Child support and justice-involved military veterans.

The study examines and evaluates the effectiveness of a federal and county collaboration in Pennsylvania designed to help military veterans with child support arrearages in the criminal justice system. The study focused on the veteran participants (n=232) identified psychosocial problems, their range of justice involvement, strategies to mitigate, address barriers and legal dilemmas through the collaborative. The average age 40, majority male, Caucasian, divorced, enrolled in Veterans Administration (VA) healthcare, serving on supervised parole or probation, homeless episodes, and income <$500.00 per month. In general, the findings enhance the limited body of knowledge about military-veteran child support and provide strategies and specific insight into the problems veterans face on individual, familial, and societal levels.

Incarcerated Veterans Outreach Program.

The objective of this study is to identify and facilitate re-entry services for military veterans in the Criminal Justice System through the Incarcerated Veteran Outreach Program. Veterans are explored as a subgroup of the general inmate jail populations in southern Ohio based upon veteran's status, military discharges, service-related injuries, treatment needs, pre-release planning, and re-entry services. Veterans reported having psycho-social problems, diverse levels of criminality, criminogenic needs, and significant episodes of homelessness. A sample of 399 incarcerated veterans in state prison, county jails, and community corrections setting were identified and completed the psycho-social pre-release assessment. Their average age was 44.6; they were more likely to be White males, divorced, most honorably discharged, and were represented in the following eras: 34% Vietnam, 35% post-Vietnam, 26% Persian Gulf War, and 5% Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom. The findings encourage the development of a re-entry outreach model and strategies to prevent episodes of criminal recidivism.

Military Veterans in the Criminal Justice System: Partner Violence and the Impact of Relationships With Fathers.

The objective of this study is to examine the health characteristics of military veterans identified through the Criminal Justice System (CJS) with partner violence and their relationships with their fathers. The 282 veterans involved in the CJS participated to complete a psycho-social assessment which included partner violence and ascertained their relationships with their fathers. The mean age of the men in the study was 44.9 years old. The majority were divorced, Caucasian, had a high school education, and served in the Army. This sample shows the benefit of integrating partner violence and relationships with fathers into the assessment process and highlights the need for more research.

Male Veteran Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Program Outcomes.

The prominence and incidence of intimate partner violence (IPV) with male military veterans vary, but generally there is consensus that screening and intervention does help reduce IPV. Intervention is generally provided in the community via Batterer Intervention Programs. However, at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) intervention is provided via the Domestic Relations Clinic. Nationally the VA has limited treatment for male IPV. An aggregate sample (n = 178) of participants was assessed using the Domestic Violence/Abuse Screen to measure covariate pre-test and post-test outcomes, program failure, and recidivism. The treatment approach is psycho-educationally based to meet the challenging and unique needs of the military veteran population. The results contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of IPV and highlight the need for more intervention and prevention approaches.