,,ii #aagth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #ccbc ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,december #g1 #bjba,mr4 ,cramer 7for himself and ,mr4 ,blumenthal7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to require the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs to make certain improvements to the ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,program1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,improvement ,act of #bjba4 #b4 ,improvements to ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,program 7a7 ,outreach requirement ,the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall conduct outreach regarding the ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,program to justice-involved veterans1 military and veterans service organizations1 and relevant stakeholders in the criminal justice community1 including officials from local law enforcement1 court1 and jail systems and others as determined appropriate by the ,secretary4 ,such outreach-- 7#a7 shall be designed-- 7,a7 to spread awareness and understanding of the ,program2 7,b7 to spread awareness and understanding of veteran eligibility for the ,program1 including the eligibility of veterans who were discharged from service in the ,armed ,forces under conditions other than honorable2 and 7,c7 to improve the identification of justice-involved veterans2 and 7#b7 may be conducted in person1 virtually1 or through other means1 including by the dissemination of informational materials and contact information4 7b7 ,strategic plan ,the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall develop a strategic plan for the ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,program4 ,in developing such plan1 the ,secretary shall conduct-- 7#a7 an assessment of barriers to working with justice-involved veterans in rural1 remote1 and underserved areas1 including potential steps to address such barriers2 and 7#b7 a workforce gap analysis for the ,program4 7c7 ,increase in number of ,,vjo specialists 7#a7 ,increase ,the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall increase the number of ,veterans ,justice ,outreach specialists responsible for supporting justice-involved veterans in rural1 remote1 or underserved areas1 including areas located far from ,department of ,veterans ,affairs medical centers1 as determined by the ,secretary1 through-- 7,a7 the hiring of additional ,veterans ,justice ,outreach specialists2 7,b7 the reallocation of existing ,veterans ,justice ,outreach specialists2 or 7,c7 such other means as may be determined appropriate by the ,secretary4 7#b7 ,determination ,the ,secretary shall determine the number of ,veterans ,justice ,outreach specialists required1 and the locations of such specialists1 under paragraph 7#a7 by taking into account-- 7,a7 such number and locations needed to achieve the mission and strategic goals of the ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,program2 7,b7 any gaps in the workforce of the ,program1 including such gaps identified pursuant to subsection 7b77#b72 and 7,c7 strategies to address such gaps4 7#c7 ,use of technology ,in carrying out paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary shall consider the use of virtual technology4 7d7 ,performance goals and implementation plans 7#a7 ,establishment ,the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall establish performance goals and implementation plans for-- 7,a7 the ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,program2 7,b7 ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,specialists2 and 7,c7 providing support for research regarding justice-involved veterans4 7#b7 ,consistency with strategic plan ,the ,secretary shall ensure that the performance goals and implementation plans under paragraph 7#a7 are consistent with the strategic plan under subsection 7b7 and include-- 7,a7 qualitative and quantitative milestones1 measures1 and metrics1 and associated timelines for completion of the plans under paragraph 7#a7 and barriers to such completion2 7,b7 an identification of relevant staff2 and 7,c7 an estimate of resource needs and sources4 7#c7 ,performance data ,the ,secretary shall establish a process to regularly collect and analyze performance data to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of implementing the plans under paragraph 7#a74 7e7 ,training requirement ,the ,secretary shall ensure that all ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,specialists receive training not less frequently than annually on-- 7#a7 best practices for identifying and conducting outreach to justice-involved veterans and relevant stakeholders in the criminal justice community2 and 7#b7 veteran eligibility for the ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,program1 including with respect to consistently communicating changes regarding eligibility 7including through the use of a script or other reference materials74 7f7 ,reports on implementation 7#a7 ,first report ,not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall submit to ,congress a report on the following3 7,a7 ,an assessment of implementing subsection 7c71 including-- 7i7 strategies to increase ,veterans ,justice ,outreach specialists responsible for supporting justice-involved veterans in rural1 remote1 or underserved areas2 and 7ii7 the progress of the ,secretary in addressing gaps in the workforce of the ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,program identified pursuant to paragraph 7#b7 of such subsection4 7,b7 ,the performance goals and implementation plans established under subsection 7d77#a74 7#b7 ,subsequent report ,not later than three years after the date on which the first report is submitted under paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary shall submit to ,congress a report on the progress of the ,secretary in meeting the performance goals and carrying out activities under the implementation plans established under subsection 7d77#a74 7g7 ,report on veterans treatment courts ,not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary1 in consultation with the ,attorney ,general1 shall submit to ,congress a report on the engagement of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs with veterans treatment courts1 including-- 7#a7 the availability and efficacy of veterans treatment courts in meeting the needs of justice-involved veterans2 7#b7 best practices for ,department of ,veterans ,affairs staff and justice-involved veterans in working with veterans treatment courts2 and 7#c7 the ability of justice-involved veterans to access veterans treatment courts1 including any barriers that exist to increasing such access4 7h7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,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#b7 ,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#c7 ,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#d7 ,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