U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Justice Outreach Program

Finlay, Andrea K.; Smelson, David A.; Sawh, Leon; McGuire, Jim; Rosenthal, Joel; Blue‐Howells, Jessica; Timko, Christine; Binswanger, Ingrid A.; Frayne, Susan M.; Blodgett, Janet C.; Bowe, Tom; Clark, Sean; Harris, Alex H. S.

doi:10.1177/0887403414562601

Cited by 45 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Substance use disorders were the most common conditions examined in studies, including studies focused solely on veterans with alcohol use disorder (Finlay et al, 2018; McQuaid et al, 2000; Moore, Fuehrlein, & Rosenheck, 2017; Richards, Goldberg, Anderson, & Rodin, 1990), opioid use disorder (Craig, 1980; Finlay et al, 2016; Rothbard et al, 1999), or co-occurring substance use and other mental health diagnoses (Mohamed, 2013; Timko, Finlay, Schultz, & Blonigen, 2017; Wenzel et al, 1996). Some studies investigated the prevalence of multiple mental health and substance use disorder conditions, reporting on these conditions and healthcare utilization among justice-involved veterans (e.g., Finlay et al, 2017; Finlay, Smelson, et al, 2016).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some studies examined the interaction of these conditions. However, given that 35–58% of justice-involved veterans served by VHA outreach programs have co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders (Finlay et al, 2017; Finlay, Smelson, et al, 2016) and many have medical conditions (Brown & Jones, 2015), more studies are needed that examine the cumulative effect of managing multiple conditions to inform clinical practice and policy. Studies that investigate how cycling in and out of incarceration impacts management of multiple conditions are also important.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In 2007, the Veterans Health Adminstration (VHA) implemented the Veterans Justice Programs, which are designed to connect justice-involved veterans with a broad range of VHA and community healthcare and related services. More than half of veterans seen by these programs are diagnosed with mental health or substance use disorders after entering VHA treatment (Finlay et al, 2016, 2017). The mortality risk among veterans exiting prison is similar to that of non-veterans exiting prison, 12 times higher than that of the general population, with overdose as the leading cause of death (Wortzel, Blatchford, Conner, Adler, & Binswanger, 2012).…”

Section: Background On Justice-involved Veteransmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A scoping review of military veterans involved in the criminal justice system and their health and healthcare

et al. 2019

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Background In the criminal justice system, special populations, such as older adults or patients with infectious diseases, have been identified as particularly vulnerable to poor health outcomes. Military veterans involved in the criminal justice system are also a vulnerable population warranting attention because of their unique healthcare needs. This review aims to provide an overview of existing literature on justice-involved veterans’ health and healthcare to identify research gaps and inform policy and practice. Methods A systematic search was conducted to identify research articles related to justice-involved veterans’ health and healthcare that were published prior to December 2017. Study characteristics including healthcare category, study design, sample size, and funding source were extracted and summarized with the aim of providing an overview of extant literature. Results The search strategy initially identified 1830 unique abstracts with 1387 abstracts then excluded. Full-text review of 443 articles was conducted with 252 excluded. There were 191 articles included, most related to veterans’ mental health (130/191, 68%) or homelessness (24/191, 13%). Most studies used an observational design (173/191, 91%). Conclusions Knowledge gaps identified from the review provide guidance on future areas of research. Studies on different sociodemographic groups, medical conditions, and the management of multiple conditions and psychosocial challenges are needed. Developing and testing interventions, especially randomized trials, to address justice-involved veterans care needs will help to improve their health and healthcare. Finally, an integrated conceptual framework that draws from diverse disciplines, such as criminology, health services, psychology, and implementation science is needed to inform research, policy and practice focused on justice-involved veterans. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s40352-019-0086-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Background On Justice-involved Veteransmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A scoping review of military veterans involved in the criminal justice system and their health and healthcare

et al. 2019

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“…VJOs bring valuable insights from the federal Veterans Administration and allow VTC teams to be better informed of veteran/participants' military service, medical and mental health histories, and eligibility for federal services. VJOs also facilitate liaisons among federal, state, and community programs and benefits (Finlay et al, 2016). The VJO adds administrative and service depth to the VTC team.…”

Section: Vtc Teamsmentioning

confidence: 99%

When a Veterans’ Treatment Court Fails: Lessons Learned from a Qualitative Evaluation

Douds

Hummer

2019

Victims & Offenders

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More than 500 veterans treatment courts (VTCs) provide thousands of eligible veterans across the nation alternative means of resolving criminal charges through a therapeutic, judicially supervised programs. The majority of those VTCs mandate that veteran participants work with a volunteer veteran mentor throughout their tenure in VTC programs. Mentoring has been heralded as a critical and valuable component of VTCs, and it is believed that mentoring discourages substance abuse and promotes adherence to substance abuse interventions. But very little is known about how mentoring actually works. Scant research documents how mentors interact with mentees, what their responsibilities are, or what impact they have on veterans' progress through rigorous VTC protocols. Through interview data collected following the death of a veteran mentee in a northeastern Study VTC, this research provides in-depth analysis of how mentors and mentees understand their responsibilities with respect to illicit substance use and violations of VTCs' sobriety requirements. This article provides background data on VTCs and veterans who participate in them, then explores interview and documentary data as part of a case study of a policy failure in the Study VTC. The article concludes with recommendations that could improve mentor/mentee relationships and VTC participants' access to treatment.

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“…In fiscal year 2009, there were 331,623 veterans diagnosed with alcohol use disorder (Harris et al, 2012), representing 6% of those served in VA facilities. AUD is even more prevalent among subgroups of VA patients: 57% of justice-involved veterans who received VA outreach services in jails or courts (Finlay, Smelson, et al, 2016), 33% of those who received VA outreach in prison (Finlay et al, 2015), and 49% of veterans who received VA homeless services had AUD (Tsai, Kasprow, & Rosenheck, 2014). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Barriers to and facilitators of pharmacotherapy for alcohol use disorder in VA residential treatment programs

Finlay

Ellerbe

Wong

et al. 2017

Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment

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Among US military veterans, alcohol use disorder (AUD) is prevalent and in severe cases patients need intensive AUD treatment beyond outpatient care. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) delivers intensive, highly structured addiction and psychosocial treatment through residential programs. Despite the evidence supporting pharmacotherapy among the effective treatments for AUD, receipt of these medications (e.g., naltrexone, acamprosate) among patients in residential treatment programs varies widely. In order to better understand this variation, the current study examined barriers and facilitators to use of pharmacotherapy for AUD among patients in VA residential treatment programs. Semi-structured qualitative interviews with residential program management and staff were conducted and the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research was used to guide coding and analysis of interview transcripts. Barriers to use of pharmacotherapy for AUD included cultural norms or philosophy against prescribing, lack of access to willing prescribers, lack of interest from leadership, and perceived lack of patient interest or need. Facilitators included cultural norms of openness or active promotion of pharmacotherapy; education for patients, program staff and prescribers; having prescribers on staff, and care coordination within residential treatment and with other clinic settings in and outside VA. Developing and testing improvement strategies to increase care coordination and consistent support from leadership may also yield increases in the use of pharmacotherapy for AUD among residential patients.

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U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Justice Outreach Program

Cited by 45 publications

References 37 publications

A scoping review of military veterans involved in the criminal justice system and their health and healthcare

A scoping review of military veterans involved in the criminal justice system and their health and healthcare

When a Veterans’ Treatment Court Fails: Lessons Learned from a Qualitative Evaluation

Barriers to and facilitators of pharmacotherapy for alcohol use disorder in VA residential treatment programs

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