US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) eligibility policies now allow comprehensive mental and behavioral health care services to be provided to veterans who received an Other Than Honorable (OTH) discharge upon separation from service. Research has shown a disproportionate mental health burden and elevated rates of criminal-legal involvement among these veterans. Eligibility policy shifts may impact programs and services designed to support veterans with criminal-legal involvement, such as veterans treatment courts. Professionals serving veterans with criminal-legal involvement should become familiar with changes to VA eligibility policies and revise strategies, policies, and procedures surrounding the engagement and enrollment of veterans with OTH discharge characterizations. Veterans with OTH discharges often experience disproportionate mental health burdens and are overrepresented in judicial and correctional systems. Professionals within judicial and correctional systems, particularly veterans treatment court programs, are encouraged to familiarize themselves with changes to VA eligibility policies and to revisit strategies, policies, and procedures surrounding the engagement and enrollment of veterans with OTH discharge characterizations into justice-focused programming and services.
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Edwards et al. (2024) studied this question.
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