Title

Embedding a Co-occurring Disorders Rehabilitation Intervention in Veterans Courts: A Pilot Study with Male Veterans

UMMS Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry; Implementation Science and Practice Advances Research Center

Publication Date

2020-01-31

Document Type

Article

Disciplines

Law and Psychology | Mental and Social Health | Military and Veterans Studies | Psychiatry | Psychiatry and Psychology | Rehabilitation and Therapy

Abstract

Veterans treatment courts (VTCs) have expanded dramatically despite their limited empirical base. This pilot study examined MISSION-Criminal Justice (CJ), a co-occurring disorders wraparound intervention, delivered alongside two VTCs. Baseline data from 26 male veterans enrolled in two VTCs and MISSION-CJ, and 6-month follow-up data for 18 of the 26 veterans, are presented. Veterans on average were 37.5 years old, 85% Caucasian, had significant histories of criminal justice involvement (14.3 lifetime arrests), had an average of 14.7 years of alcohol use and 9.3 years of illicit drug use, and roughly three-quarters reported mental health symptomatology. At 6-month follow-up, veterans demonstrated improvements in behavioral health, substance use, and criminal justice outcomes. This study demonstrated promising preliminary outcomes of MISSION-CJ in VTCs. A randomized controlled trial is a critical next step to examine whether these outcomes remain consistent with a more rigorous design.

Keywords

Alternative to incarceration, Case management, Co-occurring disorders treatment, Justice-involved veterans, Veterans treatment court

DOI of Published Version

10.1007/s10597-020-00565-z

Source

Community Ment Health J. 2020 Jan 31. doi: 10.1007/s10597-020-00565-z. Link to article on publisher's site

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Community mental health journal

Related Resources

Link to Article in PubMed

PubMed ID

32006293

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