H. R. 2147 

One Hundred Fifteenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and eighteen 

An Act 

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to hire additional Veterans Justice 

Outreach Specialists to provide treatment court services to justice-involved veterans, and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Treatment Court 

Improvement Act of 2018’’. 

SEC. 2. HIRING BY DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS OF ADDITIONAL VETERANS JUSTICE OUTREACH SPECIALISTS. 

(a) HIRING OF ADDITIONAL VETERANS JUSTICE OUTREACH

SPECIALISTS.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

shall hire not fewer than 50 Veterans Justice Outreach Specialists and place each such Veterans Justice Outreach Specialist 

at an eligible Department of Veterans Affairs medical center 

in accordance with this section. 

(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall ensure that each 

Veterans Justice Outreach Specialist employed under paragraph (1)— 

(A) serves, either exclusively or in addition to other 

duties, as part of a justice team in a veterans treatment 

court or other veteran-focused court; and 

(B) otherwise meets Department hiring guidelines for 

Veterans Justice Outreach Specialists. 

(b) ELIGIBLE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTERS.—For purposes of this section, an eligible Department of Veterans Affairs medical center is any Department of Veterans Affairs 

medical center that— 

(1) complies with all Department guidelines and regulations 

for placement of a Veterans Justice Outreach Specialist; 

(2) works within a local criminal justice system with justiceinvolved veterans; 

(3) maintains an affiliation with one or more veterans 

treatment courts or other veteran-focused courts; and 

(4) either— 

(A) routinely provides Veterans Justice Outreach 

Specialists to serve as part of a justice team in a veterans 

treatment court or other veteran-focused court; or 

(B) establishes a plan that is approved by the Secretary 

to provide Veterans Justice Outreach Specialists employed 
H. R. 2147—2 

under subsection (a)(1) to serve as part of a justice team 

in a veterans treatment court or other veteran-focused 

court. 

(c) PLACEMENT PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall prioritize the 

placement of Veterans Justice Outreach Specialists employed under 

subsection (a)(1) at eligible Department of Veterans Affairs medical 

centers that have or intend to establish an affiliation, for the 

purpose of carrying out the Veterans Justice Outreach Program, 

with a veterans treatment court, or other veteran-focused court, 

that— 

(1) was established on or after the date of the enactment 

of this Act; or 

(2)(A) was established before the date of the enactment 

of this Act; and 

(B) is not fully staffed with Veterans Justice Outreach 

Specialists. 

(d) REPORTS.— 

(1) REPORT BY SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.— 

(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans 

Affairs shall submit to Congress a report on the 

implementation of this section and its effect on the Veterans Justice Outreach Program. 

(B) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under paragraph 

(1) shall include the following: 

(i) The status of the efforts of the Secretary to 

hire Veterans Justice Outreach Specialists pursuant 

to subsection (a)(1), including the total number of Veterans Justice Outreach Specialists hired by the Secretary pursuant to such subsection and the number 

that the Secretary expects to hire pursuant to such 

subsection. 

(ii) The total number of Veterans Justice Outreach 

Specialists assigned to each Department of Veterans 

Affairs medical center that participates in the Veterans 

Justice Outreach Program, including the number of 

Veterans Justice Outreach Specialists hired under subsection (a)(1) disaggregated by Department of Veterans 

Affairs medical center. 

(iii) The total number of eligible Department of 

Veterans Affairs medical centers that sought placement 

of a Veterans Justice Outreach Specialist under subsection (a)(1), how many Veterans Justice Outreach 

Specialists each such center sought, and how many 

of such medical centers received no placement of a 

Veterans Justice Outreach Specialist under subsection 

(a)(1). 

(iv) For each eligible Department of Veterans 

Affairs medical center— 

(I) the number of justice-involved veterans who 

were served or are expected to be served by a 

Veterans Justice Outreach Specialist hired under 

subsection (a)(1); and 

(II) the number of justice-involved veterans 

who do not have access to a Veterans Justice Outreach Specialist. 
H. R. 2147—3 

(2) REPORT BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED

STATES.— 

(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 

date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

of the United States shall submit to Congress a report 

on the implementation of this section and the effectiveness 

of the Veterans Justice Outreach Program. 

(B) CONTENTS.—The report required by subparagraph 

(A) shall include the following: 

(i) An assessment of whether the Secretary has 

fulfilled the Secretary’s obligations under this section. 

(ii) The number of veterans who are served by 

Veterans Justice Outreach Specialists hired under subsection (a)(1), disaggregated by demographics 

(including discharge status). 

(iii) An identification of any subgroups of veterans 

who underutilize services provided under laws administered by the Secretary, including an assessment of 

whether these veterans have access to Veterans Justice 

Outreach Specialists under the Veterans Justice Outreach Program. 

(iv) Such recommendations as the Comptroller 

General may have for the Secretary to improve the 

effectiveness of the Veterans Justice Outreach Program. 

(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

(1) JUSTICE TEAM.—The term ‘‘justice team’’ means the 

group of individuals, which may include a judge, court coordinator, prosecutor, public defender, treatment provider, probation or other law enforcement officer, program mentor, and 

Veterans Justice Outreach Specialist, who assist justiceinvolved veterans in a veterans treatment court or other veteran-focused court. 

(2) JUSTICE-INVOLVED VETERAN.—The term ‘‘justiceinvolved veteran’’ means a veteran with active, ongoing, or 

recent contact with some component of a local criminal justice 

system. 

(3) LOCAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘local 

criminal justice system’’ means law enforcement, jails, prisons, 

and Federal, State, and local courts. 

(4) VETERANS JUSTICE OUTREACH PROGRAM.—The term 

‘‘Veterans Justice Outreach Program’’ means the program 

through which the Department of Veterans Affairs identifies 

justice-involved veterans and provides such veterans with 

access to Department services. 

(5) VETERANS JUSTICE OUTREACH SPECIALIST.—The term 

‘‘Veterans Justice Outreach Specialist’’ means an employee of 

the Department of Veterans Affairs who serves as a liaison 

between the Department and the local criminal justice system 

on behalf of a justice-involved veteran. 
H. R. 2147—4 

(6) VETERANS TREATMENT COURT.—The term ‘‘veterans 

treatment court’’ means a State or local court that is participating in the veterans treatment court program (as defined 

in section 2991(i)(1) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 

Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3797aa(i)(1))). 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.