IB 
Union Calendar No. 525 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 2147 
[Report No. 115–682] 
To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to hire additional Veterans 
Justice Outreach Specialists to provide treatment court services to jus-
tice-involved veterans, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 26, 2017 
Mr. COFFMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
MAY 18, 2018 
Additional sponsors: Miss GONZA´LEZ-COLO´N of Puerto Rico, Ms. PINGREE, 
Mr. TAKANO, Mr. RUTHERFORD, Mr. PETERS, Mr. O’ROURKE, Mr. 
BANKS of Indiana, Mrs. COMSTOCK, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, 
Mr. POLIQUIN, Mrs. WALORSKI, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Mrs. MURPHY of 
Florida, Mr. TIPTON, Ms. MOORE, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. 
MEEHAN, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Ms. NORTON, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. JONES, 
Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. 
BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. 
PETERSON, Mr. COLLINS of Georgia, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. TURNER, Mrs. 
DAVIS of California, Mr. POCAN, Miss RICE of New York, Mr. CORREA, 
Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana, Mr. STIVERS, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. THOMPSON 
of Pennsylvania, Mr. POLIS, Mr. JOYCE of Ohio, Mr. COSTELLO of Penn-
sylvania, 
Mr. 
MACARTHUR, 
Mr. 
CRIST, 
Mr. 
NORCROSS, 
Mr. 
KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. MCEACHIN, Mr. DENHAM, Mr. HIGGINS of New 
York, Mr. KILMER, Mr. BISHOP of Michigan, Mr. LAMB, Mr. KILDEE, 
and Ms. SINEMA 
MAY 18, 2018 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 26, 2017] 
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A BILL 
To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to hire addi-
tional Veterans Justice Outreach Specialists to provide 
treatment court services to justice-involved veterans, and 
for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives 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 OUT-
REACH SPECIALISTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one 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 Vet-
erans Justice Outreach Specialist at an eligible De-
partment of Veterans Affairs medical center in ac-
cordance with this section. 
(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall ensure 
that each Veterans Justice Outreach Specialist em-
ployed 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 
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(B) otherwise meets Department hiring 
guidelines for Veterans Justice Outreach Special-
ists. 
(b) ELIGIBLE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 
MEDICAL CENTERS.—For purposes of this section, an eligi-
ble 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 Out-
reach Specialist; 
(2) works within a local criminal justice system 
with justice-involved 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 vet-
eran-focused court; or 
(B) establishes a plan that is approved by 
the Secretary to provide Veterans Justice Out-
reach Specialists employed under subsection 
(a)(1) to serve as part of a justice team in a vet-
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erans treatment court or other veteran-focused 
court. 
(c) PLACEMENT
PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall 
prioritize the placement of Veterans Justice Outreach Spe-
cialists employed under subsection (a)(1) at eligible Depart-
ment 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 en-
actment of this Act; or 
(2)(A) was established before the date of the en-
actment of this Act; and 
(B) is not fully staffed with Veterans Justice 
Outreach Specialists. 
(d) REPORTS.— 
(1) REPORT BY SECRETARY OF VETERANS AF-
FAIRS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one 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. 
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(B) 
CONTENTS.—The 
report 
submitted 
under paragraph (1) shall include the following: 
(i) The status of the efforts of the Sec-
retary to hire Veterans Justice Outreach 
Specialists pursuant to subsection (a)(1), 
including the total number of Veterans Jus-
tice Outreach Specialists hired by the Sec-
retary pursuant to such subsection and the 
number that the Secretary expects to hire 
pursuant to such subsection. 
(ii) The total number of Veterans Jus-
tice Outreach Specialists assigned to each 
Department of Veterans Affairs medical 
center that participates in the Veterans Jus-
tice Outreach Program, including the num-
ber of Veterans Justice Outreach Specialists 
hired under subsection (a)(1) disaggregated 
by Department of Veterans Affairs medical 
center. 
(iii) The total number of eligible De-
partment of Veterans Affairs medical cen-
ters that sought placement of a Veterans 
Justice Outreach Specialist under sub-
section (a)(1), how many Veterans Justice 
Outreach 
Specialists 
each 
such 
center 
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sought, and how many of such medical cen-
ters received no placement of a Veterans 
Justice Outreach Specialist under sub-
section (a)(1). 
(iv) For each eligible Department of 
Veterans Affairs medical center— 
(I) the number of justice-involved 
veterans who were served or are ex-
pected to be served by a Veterans Jus-
tice 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. 
(2) REPORT BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE 
UNITED STATES.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than three 
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 imple-
mentation of this section and the effectiveness of 
the Veterans Justice Outreach Program. 
(B) CONTENTS.—The report required by 
subparagraph (A) shall include the following: 
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(i) An assessment of whether the Sec-
retary has fulfilled the Secretary’s obliga-
tions under this section. 
(ii) The number of veterans who are 
served by Veterans Justice Outreach Spe-
cialists 
hired 
under 
subsection 
(a)(1), 
disaggregated by demographics (including 
discharge status). 
(iii) An identification of any sub-
groups of veterans who underutilize services 
provided under laws administered by the 
Secretary, including an assessment of 
whether these veterans have access to Vet-
erans Justice Outreach Specialists under 
the Veterans Justice Outreach Program. 
(iv) Such recommendations as the 
Comptroller General may have for the Sec-
retary 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 enforce-
ment officer, program mentor, and Veterans Justice 
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Outreach Specialist, who assist justice-involved vet-
erans in a veterans treatment court or other veteran- 
focused court. 
(2) JUSTICE-INVOLVED
VETERAN.—The term 
‘‘justice-involved veteran’’ means a veteran with ac-
tive, 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 en-
forcement, 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
SPE-
CIALIST.—The term ‘‘Veterans Justice Outreach Spe-
cialist’’ means an employee of the Department of Vet-
erans Affairs who serves as a liaison between the De-
partment and the local criminal justice system on be-
half of a justice-involved veteran. 
(6) VETERANS
TREATMENT
COURT.—The term 
‘‘veterans treatment court’’ means a State or local 
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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))). 
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