Veterans treatment court program monitoring: A case study on the program implementation process through the veterans' perspective

Veterans today are increasingly represented in statistics related to substance abuse, family abuse or intimate partner violence, homelessness, DUI, and suicide. As a result, veterans returning from conflict increasingly come into contact with the criminal justice system. Because of this increased risk within the veteran population as well as the need for the criminal justice system to adequately respond, the Texas legislature in 2010 voted into law Senate Bill 1940 authorizing veterans treatment court as an alternative to traditional criminal court prosecution. Bexar County specifically implemented a veterans treatment court (BCVTC) in January of 2011. This study examines the program implementation of the BCVTC according to the goals, objectives, and needs of problem solving courts from the veteran's perspective. A before and after design was utilized to evaluate a survey administered at the initial intake and then 6 months after being enrolled in the VTC program. Also, interviews asking specific questions about the implementation process were conducted with the veterans that were eligible. The survey (quantitative variables) and the interview (qualitative variables) resulted in an interesting case study of the implementation process through the veteran's perspective. Such as, the slight changes in behavior from the initial intake to the 6 month follow-up interview and that majority of the veterans that were interviewed recommended the program to others.