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
PL 115-240 (H.R.2147), enacted 09/17/2018

132 STAT. 2888 
PUBLIC LAW 115–240—SEPT. 17, 2018 
Public Law 115–240 
115th Congress 
An Act 
To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to hire additional Veterans Justice 
Outreach Specialists to provide treatment court services to justice-involved vet-
erans, 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 ADDI-
TIONAL 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 Special-
ists 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 para-
graph (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 CEN-
TERS.—For purposes of this section, an eligible Department of Vet-
erans 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 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 veteran-focused court; or 
(B) establishes a plan that is approved by the Secretary 
to provide Veterans Justice Outreach Specialists employed 
Plan. 
Deadline. 
Veterans 
Treatment Court 
Improvement Act 
of 2018. 
38 USC 6303 
note. 
Sept. 17, 2018 
[H.R. 2147] 
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132 STAT. 2889 
PUBLIC LAW 115–240—SEPT. 17, 2018 
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 Vet-
erans 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 Vet-
erans Justice 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 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 sub-
section (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 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 
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 Out-
reach Specialist. 
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132 STAT. 2890 
PUBLIC LAW 115–240—SEPT. 17, 2018 
(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 sub-
section 
(a)(1), 
disaggregated 
by 
demographics 
(including discharge status). 
(iii) An identification of any subgroups of veterans 
who underutilize services provided under laws adminis-
tered by the Secretary, including an assessment of 
whether these veterans have access to Veterans Justice 
Outreach Specialists under the Veterans Justice Out-
reach Program. 
(iv) Such recommendations as the Comptroller 
General may have for the Secretary to improve the 
effectiveness of the Veterans Justice Outreach Pro-
gram. 
(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) JUSTICE
TEAM.—The term ‘‘justice team’’ means the 
group of individuals, which may include a judge, court coordi-
nator, prosecutor, public defender, treatment provider, proba-
tion or other law enforcement officer, program mentor, and 
Veterans Justice Outreach Specialist, who assist justice- 
involved veterans in a veterans treatment court or other vet-
eran-focused court. 
(2) 
JUSTICE-INVOLVED
VETERAN.—The 
term 
‘‘justice- 
involved 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. 
Recommenda- 
tions. 
Assessments. 
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132 STAT. 2891 
PUBLIC LAW 115–240—SEPT. 17, 2018 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 2147 (S. 946): 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 115–682 (Comm. on Veterans’ Affairs). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 164 (2018): 
June 13, considered and passed House. 
Aug. 22, considered and passed Senate. 
(6) VETERANS
TREATMENT
COURT.—The term ‘‘veterans 
treatment court’’ means a State or local court that is partici-
pating 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))). 
Approved September 17, 2018. 
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