VA is making a system-wide effort to ensure access to services for the justice-involved Veteran population at risk for homelessness, substance abuse, mental illness, and physical health problems. The Veterans Justice Outreach (VJO) program was created to provide timely access to VA services for eligible justice-involved Veterans to avoid unnecessary criminalization and incarceration of Veteran offenders with mental illness.
A justice-involved Veteran is:
- A Veteran in contact with local law enforcement who can be appropriately diverted from arrest into mental health or substance abuse treatment.
- A Veteran in a local jail, either pretrial or serving a sentence; or
- A Veteran involved in adjudication or monitoring by a court.
The VJO Specialists provide direct outreach, assessment, referral, and case management services to justice-involved Veterans in local courts and jails, and liaison with local justice system partners.
Linkage to the following specialized programs and services may include:
- Hospital, outpatient medical, dental, pharmacy, and prosthetic services
- Mental health & substance abuse treatment (residential & in/outpatient)
- Health Care for Homeless Veterans Program
- Care coordination with the justice system (attorneys, courts, jails, probation/parole)
- Veterans eligibility & benefits assistance
Free Legal Clinics:
Free Legal Clinics are held throughout the year in Travis and Bell counties to assist Veterans with brief, legal advice regarding the following services: Chapter 7 bankruptcy, child support, consumer/contracts, divorce or custody, guardianship/probate, landlord/tenant, social security/SSI, wills/estate planning.
