Pennsylvania lawmakers hear experts urge wider, standardized use of veterans treatment courts

A joint hearing of the Pennsylvania House Veterans Affairs and Judiciary Committees in Harrisburg on Oct. 12 focused on expanding and standardizing veterans treatment courts (VTCs) and related policies to serve justice-involved veterans across the Commonwealth.

The hearing opened with panelists from All Rise, the Council on Criminal Justice and Montgomery County courts explaining that VTCs pair close court supervision with evidence-based treatment, improve housing and employment outcomes, reduce recidivism and cost less than incarceration.

The issue matters because VTCs are unevenly available and apply widely different eligibility rules, panelists said. "Veterans treatment courts are intensive programs that pair close supervision accountability with robust evidence-based treatment," said Major General Clyde "Butch" Tate, former U.S. Army deputy judge advocate general and chief counsel for All Rise, adding that the model works best for veterans assessed as both high risk and high need. "While many VTCs accept veterans with discharge statuses that restrict or eliminate their VA benefits, bad paper...it is important that these programs develop partnership with veteran-specific treatment providers in the community," Tate said.

The model policy framework developed by the Veterans Justice Commission (VJC) and discussed at the hearing would broaden statutory options, create uniform legal incentives for judges and expand…