mentors

11
Key Component 5

• Abstinence is monitored by frequent alcohol and
  drug testing

12
Drug Testing

• Court ordered drug testing
• Frequent
• Random
• Use of results

13
Key Component 6

• Coordinated strategy governs Courts responses to
  participants' compliance

14
Incentives and Sanctions

• Coordinated strategy establishes protocols for
  rewarding progress as well as sanctioning
  non-compliance.

15
Key Component 7

• Ongoing judicial interaction with each Veteran is
  essential

16

• Judge as leader of the team.
• Continuity of relationship between judge and
  veteran
• Relationship from acceptance in program
  throughout treatment and commencement and
  aftercare
• The message is Someone in authority cares

17
Key Component 8

• Monitoring and evaluation measure the achievement
  of program goals and gauge effectiveness

18
Program Monitoring

• Measures progress against goals
• Results are used to monitor progress
• Results are used to improve operations

19
Key Component 9

• Continuing interdisciplinary education promotes
  effective Court planning, implementation, and
  operations

20

• All Veterans Treatment Court staff should be
  involved in interdisciplinary education and
  training.
• Shared interdisciplinary training creates common
  knowledge and understanding.

21
Key Component 10

• Forging partnerships among the Veterans
  Administration, public agencies, and
  community-based organizations generates local
  support and enhances Court effectiveness

22
Partnerships for VTC

• Due to the potential breadth of needs of VTC
  clients, a wide variety of resources are required
  to meet those needs
• Community resources
• Governmental resources
• Collaborative approach

23

• This project was supported by Grant No.
  2009-DC-BX-K005 awarded by the Bureau of Justice
  Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a
  component of the Office of Justice Programs,
  which also includes the Bureau of Justice
  Statistics, the National Institute of Justice,
  the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
  Prevention, the SMART Office, and the Office for
  Victims of Crime. Points of view or opinions in
  this document are those of the author and do not
  represent the official position or policies of
  the United States Department of Justice.