# Evaluating Health Services for Justice-Involved Veterans to Improve Policy and Practice

> **NIH VA I01** · VETERANS ADMIN PALO ALTO HEALTH CARE SYS · 2023 · —

## Abstract

Background: An estimated 181,500 veterans are incarcerated in prison or jail with thousands more arrested,
involved in courts, or on probation or parole each year. These “justice-involved Veterans” have extensive
medical and mental health disorders, housing instability, and an elevated risk for suicide and other mortality.
Since 2007, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has operated the Veterans Justice Programs (VJP) to
provide outreach, assessment, and case management for justice-involved Veterans in local courts, jails, and
prisons, and to liaise with criminal justice partners. In fiscal year 2018, VJP provided services to 80,653
Veterans. Research on the link between VJP services and Veteran outcomes is hindered by a lack of
systematic methods to assess VJP structures, processes and outcomes. VJP and Veteran-focused criminal
justice initiatives continue to implement new features without the tools needed to measure, describe, and
evaluate their components. To inform program planning and resource allocation, it is essential to know which
structures and processes are linked to better outcomes for justice-involved Veterans. This explanatory
sequential mixed methods study will develop a VJP program evaluation dashboard to determine gaps in VJP
and VHA services for justice-involved Veterans. By using this dashboard, VJP leaders can develop policies
and practices to improve healthcare, housing and mortality outcomes among justice-involved Veterans.
Significance/Impact: Given the elevated risk mental health disorders, homelessness, and mortality for justice-
involved Veterans, it is imperative that VHA provides services to address the needs of this population. This
study responds to VA priorities to deliver effective and efficient care to Veterans, Veterans Treatment Court
legislation, the Office of Research & Development priority to increase real-world impact of research, HSR&D
priorities of mental health treatment and health equity, and the VJP priority to maximize successful outcomes
among justice-involved Veterans.
Innovation: VJP is at the forefront of partnering with non-VHA criminal justice and community agencies to
serve justice-involved Veterans. This project breaks new ground by examining the full continuum of VJP/non-
VHA partnerships and drawing lessons that can be applied to Veterans who receive services outside VHA.
Specific Aims: The three aims are scientifically important and reflect extensive input from justice-involved
Veterans and VJP leaders and staff: (1) Identify Veteran, VJP, VHA facility, and criminal justice factors that
predict healthcare, housing and homeless services, and mortality outcomes for justice-involved Veterans; (2)
Qualitatively evaluate Veterans’ and other key stakeholders’ perspectives of factors that explain successful
healthcare, housing, and mortality outcomes among justice-involved Veterans; and (3) Develop a program
evaluation dashboard of VJP services, VHA resources, and criminal justice factors that...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10595495
- **Project number:** 5I01HX003265-02
- **Recipient organization:** VETERANS ADMIN PALO ALTO HEALTH CARE SYS
- **Principal Investigator:** Andrea K Finlay
- **Activity code:** I01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-01-01 → 2025-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10595495

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10595495, Evaluating Health Services for Justice-Involved Veterans to Improve Policy and Practice (5I01HX003265-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10595495. Licensed CC0.

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