1. Embedding a Co-occurring Disorders Rehabilitation Intervention in Veterans Courts: A Pilot Study with Male Veterans.
- Author
-
Smelson, David A., Gaba, Ayorkor, Pressman, Karen, Clary, Kelsey M., Shaffer, Paige M., and Pinals, Debra A.
- Subjects
- *
REHABILITATION of people with alcoholism , *COURTS , *CRIMINAL justice system , *DRUGS of abuse , *DUAL diagnosis , *VETERANS , *REHABILITATION of people with mental illness , *WHITE people , *SUBSTANCE abuse treatment , *PILOT projects - Abstract
Veterans treatment courts (VTCs) have expanded dramatically despite their limited empirical base. This pilot study examined MISSION-Criminal Justice (CJ), a co-occurring disorders wraparound intervention, delivered alongside two VTCs. Baseline data from 26 male veterans enrolled in two VTCs and MISSION-CJ, and 6-month follow-up data for 18 of the 26 veterans, are presented. Veterans on average were 37.5 years old, 85% Caucasian, had significant histories of criminal justice involvement (14.3 lifetime arrests), had an average of 14.7 years of alcohol use and 9.3 years of illicit drug use, and roughly three-quarters reported mental health symptomatology. At 6-month follow-up, veterans demonstrated improvements in behavioral health, substance use, and criminal justice outcomes. This study demonstrated promising preliminary outcomes of MISSION-CJ in VTCs. A randomized controlled trial is a critical next step to examine whether these outcomes remain consistent with a more rigorous design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF