Colorado's 4th JD VTC Enhancement: Trauma-Informed Interventions During Early Stages of VTC Program

The Fourth Judicial District is applying for $950,000 over 36 months to enhance its Veterans Trauma Court (4JD-VTC), a post-plea VTC serving El Paso and Teller Counties since 2009 at 270 S. Tejon Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80919.
The program purpose is to increase program effectiveness by identifying potential participants earlier, reducing time between admission and treatment start, identifying mental health history and treatment needs more thoroughly earlier in the process, collecting in-depth mental health symptom information to identify and prioritize treatment for participants soon after enrollment, and increasing participant engagement with and motivation for treatment.
The VTC will develop and implement a systematic identification procedure using VRSS; administer the first VTC risk and needs assessments for early and comprehensive understanding of issues; implement a brief structured trauma-informed mental health intervention as early in enrollment as possible; and evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of the interventions.
The VTC expected outcomes are increased program success rates; earlier identification of participants; reduced time between VTC enrollment and treatment engagement; holistic understanding of participants earlier in the program; and increased engagement in treatment and the VTC program.