Finlay Andrea K, Clark Sean, Blue-Howells Jessica, Claudio Sherri, Stimmel Matthew, Tsai Jack, Buchanan Alec, Rosenthal Joel, Harris Alex H S, Frayne Susan
Research Health Scientist at the VA Health Services Research & Development Center for Innovation to Implementation, VA Palo Alto Health Care System; Affiliated Researcher with the National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans, Department of Veterans Affairs.
National Coordinator for the Veterans Justice Outreach program at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Drug Court Rev. 2019 Summer;2:45-62.
Veterans Treatment Courts (VTCs) grew exponentially in the last decade with more than 550 courts, dockets and tracks operating in the U.S. Eligibility criteria and operating practices of VTCs vary widely. Existing logic models guide the activities of these courts, but do not explicitly address the distinct missions and priorities of different agencies that support VTCs. To facilitate communication and research to address this gap, we propose a logic model of the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) role in VTCs. To construct the VA-VTC logic model, we adapted an existing logic model and held expert panels with VA staff, clinical leaders and researchers to discuss and refine the model. The VA-VTC logic model is a novel contribution to current thinking about VTCs and clarifies the potential resources, activities, outputs, outcomes and population impacts that are under the purview of the VA. Explicitly recognizing the VA as a separate partner in VTCs, this logic model can be a tool for communication with criminal justice agencies to facilitate broader discussions about the mechanisms driving VTC outcomes. This model can also be continuously updated as we learn from research and evaluation efforts about VTCs, ultimate improving the effectiveness of the VA's role in these courts.
退伍军人治疗法庭（VTCs）在过去十年中呈指数级增长，美国有超过550个法庭、诉讼程序和办案流程在运作。VTCs的资格标准和运作方式差异很大。现有的逻辑模型指导着这些法庭的活动，但没有明确涉及支持VTCs的不同机构的独特使命和优先事项。为了促进沟通和研究以填补这一空白，我们提出了一个关于退伍军人事务部（VA）在VTCs中作用的逻辑模型。为构建VA-VTC逻辑模型，我们改编了一个现有的逻辑模型，并与VA工作人员、临床负责人和研究人员举行了专家小组会议，以讨论和完善该模型。VA-VTC逻辑模型是对当前关于VTCs的思考的一项新贡献，它阐明了VA职权范围内的潜在资源、活动、产出、成果和对人群的影响。该逻辑模型明确承认VA是VTCs中的一个独立合作伙伴，可作为与刑事司法机构沟通的工具，以促进就推动VTCs成果的机制进行更广泛的讨论。随着我们从对VTCs的研究和评估工作中汲取经验，这个模型也可以不断更新从而最终提高VA在这些法庭中作用的有效性。
