Building Capacity of Veteran Treatment Courts: Resources for Brain Injury Programs

Veteran Treatment Courts seek to treat veterans suffering from substance abuse and/or mental health disorders, while helping ensure public safety. These courts effectively integrate evidence-based substance use disorder treatment, mandatory drug testing, incentives and sanctions, and recovery support services in judicially supervised court settings that have jurisdiction over veterans involved in the justice system who have substance use disorders, including a history of violence and post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of their military service.

The prevalence of brain injury among veterans is high, and especially so for those veterans who are engaged in the criminal legal system. Veteran treatment courts provide an ideal opportunity for a partnership between brain injury programs and the courts to ensure better outcomes for the veteran.

This toolkit provides state brain injury programs an overview of what veteran court is, a video from a judge’s perspective designed to promote buy-in for the need for this support, tip sheets for a variety of audiences, and PowerPoint training slide decks to aid in training efforts. 

Veteran Treatment Courts:
Tools for Supporting Individuals with Brain Injury

This content was made possible with funding from the
Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation Direct Effect Quality of Life Grant.