Reps. Crow and Bacon Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Help Incarcerated Veterans Access Treatment and Resources

WASHINGTON — Representative Jason Crow (D-CO-06), alongside Representative Don Bacon (R-NE-02) introduced the Justice Involved Veterans Support Act, bipartisan legislation that would create a pilot program to provide grants and technical assistance to state prisons and local jails to improve documentation of whether inmates are veterans. 

Approximately 181,000 justice-involved veterans are incarcerated in the United States. Most were not identified during their criminal proceedings to be referred to a Veteran Treatment Court (VTC) or a Veteran Justice Outreach office and often lack knowledge that they can access these benefits.

Across the United States, more than half of justice-involved veterans face mental health challenges, such as PTSD and depression, or substance abuse disorders, such as alcoholism and drug addiction. Additionally, many justice-involved veterans experience homelessness or are at-risk for homelessness, while others often have difficulty finding work and re-entering society following their service to our nation. 

While existing services such as Veteran Treatment Courts and Veterans Justice Outreach programs have been shown to lower recidivism and facilitate access to VA services, many justice-involved veterans do not know that these services exist. The Justice Involved Veterans Support Act would create a pilot program to help identify veterans involved in the criminal justice system so they can better access these resources. 

“When I returned home from Iraq and Afghanistan, I made it my mission to care for my fellow veterans and make sure they had access to their hard-earned benefits. I’ve continued that work in Congress,” said Rep. Crow. “This legislation will help connect justice-involved veterans to the resources and programs they earned and support their transition back into society.” 

"As a retired Brigadier General that has been deployed four times, I've seen many servicemembers struggle with PTSD or substance abuse," said Rep. Bacon. “The Justice Veterans Support Act will create pilot programs for the Attorney General in consultation with the Sec. of Veterans Affairs to provide grants and technical assistance to state prisons and local jails that document if inmates are veterans. Our Veterans must be treated thoroughly.”

The Justice Involved Veteran Support Act would specifically create a pilot program for the U.S. Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, to provide grants and technical assistance to state prisons and local jails to improve the documentation of inmates’ veteran status. Grants would be prioritized for prisons and jails in states that contain the largest populations of veterans per capita, along with states that contain the highest rates of veterans living in poverty. 

Congressman Crow’s introduction of the Justice Involved Veterans Support Act follows his continued efforts to support our veterans and servicemembers. As an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran, connecting members of America’s military community with much-needed resources is personal for Congressman Crow. In the 117th Congress, he introduced the Justice Involved Veterans Support Act with the late Rep. Don Young (R-AK-AL) and supported the PACT Act, which expands health care to millions of servicemembers exposed to toxic chemicals.

See the full text of the bill here.

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