Statewide Training
Until further notice, all statewide trainings will be provided via live webinar. You can request any presentation topic(s) below and Justice For Vets will deliver them digitally to your attendees. Learn more in our frequently asked questions document.
Please note:
- Requests for presentations are subject to availability and will be provided over Zoom. Once confirmed, the state point-of-contact will receive a link to distribute to attendees.
- Following the webinar, attendees must complete the evaluation to receive a certificate. Ensure attendees provide their legal names when registering as certificates are produced using the names provided.
The Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice provides funding for Justice For Vets to provide speakers to support state treatment court conferences and other events around the country. Tell us what subjects are important to your state and we will identify speakers to bring their expertise to your conference -- all at no cost to your state organization!
Browse presentation topics below and submit your application for review by Justice For Vets staff.
Browse available presentations by subject using the navigation buttons below.
Specialized Populations
This presentation will teach the dynamics of working with Native American people and the history of generational trauma. This plenary will teach the importance of working on relationships and the importance of listening to what culture is saying instead of telling them “what they need to do” Furthermore, this plenary will explain the importance of culture when working with different populations.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn the do and don’ts of working with Native American peoples.
- Learn and understand the Trauma history of Native American peoples.
Historically, treatment programs treat both men and women together, often providing the same services. Research shows treatment needs for women differ from men and are often more complex. Additionally, research shows that women who participate in gender specific programs have improved outcomes. An emerging promising practice addressing the specific gender needs of treatment court participants includes gender specific treatment court programming.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the unique needs and issues women face.
- Learn the key components to building programming on a woman’s strengths and competencies.
- Recognize the importance of developing programs that approach the treatment needs of women using a comprehensive and holistic strategy.
The Adult Drug Court Best Practice Standards state that those who have historically experienced sustained discrimination or reduced social opportunities because of their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, sexual identity, physical or mental disability, religion, or socioeconomic status receive the same opportunities as others. This session will explore how to determine if on average all participants regardless of race, ethnicity or gender have an equal opportunity to participate in and succeed in treatment court. It will help practitioner ensure equivalent access, retention, treatment, incentives and sanctions, dispositions, and stress the importance of providing team training on race, ethnicity culture, diversity and becoming a culturally competent and responsive program.
Learning Objectives-At the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Identify and spot indicators of racial disparities in your collaborative court.
- Describe model strategies/approaches for improving participation and outcomes for racial and ethnic groups.
- Apply the Adult Drug Court Standards Best Practices for “Historically Disadvantaged Groups.”
Behavior Modification
Incentives and sanctions, also known as contingency management, are essential to treatment court success. When properly used, they are a powerful tool for improving client behavior and program outcomes. Treatment courts achieve better outcomes when practitioners understand the science behind behavior management and apply the principles. The research is clear: reliably participant behavior requires both consistent reinforcement of positive behaviors and reliable responses to undesirable behaviors. Nonetheless, despite our best intentions (and perhaps the best intentions of the participants,) sometimes it doesn’t work. For some participants, our responses to behavior seem to have no impact. This session will describe the essential elements of effective behavior modification in a drug court and reveal what actions a program should consider when their efforts appear futile.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the science underlying incentives, sanctions, and other responses in specialty courts.
- Understand the essential elements of effective behavior modification in specialty courts.
- Discover the four reasons contingency management doesn’t work and actions a program can take to address those causes of failure.
Failure to recognize and address the things that put a justice-involved veteran or service member at risk for continued criminal behavior can result in the person returning to the criminal justice system again and again. This session will focus on identifying the most significant risk factors for criminal justice involvement and actions that team members can tale to reduce a veteran participant’s likelihood of further criminal involvement.
This presentation outlines the basic behavior modification principles and their applicability in keeping participants engaged in treatment court programs and move toward long term recovery. It takes a look at how programs can use participant driven incentives to formulate a strategy of creative responses that are desirable to the participant and productive behaviors which give the participant an opportunity to be rewarded through positive and negative reinforcement. It identifies the importance of incentives, both formal and informal, and their application in the program. The presentation recognizes the effect of immediate consequences in modifying client behavior.
Learning Objectives-At the end of this session, participants will:
- Learn how incentives motivate participants to comply with program requirements
- Identify various creative incentives that can be used to respond to a client ‘s conduct
- Learn that incentives must be consistently and uniformly imposed
Motivational Interviewing is designed to help participants see what matters to them and helps them to be engaged, feel valued and develop a vested interest in their long-term recovery planning and case management. Through motivational interviewing the participant has buy in and a voice in identifying goals and a value system that gives them a major role in recovery planning.
Learning Objectives: After this session, participants will be able to:
- Learn the principles and skills needed to deliver court responses effectively
- Gain an in-depth understanding of motivational interviewing as a technique to assist clients in changing their behavior
Best Practice Standards
In 2013, the National Association of Drug Court Professionals published Volume I of the ground-breaking Adult Drug Court Best Practice Standards Volume I. In 2015, Volume II of the Adult Drug Court Best Practice Standards was released. These standards provide practical, implementable, and enforceable guidance on how Drug Courts are to operate in 10 critical areas.
Learning Objectives-At the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Receive a summary of each standard in Volume I and II and some of the fascinating research on which they are based
- Learn why adherence to Best Practice Standards are essential for the continued success of the Drug Court Model
- Learn about the Drug Court practice areas likely to be the focus of future standards
In 2015, NADCP released Volume II of the Adult Drug Court Best Practice Standards. The Standards are derived from scientific evidence proving which practices improve outcomes, avoid harmful effects, and make optimum use of scarce resources. This presentation will review Volume II of the Standards and the evidence supporting the practice recommendations.
Learning Objectives-At the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Receive a summary of each standard in Volume II and some of the fascinating research on which they are based
- Learn why adherence to Best Practice Standards are essential for the continued success of the Drug Court Model
- Learn about the Drug Court practice areas likely to be the focus of future standards
Communities large and small across the United States are scrambling to respond to an opioid epidemic that President Trump has declared a “public health emergency.” Treatment courts, with their proven approaches to treatment and supervision, offer one of the best paths for healing communities broken by a complicated disease affecting so many nationwide. But with few and shrinking resources, how can courts react effectively? The Adult Drug Court Best Practice Standards provide one solution in combating the opioid epidemic within the criminal justice system by incorporating evidence-based research to reduce recidivism. These standards provide practical, implementable, and enforceable guidance on how Drug Courts provide the tools to achieve and sustain recovery. The crosswalk of national standards and state mandates provide a framework for long-term sustainability. This session will discuss how the application of the standards across programs help to increase outcomes, build program sustainability and best serve the target population.
Learning Objectives-At the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Learn about resources that may exist in your community to promote recovery
- Surprising ways even the smallest of communities may utilize to treat those in need
- Learn how adherence to Best Practice Standards are essential for combating the epidemic
Recovery Support
This session will provide an opportunity to learn the value of incorporating family therapy in substance abuse treatment and how it may provide a stronger recovery.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn to distinguish between family psychoeducation, family-integration, and family therapy.
- Understand the value of incorporating family therapy in substance abuse treatment.
Acknowledging that strong community and social ties are variables that contribute to a participant’s recovery as well as a law-abiding lifestyle is substantial. Even more significant, however, is when VTC teams can develop strategies and techniques that improve and enhance social connectedness between community and participant. This session focuses on combining knowledge with the strategy in a manner that will have long-term beneficial outcomes for the justice-involved veteran participant.
This presentation will help recognize the warning signs of potential co-dependent relationships that clients are engaged in and education on how to untangle those damaging relationships. This plenary will also define the underlying self-centeredness that co-dependency creates by examining the underlying processes that occur when one is reliant on other people for approval and a sense of identity.
Learning Objectives:
- Recognize the warning signs of co-dependency relationships.
- Learn techniques to educate clients and family members on the dynamics of co-dependent relationships.
This presentation will discuss the dynamics of enablement in substance use disorder and how it can impede recovery. The presentation will also discuss the importance of accountability and consequences. This presentation will look at the difference between co-dependent relationships and enablement. Finally, this plenary will look at some of the cultural ties that enablement has.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn the difference between helping behavior and enabling behavior.
- Learn the difference between abstinence and recovery.
- Learn about co-dependent relationships.
This presentation will educate the importance of replacing unhealthy relationships with healthy support networks in recovery. Furthermore, this presentation will educate on the dangers of group-think mentality and dynamics it can have on recovery and criminal behavior, which can result in the irrational or dysfunctional decision-making process for the sole purpose of maintaining psychological homeostasis.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn the importance of social groups and how they can affect recovery and criminal behavior.
- Learn what happens when group-think mentality engages and the effects it can have on moral reasoning and motivation.
Recovery is more than abstinence. Recovery is more than remission. Recovery is a process of change through which individuals achieve remission from substance use disorder and improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential. Research demonstrates that recovery is not only possible, it’s probable. Most people living with SUD will eventually achieve stable long-term recovery. Unfortunately, not everyone has the same likelihood of moving from addiction to recovery. This session will explore the critical steps in achieving stable recovery, the factors that differentiate those who recover from those who do not, and how treatment courts can help.
Learning Objectives:
- The essence and characteristics of addiction and recovery
- Five essential actions steps that anyone seeking recovery must accomplish
- How a person’s capacity for stable recovery is measurable and able to be improved through effective treatment and recovery management
Learn about the dynamics of substance use disorder and the relapse and support that clients will need upon entering recovery. This plenary will help you define the difference between abstinence and recovery, and it will highlight the importance of safety nets and supports systems that the substance use disorder individual will need to be successful. Furthermore, it will develop safety plans and tools that can be utilized to help the road to recovery.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn the difference between abstinence and recovery.
- Learn the strategies to help support a person in recovery.
- Factors that can cause relapse.
Relapse, also known as recurrence, is a persistent, yet manageable risk in recovery. Managing this risk requires the concerted efforts of everyone on the drug court team and others in the recovery community. This fascinating session will examine both the prevailing views regarding recurrence of substance use disorder (SUD) and the multi-dimensional aspects of effective relapse/recurrence prevention planning and programming. Essential information will be shared regarding how to manage the single greatest and most common danger in the immediate aftermath of a relapse/recurrence—the abstinence violation effect.
Learning Objectives:
- How “relapse/recurrence” differs in clinically significant ways for “continued or resumed use.”
- The essential components of successful relapse/recurrence prevention planning and programming.
- How to effectively reduce the risk of relapse/recurrence and how to reduce the harms of relapse/recurrence if it occurs.
Roles in Treatment Court
Prosecutors in Veterans Treatment Courts (VTC) are part of strong, interdisciplinary teams dedicated to serving the justice-involved veteran population. Due to the unique characteristics of this population, it is incumbent on the prosecutor to understand issues common to VTC participants, including substance use disorder, PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and military sexual trauma. The prosecutor must also be familiar with the Veterans Administration, veteran’s justice outreach specialists, and the veteran mentor component. This knowledge is needed for the prosecutor to assist the team with assessing eligibility, determining appropriate responses to client behavior, and addressing the unique needs of the justice-involved veterans.
Learning Objectives:
- The attendee will understand the unique characteristics of the justice-involved veteran population and how psychological injuries can lead to the veterans’ involvement in the criminal justice system.
- The attendee will understand the importance of understanding PTSD, military trauma, TBI, and military culture.
- The attendee will gain an understanding of the core competencies for a prosecutor participating in a veteran’s treatment court.
This session outlines the basic concepts of team development. It offers interactive exercises to demonstrate ways to handle team issues, such as transition and conflict management.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify the elements of effective teamwork and different teamwork models.
- Understand new perspectives on effective teamwork and dynamics within your team.
This training is designed to provide law enforcement officers with some of the key tools to build an agency-wide understanding of treatment courts and other diversion programs, develop standard engagement protocols, and improve public safety outcomes for jurisdictions. The training will enable law enforcement officers to identify standard operating procedures, recognize the importance of both the multidisciplinary approach and the implementation of community policing in addition to the impact of vicarious trauma within the law enforcement community.
Learning Objectives:
- List the core competencies for law enforcement.
- Identify new system resources.
- Recognize a key characteristic of law enforcement’s work is developing a relationship with participants.
Self-Care
This presentation will educate about the importance of self-care in the treatment court field and steps to take to preserve mental and physical health. Attendees will discover the importance of self-care, which can help boost self-esteem and produce a more productive work environment and work product. This plenary will teach you how to speak up for yourself and explain why your self-care needs are important.
Learning Objectives:
- Recognize the warning signs of stress.
- Learn self-care techniques and strategies.
Our work comes with tremendous stress, trauma and pressure. Each day we serve people who are struggling and are witness to and exposed to tremendous amounts of trauma, sadness and dysfunction. At the same time, we are faced with structural and systemic challenges around safety and security, funding, technological change, and a list that goes on and on. Do you ever ask yourself whether you are going to survive this work? Do you wonder if you can continue to rise to the challenge, get everything done, stay engaged? We will delve into the nature of the problem so we can understand what prolonged stress, exposure and challenge does to us and our teams. But more importantly, we will explore research-based practices and solutions that each one of us can implement to meet the challenges for ongoing health, satisfaction and performance. The answer is that we can survive and even thrive by focusing on and implement mindful resilience strategies.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the impact that the stress, trauma and constant pressure in our work has on us and the people we work with.
- Identify and begin planning how to implement clear strategies and workable solutions for moving toward better health, performance and resilience as people and organizations.
- Learn ideas and strategies we can implement to lead our teams to be more mindfully effective, better prepared, and positioned to respond to the changes and challenges that will surely keep coming.
This presentation will explore the frequently overlooked issue of impairment and burnout in helping professionals. All of us seek to balance the stresses and strains of our private lives with the need to perform effectively at work. Even in tough times most of us are able to “pull it together” long enough to get through our day. However, there are times when issues such as excessive duties, divorce, disease, drinking, drugging, depression or other dysfunction rob us of our ability to do our jobs and/or find joy in doing so. Whether the problem results from an acute incident or from a chronic problem that has reached the breaking point, the consequences can be life and livelihood threatening. This presentation is essential for those who fear they may be impaired; want to know the warning signs of impairment; want to know how to avoid becoming impaired; or want to know how best to support co-workers or loved ones who are struggling.
Learning Objectives:
- Know the warning signs of professional impairment and burnout; and prevention strategies.
- Understand the “impairment continuum” and the most common manifestations and causes of impairment.
- Develop strategies for coping with impairment to facilitate a return to full fitness for duty.
Through case examples, this session examines the emotional demands placed upon members of the mentoring component working in a veterans treatment court. It identifies Five Tenets of Self-Care that mentors can practice daily to prevent or reduce the likelihood of experiencing secondary traumatic stress or vicarious trauma. A self-assessment tool that can practically aid in log-term stress reduction and wellness “production” is discussed.
Ensuring Sustainability
This session will discuss the various types of funding and resources available to drug courts. Sustainability is a major concern for many drug courts and having a plan from the beginning – as the presentation recommends – is vital to ensure long-term survival.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify the range of resources and options to support drug courts, including the sources of monetary and nonmonetary resources.
- Recognize the role of the drug court team in developing a long-term funding strategy.
This session provides practical examples and engaging discussion on how to ensure that one of the most critical components of the veterans treatment court, the mentoring component, survives and thrives. The primary focus of this training is on the essential role the mentoring component provides to the veteran participant concerning continuity of support and resources long after they have completed the court program.
Trauma
This session will provide a general overview regarding trauma and its impact on a person’s life and functioning level. The attendee will walk out with a better understanding of screening tools and interventions currently used to support those who are struggling with trauma.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn how trauma is defined.
- Understand the different categories and types of trauma.
- Understand the trauma and its impact.
- Identify some screening tools that are commonly used to identify trauma.
- Identify evidence-based treatment being used to treat people with trauma.
The GAINS Center has developed training for criminal justice professionals to raise awareness about trauma and its effects. “How Being Trauma-Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses.”
Learning Objectives:
- Increase understanding and awareness of the impact of trauma.
- Develop trauma-informed responses.
- Provide strategies for developing and implementing trauma-informed policies.
This trauma training curriculum is specifically designed to meet the needs of judges as the primary audience. The content and accompanying teaching tools such as videos focus specifically on judges and other court professionals. Topics include defining trauma; the extent of trauma in justice involved individuals; the impact of trauma on substance use, mental health, and behavior; secondary/vicarious trauma; and steps on becoming a trauma-informed court. In addition, specific evidence-based screens, assessments, and treatments are discussed. The workshop is interactive and participatory with time for questions and problem-solving.
Learning Objectives-At the end of this session, the participant will be able to:
- Learn what trauma is and why it is an important component of treatment court programs.
- Learn how pervasive trauma is in justice-involved persons, especially people with substance use and mental health disorders.
- Identify steps courts can take to become trauma-informed, including incorporating evidence-based trauma screening, assessment, and treatment to improve outcomes
Substance Use Treatment
This session outlines the effects of alcohol and drugs on the brain. It discusses the most recent research in the area and stresses the importance and effectiveness of treatment to combat addiction.
Learning Objectives:
- Describe the short- and long-term neurological effects of alcohol and drug use and their implications for treatment.
- Evaluate the application of current research findings to the practice of alcohol and drug treatment.
- Recognize the short- and long-term general effects of alcohol and other drug use on brain physiology and behavior.
- Understand the difference between use, abuse, and dependence/addiction and begin to develop appropriate and attainable expectations for offenders in your DWI court treatment program.
Persons with co-occurring mental illnesses and substance use disorders are in all types of adult drug courts. Substance misuse is the most common and clinically significant co-morbid disorder among adults with severe mental illness. It is estimated that about 70-74 percent of persons in the criminal justice system affected by co-occurring disorders. Effective treatment planning is critical to positive outcomes both in treatment and in treatment court case-planning.
Learning Objectives:
- Recognize the necessity of matching treatment approaches to the individual.
- Recognize the necessity of providing a comprehensive continuum of treatment and ancillary services.
- Develop an understanding of the complex interactions between flexible treatment and case planning while maintaining integrity to the ADC Best Practice Standards.
This session discusses the importance of treatment to treatment court model. Further, it discusses the various approaches and methods of treatment for clients while they are in treatment court. The session also discusses the various ways to continue treatment after an individual leaves treatment court and the importance of continuing care to maintain a recovery lifestyle.
Learning Objectives:
- Recognize clinical treatment services as the primary function of the treatment court model.
- Understand the blending of primary clinical services with criminal justice case processing.
- Define good treatment and its components.
- Identify the major characteristics and advantages of standard treatment approaches.
- Recognize the necessity of matching treatment approaches to the individual.
- Recognize the necessity of providing a comprehensive continuum of treatment and ancillary services.
- Recognize the necessity of providing continuing care after discharge from treatment court.
This presentation will educate the common layperson of the dynamics of many common co-occurring disorders that are often related to a substance use disorder. Further, this presentation shows common behaviors that occur with mental health disorders and the different therapies that are used to treat those behaviors.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn patterns of behavior common with certain mental health disorders.
- Learn different types of therapies that are commonly used for mental health disorders.
- Learn the dynamics of co-occurring mental health disorders.
This session will look at how to address the lack of engagement or resistance to treatment.
Learning Objectives:
To look at treatment resistance through lenses of opportunity.
- Understanding the value in creating treatment alliance to reduce resistance.
- Understanding the importance of motivation and how motivation looks different for people.
Recommended for full treatment court teams interested in learning about medication-assisted treatment and how to incorporate the use of the FDA-approved medications in their programs. Opioid use disorder has quickly become a national crisis, as communities are seeing the number of deaths from drug overdoses overtake those from car accidents. Research has shown that the use of medication-assisted treatment in combination with substance use disorder treatment is effective and can help people sustain recovery.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn the biological basis for substance use disorders.
- Identify the goals for treatment.
- Know the medications currently FDA-approved for the treatment of Opioid Use Disorders.
- Learn the key indications and contraindications for medications used to treat Opioid Use Disorders.
- Recognize how physicians decide on treatment changes and reduce the risk of diversion.
Drug Testing
Effective drug testing in Drug Court is essential to the overall success of the program. This presentation is designed to be a comprehensive review designed to provide information and strategies for building and maintaining a successful abstinence monitoring program. Collection strategies and result interpretation - two essential components of a credible testing program will be discussed. Attendees will learn the reasons for testing, how to select clients for maximum abstinence surveillance, and what specimens yield the best results. Additional focus issues will include controlling sample tampering and the use of creatinine measurements, the application of EtG/EtS monitoring, the challenges of on-site testing, dispelling popular drug testing myths and much more. This session is intended to encourage practitioners to know more about drug testing than their clients.
Learning Objectives-At the end of this session, participants will:
- Learn the basic principles of drug testing.
- Gain knowledge of effective drug testing to ensure the success of abstinence monitoring.
- Learn which drug testing myths are true and false.
What is fact and what is fiction? Using the popular Discovery Channel's show “MythBusters” as a launching point, this session will investigate and evaluate many of the popular myths associated with drug testing. This presentation aims to "prove" or "bust" the myths your clients use to rationalize unfavorable drug testing results. Learn to be savvier than your clients.
Learning Objectives-At the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Review the most popular myths used to discredit drug testing results.
- Analyze how these myths are designed to confuse drug test result interpretation.
- Explore the origins of drug testing myths and why they perpetuate.
Addiction to opioids (e.g., heroin, morphine, prescription pain relievers) has increased I drug courts. As a result, drug courts are including the use of MAT to assist these clients. However, of the question arises, to what extent does the use of MAT drugs in an effort to promote recovery complicate the interpretation of drug testing results?
Learning Objectives-At the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Learn how to use standard instrument-based screening immunoassays drug tests (in-lab or in-court) and that MAT drug do not cross-react to produce “false positive” results
- Recognize that when using onsite testing devices, the cross-reactivity toward MAT drugs is largely unstudied
- Learn that confirmation testing (GX, MS or LC/MS) resolves all cross-reactivity issues
Evaluation
Is the court you're working with an effective program? Is the program reaching its goals? How do you know? In this climate of scarce public resources, monitoring and evaluation can help Drug Court programs demonstrate their program’s worth to internal and external stakeholders. Regular review of program operations and outcomes can also help improve the quality of your program. This session will break down the major components of evaluation, including what information to collect, tips for collecting data, developing good comparison groups, and recidivism and cost analysis methods.
Learning Objectives-At the end of this session, participants will:
- Understand the standards for drug court evaluation
- Understand the key data to collect
Understand valid recidivism analysis
Is your Drug Court an effective program? Are you reaching your goals for your program? How do you know? In this climate of scarce public resources, monitoring and evaluation can help Drug Court programs demonstrate their program’s worth to internal and external stakeholders. Regular review of program operations and outcomes can also help improve the quality of your program. This session will break down the major components of evaluation, including what information to collect, tips for collecting data, and how you can use the information to perform a self-review of your Drug Court program. No previous evaluation experience required!
Learning Objectives-At the end of this session, participants will:
- Understand the basics of program evaluation and its importance
- Understand what data your Drug Court program should collect
- Understand how you can use your data to monitor your Drug Court program’s progress
Is your court ready to undergo formal evaluation? What will you gain from evaluation? In this session we will describe recommended procedures used to conduct process, outcome, and cost evaluations on treatment courts. Key data and information needed to conduct the different types of evaluation will be outlined. Potential resources to fund evaluation will be presented. Treatment courts considering an evaluation will leave the presentation able to assess the feasibility of having an evaluation conducted on their court and ways to prepare for a future evaluation.
Learning Objectives-At the end of this session, participants will:
- Differentiate between process, outcome, and cost evaluations of treatment courts in terms of their purpose and methods used.
- Describe key data sources and the data elements necessary for evaluation as well as strategies to begin collecting, or enhance existing, data collection practices.
- Identify various funding opportunities to support evaluation of your treatment court.
Mental Health
This session provides an overview of common mental health disorders, as identified in the DSM-5, that participants may be experiencing. Attendees will learn about screening and assessment interventions used to assist with identifying these potential disorders. Additionally, this session will introduce participants to how to help facilitate change through available evidence-based treatment modalities.
This session focuses on Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), a cognitive-behavioral treatment that was initially developed for veterans with posttraumatic disorder and related problems. An overview of the therapy is shared. Areas that are covered include how it works, the goals of the treatment and what counseling sessions look like from a participant’s perspective. Case examples are shared to highlight the efficacy of the intervention. Clinicians and non-clinicians alike will find the session especially interesting.
Behavioral Health
The justice-involved veteran (JIV) population has unique behavioral health and criminogenic issues that warrant tailored therapeutic responses from the treatment court field. When the proper therapeutic interventions match the specific needs of the participant, results can be phenomenal! This session provides an overview of current proven, effective treatment modalities that address the tailored needs of the JIV population. The therapeutic models discussed range from promising practice to evidence-based.
Suicide Prevention is everyone’s responsibility. This session examines the signs, symptoms, and areas of concern that are potential risk factors for suicide. Most importantly, this session provides the VTC team member - regardless of role, the ability to take steps and actions that can significantly reduce a participant’s risk of self-harm.
A significant portion of individuals that are in the criminal justice system has incurred a single trauma or several traumas throughout their lives. This session will focus on having a trauma-informed approach to working with these participants in your veterans treatment court. Additionally, research-driven trauma-informed services that most effectively meet the responsivity needs of the justice involved veteran will be identified and reviewed for possible consideration.
Other Topics in Veterans Treatment Courts
Military service has a unique and long-lasting impact on current and former service members. For those that become justice-involved, the learned cultural values, ethics, and standards applied during their service can be leveraged with the participant by the veterans treatment court team in a manner and context that will benefit the participant, participant’s immediate support network, and the overall community.
The law is a tool for success and should not be viewed as an obstacle. Drug court professionals must develop a comprehensive understanding of what the law will and will not allow. Learn first-hand how to face challenges relating to ethics, HIPAA, confidentiality, due process, 12-Step programs and the law, and other constitutional requirements.
Learning Objectives:
- Recognize constitutional and due process issues that affect the drug court program
- Identify how Federal Confidentiality Regulations are applied in the drug court setting.
- Recognize ethic laws that influence drug court team member roles in the drug court progress.
Research has indicated that the drug court model has the largest impact on high risk/high need participants. What about those at other risk and need levels? Does drug court work for them? What happens to those defendants if they aren’t eligible for drug court? The speakers for this session will describe the latest breaking research on the benefits of creating tracks in your drug court. They will also cover why and how you should assess for risk and need, and discuss in practical terms how they implemented different tracks in their own programs and the lessons learned in the process.
Learning Objectives-At the end of this session, participants will:
- Understand risk and need and the importance of good assessments
- Gain awareness of the latest research on programs with multiple tracks and the benefits of separating participants at different risk and need levels
- Learn the key steps in creating multiple tracks in your treatment court
To identify the process for community mapping of the needed service resources for problem-solving court participants and explore innovative approaches for meeting needs and developing new resources.
Learning Objectives: After this session, participants will be able to:
- To identify an ideal inventory of resources to meet needs of individual in problem solving courts and obtain a tool to use to assess their community
- to identify and explore several innovative resources that can enhance the service continuum for participants in rural drug court jurisdictions.
- To explore opportunities for partnerships for resources development
Effective communication among problem-solving court team members is essential for effective decision-making. The NADCP Adult Drug Court Best Practice Standards Multidisciplinary Team Standard stipulates that all team members contribute relevant insights, observations, and recommendations based on their professional knowledge, training, and experience. While the judge makes final decisions on matters that affect a participant’s welfare or liberty interests, the Standard clarifies that such decisions are to be made only after the judge considers the perspectives of all team members. This presentation will outline a set of communication practices that team members can employ to help ensure that their unique perspective is heard and valued. As a bonus, this presentation will discuss when ethical considerations require certain team members to remain silent during team discussions, even when they have relevant information to share.
Learning Objectives-At the end of this session, participants will:
- Identify the unique roles of each member of the drug court team;
- Describe how working as part of a multi-disciplinary team enhances participant outcomes;
- Apply the Adult Drug Court Standards Best Practices for Multi-disciplinary Teams
This presentation will delve into the dynamics of domestic violence and the subtleties of why partners stay in domestic violence relationships. This plenary will examine the cycle of violence and the mental co-dependency and cognitive dissonance that can be created to trap someone in an abusive/controlling relationship. Further, this plenary will explain how substance use disorder can be a supporting factor in domestic violence relationships.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn the difference between power/control and anger issues.
- Learn the dynamics of domestic violence relationships.
- Learn about the continuum of force concept.
- Learn how to interact with victims of domestic violence.