,i #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #badg ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,april #bf1 #bjag,mr4 ,coffman introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to require the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs to hire additional ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,specialists to provide treatment court services to justice-involved veterans1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,veterans ,treatment ,court ,improvement ,act of #bjag4 #b4 ,hiring by ,department of ,veterans ,affairs of additional ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,specialists 7a7 ,hiring of additional ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,specialists 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall hire not fewer than #ej ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,specialists and place each such ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,specialist at an eligible ,department of ,veterans ,affairs medical center in accordance with this section4 7#b7 ,requirements ,the ,secretary shall ensure that each ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,specialist employed under paragraph 7#a7-- 7,a7 serves1 either exclusively or in addition to other duties1 as part of a justice team in a veterans treatment court or other veteran-focused court2 and 7,b7 otherwise meets ,department hiring guidelines for ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,specialists4 7#c7 ,supplement not supplant ,the ,secretary shall ensure that the total number of ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,specialists employed by the ,department is not less than the sum of-- 7,a7 the total number of ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,specialists that were employed by the ,department on the day before the date of the enactment of this ,act2 and 7,b7 the number of ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,specialists set forth in paragraph 7#a74 7b7 ,eligible ,department of ,veterans ,affairs medical centers ,for purposes of this section1 an eligible ,department of ,veterans ,affairs medical center is any ,department of ,veterans ,affairs medical center that-- 7#a7 complies with all ,department guidelines and regulations for placement of a ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,specialist2 7#b7 works within a local criminal justice system with justice-involved veterans2 7#c7 maintains an affiliation with one or more veterans treatment courts or other veteran-focused courts2 and 7#d7 either-- 7,a7 routinely provides ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,specialists to serve as part of a justice team in a veterans treatment court or other veteran-focused court2 or 7,b7 establishes a plan that is approved by the ,secretary to provide ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,specialists employed under subsection 7a77#a7 to serve as part of a justice team in a veterans treatment court or other veteran-focused court4 7c7 ,placement priority ,the ,secretary shall prioritize the placement of ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,specialists employed under subsection 7a77#a7 at eligible ,department of ,veterans ,affairs medical centers that have or intend to establish an affiliation1 for the purpose of carrying out the ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,program1 with a veterans treatment court1 or other veteran-focused court1 that-- 7#a7 was established on or after the date of the enactment of this ,act2 or 7#b7 7,a7 was established before the date of the enactment of this ,act2 and 7,b7 is not fully staffed with ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,specialists4 7d7 ,reports 7#a7 ,periodic reports by ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs 7,a7 ,in general ,not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this ,act and not less frequently than once every year thereafter1 the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall submit to ,congress a report on the implementation of this section and its effect on the ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,program4 7,b7 ,contents ,each report submitted under paragraph 7#a7 shall include the following3 7i7 ,the status of the efforts of the ,secretary to hire ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,specialists pursuant to subsection 7a77#a71 including the total number of ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,specialists hired by the ,secretary pursuant to such subsection and the number that the ,secretary expects to hire pursuant to such subsection4 7ii7 ,the total number of ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,specialists assigned to each ,department of ,veterans ,affairs medical center that participates in the ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,program1 including the number of ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,specialists hired under subsection 7a77#a7 disaggregated by ,department of ,veterans ,affairs medical center4 7iii7 ,the total number of eligible ,department of ,veterans ,affairs medical centers that sought placement of a ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,specialist under subsection 7a77#a71 how many ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,specialists each such center sought1 and how many of such medical centers received no placement of a ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,specialist under subsection 7a77#a74 7iv7 ,the total number of justice-involved veterans who were served or are expected to be served by a ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,specialist hired under subsection 7a77#a74 7#b7 ,report by ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states 7,a7 ,in general ,not later than two years after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall submit to ,congress a report on the implementation of this section and the effectiveness of the ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,program4 7,b7 ,contents ,the report required by subparagraph 7,a7 shall include the following3 7i7 ,an assessment of whether the ,secretary has fulfilled the ,secretary's obligations under this section4 7ii7 ,the number of veterans who are served by ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,specialists hired under subsection 7a77#a71 disaggregated by demographics 7including discharge status74 7iii7 ,an identification of any subgroups of veterans who underutilize services provided under laws administered by the ,secretary1 including an assessment of whether these veterans have access to ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,specialists under the ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,program4 7iv7 ,such recommendations as the ,comptroller ,general may have for the ,secretary to improve the effectiveness of the ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,program4 7e7 ,authorization of appropriations 7#a7 ,in general ,there is authorized to be appropriated to the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs to carry out subsection 7a7 #e1ejj1jjj for each of fiscal years #bjag through #bjbg4 7#b7 ,identification of offsets ,the ,secretary shall submit to ,congress a report that identifies such legislative or administrative actions as the ,secretary determines will result in a reduction in expenditures by the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs that is equal to or greater than the amounts authorized to be appropriated by paragraph 7#a74 7f7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,justice team ,the term justice team means the group of individuals1 which may include a judge1 court coordinator1 prosecutor1 public defender1 treatment provider1 probation or other law enforcement officer1 program mentor1 and ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,specialist1 who assist justice-involved veterans in a veterans treatment court or other veteran-focused court4 7#b7 ,justice-involved veteran ,the term justice-involved veteran means a veteran with active1 ongoing1 or recent contact with some component of a local criminal justice system4 7#c7 ,local criminal justice system ,the term local criminal justice system means law enforcement1 jails1 prisons1 and ,state and local courts4 7#d7 ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,program ,the term ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,program means the program through which the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs identifies justice-involved veterans and provides such veterans with access to ,department services4 7#e7 ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,specialist ,the term ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,specialist means an employee of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs who serves as a liaison between the ,department and the local criminal justice system on behalf of a justice-involved veteran4 7#f7 ,veterans treatment court ,the term veterans treatment court means a ,state or local court that is participating in the veterans treatment court program 7as defined in section #biia7;i77#a7 of the ,omnibus ,crime ,control and ,safe ,streets ,act of #aifh 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #cgig;aa7i77#a7774