Circuit Court of Cook County Veterans Treatment Court Enhancement Program

The Circuit Court of Cook County is seeking funding under Category 2, priority Area 2 of this solicitation to enhance the court’s Veteran Treatment Courts (VTC), to implement a plan to expand services to veterans who cannot or do not have access to Veterans Administration (VA). resources. The proposed enhancement project will serve veterans in the First Municipal District (Chicago) and Second and Fourth Municipal Districts of northwest and western suburban Cook County.

These programs target high-risk/high-need justice involved veterans arrested and charged with a felony offense, who are diagnosed with a substance use or mental health disorder and have not been convicted of a violent crime within the past 5 years. Funding will be used to 1) Enhance coordination of services to Vets who are ineligible for VA resources by employing a case manager to assess behavioral health needs, develop case plans, make referrals, and monitor the delivery of treatment; and 2) Increase access to substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and recovery support services to meet the unique needs of these justice-involved veterans. Services will be sensitive to issues of race, culture, religion, gender, age, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. These goals will be achieved through the following targeted activities designed to meet specific process and outcome objectives over a 4-year funding period.

Onboard a full-time case manager to quickly screen veterans for eligibility to participate, coordinate mental health and co-occurring assessments and develop individualized treatment plans. The case manager will connect participants to appropriate treatment and social supports, such as housing and employment, and monitor their progress and communicate with the VTC team. In addition, the program will expand access to medicine assisted treatment (MAT) services to VTC participants wo cannot or do not have access to VA services.

Currently, the VTC programs are serving eight vets that are ineligible for VA services. The program estimates that the enhanced services model presented will serve 40 unduplicated veterans during the 4-year funding period. Through this program enhancement, participation in VTC programming by justice involved veterans who cannot or do not have access VA service will increase by 500% from current levels.