U.S. Senate Testimony: How to Help Justice-Involved Veterans

Each year, about 200,000 service members leave the military. Most transition successfully, but some face challenges. Veterans are more likely than non-veterans to be arrested, and tens of thousands are incarcerated. This involvement is often driven by combat-related trauma, traumatic brain injury, loss of benefits, and gaps in identification and intervention. The way we currently manage struggling veterans undermines recruitment, jeopardizes the health and safety of our veterans, their families, their communities, and ultimately national security.

A critical element of the Commission’s plan addresses what the group refers to as the “commander’s dilemma,” the tension commanders face between maintaining unit readiness versus supporting underperforming service members or supporting transition.

To prioritize operational readiness, commanders look for the fastest way to replace service members who are not available to the unit for transition, disciplinary, or medical reasons. A commander may not have the flexibility to allow an individual to participate in Congressionally mandated TAP or receive evidence-based support for the kinds of minor disciplinary infractions seen in the civilian justice system. Instead, the system defaults to granting administrative discharges. An other-than-honorable discharge is an administrative death sentence, locking service members out of benefits that support a smooth transition.

In recent years, innovations such as veterans treatment courts (VTCs) and veteran-only housing units in jails and prisons have emerged, seeking to improve support for former service members through specialized approaches. The Veterans Administration (VA), whose mission is to provide care and support for veterans and their families, has launched efforts to help justice agencies better identify veterans and to facilitate their access to programming. But many challenges—and opportunities—remain.

When veterans enter the civilian criminal justice system, they confront a patchwork of interventions. These programs vary substantially across jurisdictions, and many fall through the cracks. VTC’s have been a pioneering, life-saving intervention for thousands of veterans, yet despite their expansion, the 600 such courts currently operating across the country vary widely in their approaches to legal incentives (e.g., allowing an individual to avoid a record of conviction) and eligibility.¹⁷ For example, a national survey of VTCs found that nearly 60% exclude veterans with at least one type of violent felony charge, while 35% do not permit veterans with “bad paper.”¹⁸

The Commission developed a complementary policy framework for those without access to a VTC.¹⁹ The American Legislative Exchange Council has adopted it, and it is under consideration in several states.

The Commission also proposed a National Center on Veterans Justice. Congress authorized $4 million for the Center in January. The Center should act as a hub for improving the success of justice-involved veterans by identifying and replicating best practices across the country and establishing proper program evaluation to invest in what works. If implemented properly, the Center can greatly improve how the justice system treats the unique cases of the nation’s veterans.

The Commission’s chair, Vietnam veteran and former senator and U.S. Secretary of Defense Charles Hagel, summarized the issue well:

“Too many veterans are ending up in our criminal justice system, and while they must be held accountable for their behavior, our nation has a responsibility to honor their service and help them address the factors that often drive them to break the law.”

So, too, did Commission member Leon Panetta, who is a U.S. army veteran and former congressman and U.S. Secretary of Defense:

“We can and must do better for the men and women who put their lives at risk to serve our nation.”

Most veterans return stronger from their service, but too many still need our help. It is nothing short of tragic that those who once wore the cloth of our nation now wear the cloth of incarceration. We sent them. We used them. Now we must do better and stand by them, ensuring they have the support to return their families, communities, and country.

Thank you.