# Real Justice for Our Veterans Act of 2021

This bill focuses on making sure veterans who get into legal trouble have better access to specialized court programs designed to help them, rather than just sending them to prison. Veterans treatment courts are special programs that combine the criminal justice system with mental health and substance abuse treatment, recognizing that many veterans struggle with trauma, PTSD, and addiction after their military service. The bill makes several changes to ensure these programs work better and reach more people fairly.

The main requirement is that veterans courts must now actively work to prevent discrimination and ensure that minority veterans and women have equal chances to get into these programs and successfully complete them. Courts will need to collect data on who gets admitted and who finishes the program to check for any unfair patterns based on race, ethnicity, or gender. If a court discovers that certain groups are being left out or aren't completing the program at the same rates, they'll need to fix the problem. Additionally, the federal government will study how well these programs are actually working across the country, looking at whether they use proven treatments for addiction and mental health issues, and whether veterans are staying out of trouble after completing the program.

The bill also creates a pilot program that gives money to local courts to test new therapy methods that help veterans stick with their treatment and finish the program successfully. For areas that don't have a dedicated veterans court, the bill allows veterans—even those convicted of violent crimes—to participate in regular drug courts instead, so they still get treatment-focused help rather than just incarceration. The government will fund this pilot program with $3 million per year through 2027, and local courts will have to report back on how many veterans complete the program and who is participating.

Real Justice for Our Veterans Act of 2021

Jackson Lee, Sheila

Real Justice for Our Veterans Act of 2021 This bill expands data collection on the effectiveness of veteran treatment court programs, incentivizes local governments to improve retention rates in veteran treatment court programs and drug courts, and expands options for veterans to participate in drug courts. First, the bill requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to report on the effectiveness of veteran treatment court programs. The report must assess the population served by the programs, whether the programs use evidence-based treatments, the recidivism rates of participants, and program completion rates. Second, the bill requires DOJ's Bureau of Justice Assistance to implement a pilot program (1) to provide training and technical assistance to state and local conviction review entities, and (2) to make grants for local governments to improve retention in veteran treatment court programs and drug courts. Finally, this bill allows a veteran (including a veteran who is a violent offender) to participate in a drug court program instead of a veteran treatment court program if a jurisdiction does not operate a veteran treatment court program.