National Director, Veterans Justice Programs U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Description: Although Veterans are not overrepresented in U.S. jails, they are a population with distinct needs, and for whom many resources are available, both pre- and post-release. Serving Veterans in a jail population begins with effectively identifying them, and there are free, web-based tools available now to assist with this task. Through partnerships with local jails (and prisons) across the country, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs conducts outreach to incarcerated Veterans, with the goal of facilitating access to VA health care and other services post-release. This session will detail what VA can provide for Veterans via those critical partnerships, as well as how to use the free identification tools to help ensure that Veterans in your facility have the opportunity to connect with VA resources.
Learning Objectives:
Learn about the prevalence and characteristics of Veterans in U.S. jails
Understand how to use free web-based tools to identify Veterans in a jail population
Learn how to partner with the U.S. Department of Veterans to serve Veterans pre- and post-release
