I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2147 
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 
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. 
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 2017’’. 
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SEC. 2. HIRING BY DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 
OF ADDITIONAL VETERANS JUSTICE OUT-
REACH SPECIALISTS. 
(a) HIRING
OF ADDITIONAL VETERANS JUSTICE 
OUTREACH SPECIALISTS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than one year 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary 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 en-
sure 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-fo-
cused court; and 
(B) otherwise meets Department hiring 
guidelines for Veterans Justice Outreach Spe-
cialists. 
(3) SUPPLEMENT
NOT
SUPPLANT.—The Sec-
retary shall ensure that the total number of Vet-
erans Justice Outreach Specialists employed by the 
Department is not less than the sum of— 
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(A) the total number of Veterans Justice 
Outreach Specialists that were employed by the 
Department on the day before the date of the 
enactment of this Act; and 
(B) the number of Veterans Justice Out-
reach Specialists set forth in paragraph (1). 
(b) ELIGIBLE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 
MEDICAL CENTERS.—For purposes of this section, an eli-
gible 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 jus-
tice 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 Out-
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reach Specialists employed under subsection 
(a)(1) to serve as part of a justice team in a 
veterans treatment court or other veteran-fo-
cused court. 
(c) PLACEMENT PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall 
prioritize the placement of Veterans Justice Outreach Spe-
cialists employed under subsection (a)(1) at eligible De-
partment of Veterans Affairs medical centers that have 
or intend to establish an affiliation, for the purpose of car-
rying 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) PERIODIC REPORTS BY SECRETARY OF VET-
ERANS AFFAIRS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 
after the date of the enactment of this Act and 
not less frequently than once every year there-
after, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
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submit to Congress a report on the implementa-
tion of this section and its effect on the Vet-
erans Justice Outreach Program. 
(B) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted 
under paragraph (1) shall include the following: 
(i) The status of the efforts of the 
Secretary to hire Veterans Justice Out-
reach Specialists pursuant to subsection 
(a)(1), including the total number of Vet-
erans 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 med-
ical center that participates in the Vet-
erans 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 De-
partment of Veterans Affairs medical cen-
ters that sought placement of a Veterans 
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Justice Outreach Specialist under sub-
section (a)(1), how many Veterans Justice 
Outreach Specialists each such center 
sought, and how many of such medical 
centers received no placement of a Vet-
erans Justice Outreach Specialist under 
subsection (a)(1). 
(iv) The total number of justice-in-
volved veterans who were served or are ex-
pected to be served by a Veterans Justice 
Outreach Specialist hired under subsection 
(a)(1). 
(2) REPORT
BY
COMPTROLLER
GENERAL
OF 
THE UNITED STATES.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than two 
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 effective-
ness of the Veterans Justice Outreach Program. 
(B) CONTENTS.—The report required by 
subparagraph (A) shall include the following: 
(i) An assessment of whether the Sec-
retary has fulfilled the Secretary’s obliga-
tions under this section. 
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(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 serv-
ices 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) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to 
carry out subsection (a) $5,500,000 for each of fis-
cal years 2017 through 2027. 
(2) IDENTIFICATION
OF
OFFSETS.—The Sec-
retary shall submit to Congress a report that identi-
fies such legislative or administrative actions as the 
Secretary determines will result in a reduction in ex-
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penditures by the Department of Veterans Affairs 
that is equal to or greater than the amounts author-
ized to be appropriated by paragraph (1). 
(f) 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 de-
fender, treatment provider, probation or other law 
enforcement officer, program mentor, and Veterans 
Justice Outreach Specialist, who assist justice-in-
volved veterans 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 compo-
nent of a local criminal justice system. 
(3) LOCAL
CRIMINAL
JUSTICE
SYSTEM.—The 
term ‘‘local criminal justice system’’ means law en-
forcement, jails, prisons, and State and local courts. 
(4) 
VETERANS
JUSTICE
OUTREACH
PRO-
GRAM.—The term ‘‘Veterans Justice Outreach Pro-
gram’’ means the program through which the De-
partment of Veterans Affairs identifies justice-in-
volved veterans and provides such veterans with ac-
cess to Department services. 
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(5) 
VETERANS
JUSTICE
OUTREACH
SPE-
CIALIST.—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. 
(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))). 
Æ 
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