00:00:06:02 - 00:00:38:21

Speaker-Archie Weatherspoon

Hello everyone, and welcome to today's NIC sponsored webinar 26A3101 Strengthening Veteran Identification Efforts. My name is Archie Weatherspoon and I am excited that you are all here today. I want to go over some housekeeping items to get you acquainted with this WebEx platform. Before I turn things over to today's moderators, I'd like to share some necessary housekeeping items.



00:00:38:22 - 00:01:07:01

 

So first, this webinar is scheduled to last approximately 90 minutes long and this webinar is being recorded. What's the recording is made 508 compliant. It will be posted on the National Institute of Corrections website. All of the registered participants will be notified via email when the recording and other materials are made available. Second, this session is a listen only invite.



00:01:07:02 - 00:01:43:04

 

Throughout the webinar, you are encouraged to communicate and ask questions with us using the WebEx chat function at the end of the presentation. We will take some time to answer as many questions as possible before the end of today's session. Lastly, if you are experiencing any audio issues, we'd like to show you how to connect to the audio and what you can do is follow these instructions here on the screen by selecting Connect Audio.



00:01:43:06 - 00:02:15:06

 

You will have an opportunity for questions and answers at the end of today's session, but it is now time to give the floor over to the National Institute of Corrections Information Center specialist, Ben Hunter. Hello, Archie. Thank you so much. I am having some connectivity issues myself, so you don't see me on the screen and I can't see any of you because I can't log in at my panelist information so by phone.



00:02:15:06 - 00:02:38:19

Speaker-Ben Hunter

And we are the information specialist here at the Information Center in Aurora, Colorado. Hopefully some of you have come up to Colorado for some of our in-person, instructor led training, and we've seen you face to face. But if not, we look forward to one da you guys coming out to Colorado. It's a beautiful day, and currently I think it's going to be 85 degrees this afternoon.



00:02:38:21 - 00:03:07:22

 

So very unseasonably warm. Great time to visit. If you do make the National Corrections Academy where we are located, we're on the first floor of the academy. We have four information specialists, myself, Allison, Amanda and Mary. Mary is going to be in the chat this morning since I can't get in. So you'll see her in the chat, dropping some helpful information about the information center and different things that the Information Center offers.



00:03:07:24 - 00:03:28:02

 

To give you an idea, we have the Information National Help Desk, so if you ever have any correctional questions you can go to nicic.gov and just send us your question. If you don't know exactly what you want to ask. Just start a conversation with us. We're librarians. We'd love to hear from you. And we have lots of resources that you might not know about.



00:03:28:04 - 00:03:51:12

 

So just give us a shout out and we will help you with whatever questions you have. We also have a lot of free training webinars. Today's webinar will become 508 compliant and will be captioned and uploaded to the gov website. So you'll be able to see this webinar. And then all the other NIC webinars that have been put out in the last year or two.



00:03:51:14 - 00:04:14:07

 

We have a lot of free trainings through our learning center. So go to gov, sign up for a Learning center account and you can take all sorts of self-guided courses PREA e-courses. We host all of those and then many more that I can't even begin to list because there's just hundreds of them. But we also to end it off with a happy note.



00:04:14:08 - 00:04:38:03

 

If you like to read books or like to listen to audiobooks on your drive or commute, we have overdrive. So if you're a big supporter of your public library, local public library you might know about Overdrive is a great resource for reading ebooks. Listening to audiobook. We have a small group of people that use our resource though, and we're trying to grow that as much as we can.



00:04:38:04 - 00:04:58:15

 

But when you do find a book, you're probably not going to have the same wait that you have at another library because we just serve you guys in the field. So that's my spiel. I wish I could see you, but I can't. I will close with saying we are available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. mountain time.



00:04:58:16 - 00:05:25:19

Speaker-Archie

So if you have any questions, just reach out to us at support and gov. And back to you Archie. Thank you so much. And what I'd like to do now is just read our disclaimer. The National Institute of Corrections is a federal agency established to provide assistance to strengthen state and local corrections agencies by creating more effective, humane, safe and just correctional services.



00:05:25:20 - 00:05:52:03

 

Presentations and materials were prepared to deliver for this event by the Academy Division of the National. As to the corrections, you as the Department of Justice, the materials and the presentations represent the point of views or opinions of the presenters facilitators and do not necessarily represent the official opinion or policies of the United States Department of Justice.



00:05:52:05 - 00:06:14:17

 

Without further ado, I would like to now turn things over to my colleague and one of your moderators for today's webinar, Jim Wiseman. Hey, thank you very much, Archie, and thank you so much, Ben, for giving the overview of the Information Center.  NIC. And hopefully most of you, if not all of you, will get an opportunity to to visit the information Center.



00:06:14:17 - 00:06:44:05

Speaker-Jim Wiseman

It is, as Ben said, just a plethora of information and knowledge for for us like minded corrections professionals that want to know more about the profession that we're all involved in first. First of all, thank you all so much for being here today with this, the Veterans Network, a webinar titled Strengthening Veterans Identification Efforts. And I think it's very appropriate that we do something like this, because if we if we can identify the folks that become involved in our criminal justice system, then we can't very well serve them.



00:06:44:05 - 00:07:07:08

 

So. So that's what this, this webinar is all about. My name is Jim Wiseman, national programs Advisor here at  NIC. I've been here around three years or so. Before that, I was the training director of the Missouri Department of Corrections, spent 35 years there. Very happy and thankful to be here, here at  NIC. And one of the projects that I was, I was given about two and a half or so years ago was the Veterans Network.



00:07:07:08 - 00:07:29:09

 

Back then it was called the Justice Involved Veterans Network. We've morphed into the  NIC Veterans Network. And what we do is, you know, this is a network of community, local, state and federal partners. And we're committed to identifying and developing effective tools to support and assist veterans who become involved in our criminal justice system. That's what we do.



00:07:29:09 - 00:07:50:12

 

And we're cross divisional we we span the divisions here at the National Institute of Corrections because we have four divisions. We have the Jails Division, the Prisons Community Service, and we serve the Academy Division. And if you want to know more about it, paste that link that you see on your screen that I type that in, paste that in your browser, and that'll give you more information about what the Veterans network is.



00:07:50:12 - 00:08:17:08

 

I myself am a veteran of the United States Air Force and the Missouri Army National Guard. I've never been a practitioner. I was always a trainer in corrections. I've never been a practitioner of dealing with veterans courts and things like that. But I am very passionate about ensuring that our nation's veterans, you know, receive the benefits that they so well deserved, even if they become involved when they become involved in our criminal justice system.



00:08:17:08 - 00:08:39:03

 

So next slide, if you would please Archie. And the next slide, we just talk about what our vision is here at the Veterans Network. And if you want to know more about it once again you know type just go to that that website that was on the screen earlier. You know, we want to create public awareness surrounding this because unfortunately, there are many veterans that be become involved in our criminal justice system.



00:08:39:03 - 00:08:59:22

 

We identify processes, best practices. What we do at the Veterans Network is get folks together that do this great work across our nation, and we make sure we highlight those efforts. And that's what you'll see today during this webinar. And we want to improve the lives of those justice involved veterans that that that do become involved in the justice system.



00:08:59:22 - 00:09:31:13

 

So that's what this is all about. And this is you know, today's program is, as I said, aptly titled, Strengthening Veteran Identification Efforts. And what we we at  NIC, we just this is a platform and we're here to to to to help folks share the things that they want to share. So so really this webinar today, I'm going to moderate for a little bit and then get the heck out of the way, because I'm going to turn it over to folks that really know what they're talking about and what they're doing, the great work they're doing out there in the field.



00:09:31:13 - 00:09:49:23

 

And a couple of folks that that design this webinar today, so very thankful that they're part of the Veterans network is Donna Harrison and Katie Stewart. And I get the the honor of introducing Donna Harrison is going to kick this webinar off for us here in just a moment. But Donna has been involved with the Commonwealth of Virginia for over 32 years.



00:09:49:23 - 00:10:23:17

 

She currently serves as the Housing and Criminal Justice Director of the Virginia Veteran and Family Support Program at the regenerative Virginia Department of Veterans Services. She's responsible for the development of the agency's policies, initiatives related to the coordination of prevention, intervention, and reintegration services for veterans involved in the criminal justice system and also veterans experiencing homelessness. Mr. Harrison manages the Justice Involved Services program and provides statewide technical assistance to jurisdictions that are interested in starting veteran treatment court dockets.



00:10:23:20 - 00:10:53:18

 

She also serves as a member of seVRSSl work groups to advocate for services for justice of all veterans and veterans experiencing homelessness. Miss Harrison spent most of her career with the state, working in the Virginia Department of Corrections for over 19 years, where she had seVRSSl direct services positions and later served as a supervisor. She managed to state wide releasing and reentry unit, where she focused on addressing policy and programing gaps and barriers for justice, involves individuals with severe medical and mental health needs, including incarcerated veterans.



00:10:53:18 - 00:11:18:09

 

She also served as a technical assistance provider for the Virginia Department of Corrections. Prerelease benefits application process. To ensure individuals with medical and mental health needs were connected to benefits upon release from incarceration. Miss Harrison, who is the daughter of an Army veteran and sister of a Navy veteran, she received her Bachelor of Social Work from Hampton University and her Master of Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University.



00:11:18:09 - 00:11:45:11

 

And as I said earlier, it's very, very well. She's got a lot of knowledge and she's going to share it with you. Now as we begin this webinar on strengthening veterans identification identification efforts. Donna. Thanks, Jim. Hopefully you guys can hear me. Okay. So thanks for that intro. That was awesome. And it was so awesome that you set me up so well.



00:11:45:13 - 00:12:05:14

Speaker-Donna Harrison

So I had the honor and pleasure of serving with my colleagues today. Jim, Katie. And I know Jeff is around here somewhere and all the folks that are going to be speaking today, I just want to thank everyone for joining the webinar today, kind of as a brief recap. And you can go to the next slide, Archie, if you haven't already.



00:12:05:16 - 00:12:37:01

 

As a brief recap, the the original Sequential intercept model, or CIM, was developed in the early 2000 by a team at Policy Research Associates. So the goal of the SIM is to target those interventions for individuals in the criminal justice system to prevent them from entering deeper into that system, as as Jim mentioned. So communities use the SIM to identify gaps and barriers, target individuals that may be cycling through this system, and then move them out of the system, or prevent them from entering the system as early as possible.



00:12:37:01 - 00:13:15:05

 

So in 2022, the  NIC  NIC group, as Jim talked about earlier, was tasked to build on those prior efforts and to adapt that original SIM to the veteran population, who may face certain challenges due to mental illness, substance use, trauma. And so we call this the visa. And as you see in the slide here, and some of you may have seen this in some of  NIC's previous SIM webinars, each intercept point in the VSM represents an opportunity to intercede, preferably at the lowest level possible, and to minimize those collateral consequences of a veteran getting more deeply involved in that criminal justice system.



00:13:15:05 - 00:13:34:08

 

So this also means we need to know how to find veterans in the system, right? So we can implement programs and services for them wherever they are in the system, and also possibly deflect or divert them from the criminal justice system. So how do we do that? What does that look like? What tools can we use to help us figure that out?



00:13:34:10 - 00:13:58:05

 

Well, not only do we have speakers here today, as Jim mentioned, those experts to provide some real examples of how veteran identification works on the ground and in their systems. But we also have a representative from the VA to talk about a couple of the veteran identification tools. So Katie Stewart is the national coordinator of Veterans Justice Outreach, US Department from the US Department of Veterans Affairs.



00:13:58:05 - 00:14:36:09

 

And Katie contributes to the development of national policy, provides guidance to the field on operational matters, and represents the program with stakeholders. So prior to Katie's work in Central Office, she spent nine years in the field serving as a social worker at the Charles Charles George VA medical Center in Asheville, North Carolina. She began her career in 2009, in the local suicide prevention program, and in 2011 she joined Health Care for homeless for Homeless Veterans, where she served as the specialist building and growing the local program until 2018.



00:14:36:11 - 00:14:58:00

 

I must say I call on Katie for a lot of things and for all things VA justice related. She has been a huge asset to me and our program and work here in Virginia. So, Katie, I'm passing the baton over to you. Great. Thank you so much, Donna. And absolutely likewise that that knowledge transfer goes both ways. All right.



00:14:58:02 - 00:15:20:15

Speaker-Katie Stewart 

If you could go to the next slide please. So we are so excited. You all are here today. The crux of this conversation is going to be about identifying veterans. We know that veterans exist in criminal justice populations. That is why you all are here today. We here at VA have outreach programs to respond to the needs of those veterans.



00:15:20:15 - 00:15:53:11

 

But we cannot do that without your help. And all of your incredible programs really rely on the success of identifying veterans within these criminal justice systems. There are ways to do that. You know, when we began this work early on, many of our partners, many of you all in your criminal justice system, maybe weren't even doing the simplest way to do this yet simply asking the question, have you ever served in the United States military?



00:15:53:13 - 00:16:18:09

 

I'm hopeful that all of you on the call today working with your agencies, do you ask a question like this in whatever your sort of intake first encounter process is? If you are not asking at all? Please do. If you are asking, are you a veteran? I would ask you to consider changing that to really this more inclusive question.



00:16:18:09 - 00:16:45:04

 

Have you ever served in the United States military? But what I really hope you do after this call today is consider using one of VA's free web based tools. We're going to talk about a couple of them today, and the first of them is going to be the Veterans Reentry Search Service or visit. Next slide please.



00:16:45:06 - 00:17:14:07

 

VRSS is a web based tool that allows VA to offer its criminal justice partners and improved method of identifying veterans within their populations. It is a part of VA's major initiative to end veteran homelessness. That may not make sense the first time I say it, but hopefully it does after you've talked with me a bit. That's because we know that incarceration is the most powerful predictor of homelessness.



00:17:14:07 - 00:17:35:14

 

Veteran or not, it really creates the highest risk factor for future homelessness is a history of incarceration, whether that is a short or long period of incarceration. And ending veteran homelessness remains an urgent and endearing priority for VA. Next slide please.



00:17:35:16 - 00:18:06:03

 

A little bit of background on voice. We know that efforts to identify veterans in criminal justice settings have historically relied on self-reporting. And for a variety of reasons, veterans may not self-report. You know, oftentimes when veterans are engaging with the criminal justice system, that may not be the place they feel the safest disclosing their military history. That may not be a point in time in their lives when that is something that they want to talk about.



00:18:06:05 - 00:18:28:22

 

But unfortunately, we know if we're not identifying all of the veterans within your systems, we're not able to support them and serve them in the best way possible. So early on when VRSS was being trialed, and it's a system that's been around for quite some time now, we have the opportunity to work with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.



00:18:28:22 - 00:18:59:02

 

So their state prison system, this California, had been asking the question, so individuals had the opportunity to self-report. So through self-report, California found that 2.7% of their inmates identified themselves as veterans. But what I want you to hear is this next number, when they implemented using VRSS, California, found that 7.7% of inmates were determined to have a record of military service.



00:18:59:03 - 00:19:28:12

 

That's a 5% difference. And in a large system like the California prison system. This was approximately 5000 previously unidentified inmates. So asking the question is great, but please know many more veterans can be identified if you use a technology based solution like voice. Next slide please.



00:19:28:14 - 00:20:03:09

 

Here are some quick resources because you are not here today to listen to me talk. You are here today to listen to your colleagues and peer practitioners in the community, talking about how they've implemented these systems within their organizations and agencies. So I'm going to ask that our hosts, our support folks. Share these links in the chat, because these are really great resources for you to go and later get more details about VRSS and how this could be implemented in your system.



00:20:03:10 - 00:20:32:11

 

Next slide please. And another technology based resource that is free and available for your use from VA is squares the status query and response exchange system. And this is actually the program that you're going to hear about first from one of our colleagues. So the VA web application that provides VA employees and external organizations, this was originally created for our homeless service providers.



00:20:32:11 - 00:21:00:14

 

But the user groups eligible to use this have been extended to our criminal justice partners. So agencies like law enforcement partners, police department, sheriff's department, courts, jails, and other types of agencies that have a need for this information can begin to utilize squares. So again this is not a squares overview webinar. So we do want you to access these links later.



00:21:00:16 - 00:21:27:20

 

There's a really great overview video about squares that will be put in the chat. So you can learn more about it. And then the link where you can apply for access also has a great listing of information for resources, frequently asked questions, anything that you need to know about how your system can use squares. And I'm going to ask that we go ahead and go to the next slide.



00:21:27:22 - 00:21:55:11

 

So now I'm going to be handing it over to a colleague who has great expertise at implementing squares. So our next presenter is Matt Doss. He is a program manager with the Task Center for Health and Justice, where he is working to provide training and technical assistance to deflection sites across Illinois. He is the project lead to establish a statewide Veterans Deflection initiative to support veterans in Illinois.



00:21:55:13 - 00:22:22:10

 

Matt retired from the Springfield, Illinois Police Department in March of 2024 after a career as a patrol officer and patrol sergeant. As a patrol sergeant, he supervised the homeless outreach team and the corresponding program. A US Army veteran who served as a military police officer, Matt remains actively involved in veteran advocacy in his community and in state as an amateur and American Legion member.



00:22:22:12 - 00:23:03:10

Speaker-Matt Doss

So, Matt, I'm going to ask that you come on and he is going to talk with us about how they have implemented squares in veterans deflection across Illinois. So welcome, Matt. Thank you very much, Katie. And thank you, everyone, for the opportunity to share how we've integrated squares into the Illinois Veterans Deflection Initiative with you today. So at his core, deflection is a strategy that allows law enforcement and first responders to connect individuals facing issues such as substance use, mental health, housing instability, or other issues to be connected to treatment, recovery support, housing resources or other services through our specialized workforce.



00:23:03:13 - 00:23:23:06

 

The deflection specialists will provide them with warm handoffs to treatment and services, and offer a pathway sooner rather than being incarcerated, having an arrest be made, or further crisis escalation. So in Illinois. I'm sorry. Next slide please.



00:23:23:08 - 00:23:38:11

 

So in Illinois, task deflection programs have been operating since 2022. And we now have deflection sites at 56% of the counties. That's showed there on the map. So.



00:23:38:13 - 00:24:04:18

 

We are in both rural and urban areas. And it's working very well to connect adults and in some cases youth to deflection services. So they don't have to become involved in the justice system or have further crises. But when you begin to implement a program like this across many communities, one of the biggest challenges becomes consistency. But that scale also creates an opportunity.



00:24:04:23 - 00:24:29:23

 

If deflection reaches people sooner rather than division assistance, it could become a powerful way to identify and support veterans much earlier as well. But before developing this model, we asked ourselves a basic question when are veterans typically identified in our systems? And what we discovered was a consistent pattern across the state. Veterans status is rarely identified during the first initial contact with first responders.



00:24:30:03 - 00:24:54:22

 

The stands of veterans are often much later, after they've already entered the justice system or after a crisis has occurred. So the challenge we face was how do we identify veterans earlier and consistently without placing additional responsibilities or work on police officers or overburdening the VA workforce? And by integrating squares, we were able to do just that and solve that problem.



00:24:54:24 - 00:24:59:09

 

Next slide please.



00:24:59:11 - 00:25:22:12

 

So when Illinois veterans inflation began in October 2024, the first question we asked was how will we consistently identify veterans encountered by first responders in Illinois? At the time, the primary way we veterans was through the deflection referral process. And at the time, we did ask the question on our referral form that the officer would complete was, are you a veteran?



00:25:22:16 - 00:25:45:00

 

After a conversation with the VA. They suggested that we changed that to be more inclusive. So we changed that to to you are you? Have you ever served in the US military? So when the officer made that referral, they would ask that question. Then again, when the deflection specialist followed up with that individual, they had the same question in their screening intake process.



00:25:45:02 - 00:26:07:17

 

So to try to capture that and this approach worked to some degree, but it also revealed a challenge that many communities across the country are facing. Historically, veterans during law enforcement encounters don't identify themselves as a veteran, and there are seVRSSl reasons for this. Some veterans do not admit.



00:26:07:19 - 00:26:36:05

 

They believe their discharge status would make them and eligible for services. And then in other cases, people simply do not think of themselves as veterans, particularly if their service was brief or occurred many years earlier, or they were never in a combat theater. As a result, many veterans moved through the system law enforcement, courts, treatment providers, hospitals, and so forth without their vetting status ever being identified.



00:26:36:08 - 00:27:01:16

 

That means missed opportunities to connect the to the VA and those veterans specific resources are missed. So as we began working closely with our partners from the US Department of Veterans Affairs, they introduced us to the tool that helps solve this problem. Squares is a secure VA database system designed to allow authorized users, authorized partners to verify veterans status and eligibility for VA services.



00:27:01:21 - 00:27:28:06

 

It was originally created to support collaboration between the VA and community partners, such as treatment, fires, and law enforcement that may encounter veterans outside of traditional VA cities settings through conversations with their partner. We began exploring how squares could be integrated into our deflection model. One key decision we made early in the process about who should be responsible for using the system.



00:27:28:08 - 00:27:53:22

 

Rather than asking law enforcement or first responders to conduct the verification of self, which would have added another responsibility to them during an already complex encounter. We chose a different approach instead. The deflection workforce the deflection specialist would handle the verification process. These included deflection specialists, supervisors, administrators who manage the referrals and participant engagement to make this possible.



00:27:53:23 - 00:28:19:15

 

Members of the teams completed this course process training. The training itself is very straightforward. It involves a short instructional video of about 20 to 30 minutes, and a brief application process through me and the VA. Today, 27 members of the Illinois deflection workforce throughout the state are trained and authorized to use squares. Once we referral was received, the deflection specialist will conduct the square search during their intake.



00:28:19:16 - 00:28:47:19

 

Determine if they're veteran or not. Importantly, the screening does not just occur. Once deflection teams also conduct monthly follow up checks with squares to ensure that individuals who have not been identified initially are captured. Later, as records are updated and additional information becomes available. By integrating scores directly into the deflection workforce, veterans identification is now built into the system itself.



00:28:47:21 - 00:29:24:06

 

That means the referrals that come through the deflection programs can be screened for veterans. That's a very consistent and reliable way. But what makes this approach more powerful is when the defecation has occurred. It is occurring before arrest. It's becoming occurring before jail involvement, before the courts, and before further crisis escalates. This allows communities to connect veterans to services much earlier in the process, and when they're connected to services early in the process, their opportunity for recovery is increased greatly.



00:29:24:08 - 00:29:51:14

 

Just importantly, this system does not create an additional burden for law enforcement or increased workload of the VA's veteran Justice outreach staff. The. The verification process is completed by the workforce, and if they need additional support, they know they are always able to reach out to the Veteran Justice Outreach staff to assist them. Next slide please.



00:29:51:16 - 00:30:13:09

 

So when we begin to integrate vendors identification to the system, we saw them. We begin to see measurable improvements in our ability to identify and track veterans who previously would have remained invisible within these service pathways. One of the major events of using the shared data platform like squares, it allows us to see not just a single program site, but what is happening across the entire state.



00:30:13:11 - 00:30:45:08

 

This is a much clearer picture of how deflection is functioning system wide, and whether veterans are being successfully identified and connected to care. So for fiscal year 2025, Illinois deflection programs received 1462 referrals, mostly from police officers from across the state. Within those referrals, 48 individuals were identified as were identified as veterans, representing approximately 4% of all referrals.



00:30:45:10 - 00:31:15:04

 

While that number may seem small at first glance, it is important to remember that these veterans who might have these are veterans who might have otherwise gone completely unidentified in the system. What is even more encouraging is what happened after those veterans were identified. 35 of those 40 veterans accepted services went off by the deflection specialists to be connected to service providers, housing resources and recovery pathways.



00:31:15:06 - 00:31:23:21

 

That represents roughly 73% of the referrals.



00:31:23:23 - 00:31:53:03

 

That engagement ring is significant nationally when individuals are offered services following a justice of crisis, contact acceptance rate typically falls somewhere between 40 and 60%, saying engagement rates above 70% suggests that identifies early and approaches through a supportive pathway, such as deflection rather than arrest or courts. They are very willing to accept help, and this is why squares becomes so valuable.



00:31:53:05 - 00:32:21:03

 

Squares allows communities to the veterans status earlier, through a secure system offered with the VA. They can then coordinate their responses across multiple pathways to include federal, state and local partners. This is the last programs to track outcomes over time. Giving communities ability to violate what is working, approves or practices, and ensure veterans are consistently connected to the care that they have earned.



00:32:21:05 - 00:32:46:15

 

So in closing, I would I would just say this. Whereas allows veterans deflection in Illinois to function not as an isolated program, but as a coordinated statewide systems approach focused on helping people access services earlier, that veterans deflection is not about creating new systems, but is about using tools like squares to connect systems that we already have earlier and more often.



00:32:46:19 - 00:33:11:18

 

And we do that. We see faster identification, more engagement, stronger recovery and support, and ultimately better outcomes for what the veterans and the communities they live in. Thank you very much, and I will put my information in the chat. If anybody would like to contact me to learn more about this. I'd be happy to do that. Thank you so much.



00:33:11:20 - 00:33:41:12

 

This is really exciting to see how squares has been implemented in this. Really like the zero one space in these very early encounters where we have the opportunity to identify veterans and get them to services. And like Donna said, hopefully we're keeping them from moving further into the criminal justice system. And to see a way that you all have implemented this so effectively to ensure that you are identifying every veteran that's being contacted through your deflection specialist.



00:33:41:13 - 00:34:07:00

 

So just to ask quickly before we move on to our next presenter, if you were asked by a colleague, another deflection specialist, another colleague in the deflection and law enforcement led diversion space that was thinking about implementing an identification system using squares, but wasn't quite sure yet. What would you tell them? What? What is your why is to the reason that this has been useful for you all?



00:34:07:02 - 00:34:40:23

 

This has been a very useful tool for us because it is really allowed us to make sure that veterans are getting every time referrals made, and you don't have to do anything extra. It's a very simple process. If you're already doing any type of deflection work, you can integrate this into your system very, very easily, and you should take the squares training and begin implementing it soon as possible.



00:34:41:00 - 00:34:48:01

 

Thank you so much. We really appreciate that. If you could move to our next slide please.



00:34:48:03 - 00:35:21:04

 

All right. I am honored to introduce our next presenter. Our next presenter is Katie Wilson. She is the director of software development for the Indiana Office of Court Technology, a division of the Indiana Office of Judicial Administration. The Indiana Office of Technology is tasked with providing technology solutions to Indiana state courts, including a statewide case management system, e-filing, jail management, and seVRSSl other interfaces and applications to detect courts and justice partners across Indiana.



00:35:21:08 - 00:35:45:15

Speaker-Katie Stewart 

I'm thrilled to have Katie. Today. The Indiana Office of Court Technology has been a really important partner in talking about how they have implemented the statewide identification of veterans in their court system. So I will hand it off to Katie to talk about how they do that. Thank you so much, Katie. Hello, everyone. If we could go to the next slide, please.



00:35:45:16 - 00:36:10:10

 

I'm excited to share how our statewide case management system interfaces with the VA's Veterans Reentry Search Service to better identify and support veterans involved in the justice system to set the stage. Indiana is not a unified court system. We have 92 counties and more than 400 courts operating independently as of June 2025. We also have 31 veterans treatment courts across the state.



00:36:10:12 - 00:36:44:03

 

With so many courts and so many variation. One of our longstanding challenges has been consistently identifying veterans. They aren't always self-identified, and they aren't always identified at every touchpoint. So even with strong programs in place, we were missing opportunities to connect people to veterans specific resources. A key moment for us in Indiana was when the Indiana House Bill 1299, signed in 2019, was put into place, which propelled us at court technology to begin checking if parties on court cases for specific case type types have a military history.



00:36:44:10 - 00:37:11:18

 

That policy change opened the door for statewide use of VRS in our courts. Next slide please. With that background, here's how our process works today. Most cases in Indiana are filed into our statewide case management system. Each day, we check all new case filings and extract party information in specific case types. We upload this extract, including the party's unique identifier to VRS.



00:37:11:20 - 00:37:40:09

 

This allows us to match VRSS results back to parties in our case management management system. Historically, this entire workflow is automated. Due to recent changes though, were temporarily doing the upload and download steps manually. So right now the sequence is this. An automated job generates an extract file of parties and new cases across the state. A staff member in our Central Court Technology office uploads that file to the US and waits for the results.



00:37:40:11 - 00:38:07:05

 

They download those results and an automated job picks those results up and adds a party flag to everyone in our case management system that may have a military history. It's a flag, a literal flag in our system that allows the court staff, judicial officers to see that this person may be someone who they could refer for services. Even with the manual steps, this process ensures veteran identification happens consistently across our state.



00:38:07:07 - 00:38:34:21

 

Next slide please. The benefits have been significant. By using VRS statewide, were identifying far more veterans than we could through self-reporting alone. That means more timely referral referrals and more access to services, as well as the ability to route individuals into programs like our Veterans Treatment Courts when eligible. Having a centralized process also keeps things consistent across the 92 different counties.



00:38:34:23 - 00:38:58:00

 

When we started interfacing with VRSS one Veterans Treatment Corps, judicial officer saw an increase of approximately 2.5 times more applicants into their veterans court than before. There have been challenges that we've had to face. One major challenge when we started to look at this problem was how we could best match people back to this, to our system once we had the results.



00:38:58:02 - 00:39:24:05

 

By including the party's unique identifier in our initial upload. This proved to be the key to matching. Since this identifier was returned to us, our automated process could quickly match each party. In our case management system to those with a military history and add the flag. We also previously had this as an automated process, but again, due to recent changes, we are manually.



00:39:24:07 - 00:39:47:08

 

We are manually uploading and downloading this file, which is a very workable solution. We do hope to return automation at some point and have discuss with the VA what options might be there. OVRSSll, the RSS has been a powerful tool for improving how Indiana identifies and serves veterans in our justice system. Thank you so much.



00:39:47:10 - 00:40:11:06

 

Thank you so much, Katie. And the same question I had for Matt, if you were talking to a colleague that was considering implementing VRC either in an individual jurisdiction or statewide, but hadn't quite made that decision yet, what feedback would you give them on why that could be a good move for them? Absolutely. I echo what Matt says and that the process can be easily implemented.



00:40:11:07 - 00:40:35:09

 

I think that that's getting started sometimes is the hardest part, so I would encourage them to think about what level they can. They could potentially bring the data into the system. For us specifically, centralizing this at the state level took away kind of all the questions of which jails or courts or who needs to be doing this. And by bringing it up to the state level, we were able to just do this for everyone.



00:40:35:11 - 00:40:49:19

 

So looking at where you could centralize the process or or make it easier to get consistent data across the board can be very, very helpful and help with the successful implementation.



00:40:49:21 - 00:41:00:04

 

Great. Thank you so much. All right. I believe we're back to Donna to introduce our next speaker.



00:41:00:06 - 00:41:27:15

 

Thanks, Katie. And big thanks to Indiana and Illinois. It's awesome to hear the work you guys are doing in this earlier in a set points in the sequential intercept model when it comes to veteran identification. So it's exciting. So I have the pleasure of introducing our next guest. So Carrie Jackson oversees the Virginia Local inmate data system and has worked in partnership with the local and regional jails since 2008.



00:41:27:19 - 00:41:54:07

 

She also works closely with other criminal justice and behavioral health partners, and legislative forecasting and research initiatives involving jails and data. I will say Carrie has been diligent in implementing this work in our jails, and I'm excited to have her here today. She has been a force extender in Virginia and the statewide system. So over to you. Carrie.



00:41:54:09 - 00:42:40:17

Speaker-Carrie 

Thank you. Donna. So, Archie, you can't see me, I don't think, but I'm giving you the wink and the gun. Will you move on to the next slide? Excellent. Thank you. And then the next one after that. Perfect. All right. Thank you. Donna. So, as said, my name is Carrie Jackson. I'm with a Virginia agency called the Compensation Board, and I'm going to talk to you for a few minutes today about our initiative to interface our local jail data with VRS to help the local and the regional jails in Virginia increase their veteran identification.



00:42:40:19 - 00:43:20:10

 

But before I do that, I'd like to first take a few minutes to explain a little bit about jails in Virginia. Whenever I present to a group for the first time that potentially may be more familiar with a more central corrections model. I like to explain that jails are a bit different. They are autonomous. And so while there are certainly state regulations that govern inmate living conditions and jail expansions, etc., there is no central agency that has authority over jails in Virginia.



00:43:20:12 - 00:43:59:24

 

And so each jail is its own autonomous entity. And so when you're trying to encourage participation in an initiative or gather information, how that works when you're dealing with jails in Virginia anyway, is different than with, say, the Department of Corrections. And so I wanted to explain that context a little bit. Currently, there are 57 local and regional jails in the state of Virginia, with populations that can range from as few as 30 inmates to over 1000 inmates.



00:44:00:01 - 00:44:35:17

 

We have local, city and county jails that are each operated by the elected sheriff of the locality. And then we also have regional jails, and each regional jail will serve multiple localities. Regional jails are overseen by a jail board. And that jail board appoints a superintendent who will oversee the day to day operations of the jail. Next slide please.



00:44:35:19 - 00:45:09:15

 

And so, since Virginia jails are not governed by a central agency like our prisons, then oftentimes the next question arises of who holds their inmate data. Each jail will have their own jail management system, where they maintain their own inmate records. And then the Code of Virginia then requires the jails to submit that data to what's called the local inmate data system, or Lids.



00:45:09:17 - 00:45:33:14

 

Lids is a central repository for all local and regional jail inmate information. So basically it allows the Compensation board, our agency, to collect demographic confinement and offense data from all of these self-governing jails across Virginia and maintain it in one place. Next slide please.



00:45:33:16 - 00:46:13:07

 

And next slide please. Thank you. And so all of that background information is coming down to this that, you know, one of the standard booking questions upon incarceration is Virginia is to ask about that veteran status. But as Katie said earlier, not everyone wants to self-report. And so in 2025, there was legislation passed in Virginia requiring our Virginia Department of Veterans Services to assist the local and regional jails in using VRC to help identify veterans.



00:46:13:09 - 00:46:48:22

 

And so at that time, there were a number of jails who were already using VRC for this purpose, but it was nowhere near all of them. And so going back to the explanation about all jails being autonomous and being run by, you know, each one being run by a locally elected sheriff or superintendent, except for the regional jails that have a board that's a lot of different pieces and parts and people, and there are 57 of them.



00:46:48:23 - 00:47:34:07

 

And so to, for the, for the Department of Veterans Services to work to get each jail on board with using VRS individually would have taken a significant effort. But we've got some pretty smart folks over at the Virginia Department of Veterans Services, and they were aware of the existence of Lids. And so they reached out to the compensation board and they said, hey, instead of us trying to encourage each individual jail to interface with VRS, we know that you guys have this information centrally for all the jails and lids.



00:47:34:09 - 00:47:44:16

 

Would you guys be willing to interface with VRS on the jails behalf? Next slide please.



00:47:44:18 - 00:48:20:17

 

And certainly we said of course. And so we reached out to the US Department of Veterans Affairs to set up the Compensation Board of BRS account as a central agency, which took a little bit of a creative approach because we were the first state agency to ever request to send data over on behalf of all jails before the jails, whether in Virginia or in other states, were each sending it over individually.



00:48:20:19 - 00:49:04:12

 

And in November of 2025, we went live, so to speak, with our Vas interface, and we were able to push a file over there with our list of jail inmates and receive a file back containing inmate numbers flagged for veteran records. But development of the actual file to visit was the quick and easy part. The crucial next step in our project was how to take the return data from BRC and manipulate it in a way that we could most efficiently notify our 57 jails of these veteran confirmations.



00:49:04:14 - 00:49:30:07

 

So we have pushed the inmate data over to VRSS on their behalf. And now we wanted to make sure that we let them know in the most efficient manner possible what the responses were. And so since every Virginia jail not only pushes their data over to lids to local inmate data system, but they also have individual user access to list.



00:49:30:08 - 00:50:09:11

 

And so we decided that our best option was to develop a report internally within Lids that the jail staff could run that would allow them to see all confirmed veterans that were held within their jail for a specific time period. And so each month, each individual jail in Virginia can can retrieve information for their own facility. But the compensation board also runs the report for all jails and provides that to our Department of Veterans Services.



00:50:09:13 - 00:50:40:20

 

So just to recap quickly, every month the comp board pushes the file of inmates over to VRSS for all Virginia jails. We retrieve the response file, and the response file is used to drive a report within lids that all jails in Virginia. Able to run that allows them to see any inmate held within their jail for that month for whom VRC has confirmed there is a veteran record.



00:50:40:21 - 00:50:56:02

 

And then the court board then also sends the full report for all jails to our Virginia Department of Veterans Services. Next slide please. Ready?



00:50:56:04 - 00:51:52:12

 

Thank you. I know these are a little small. The fonts are a little small, but both are both. Our Department of Veterans Services and the Compensation Board have communicated with the sheriffs and the superintendents regarding the interface on behalf of the jails and the companion Lids report. And so we've really worked hard to have a joint communication effort to make sure that the jails not only know, hey, we're pushing this information over on your behalf, but also to make sure the sheriff and the superintendents of all the jails know, and this is where you can go to retrieve that information to help you know who these people are, who have been identified.



00:51:52:14 - 00:52:26:14

 

And also to help you in your program efforts within the jail and, and communication with your veteran court dockets, etc.. The response so far has been positive and engaging. A number of jails have already let me know personally that they're using the report. I've received follow up questions and feedback that basically gives me the impression that there are efforts within the jails towards additional actions.



00:52:26:16 - 00:52:59:02

 

Quick question. I just saw how often is a data uploaded or sent? So we send the data once a month. We send it once a month. I know our folks at Veterans Services have received additional questions and been asked for input or advice from some of our jails. All things that encourage us that this initiative is really being taken seriously by our jails.



00:52:59:02 - 00:53:44:15

 

They support it, they care about it, and they're looking to take action or increase veteran resources as a result of the initiative. So just some of the goals moving forward, you know, are, one, to increase the level of outreach from our Virginia Department of Veterans Services upon release from jail, you know, hopefully providing the monthly VRSS response report from us, the Compensation Board to the Department of Veterans Services for all jails will help with that because our veterans services can't provide resources or outreach if they don't know someone is in jail who's a veteran.



00:53:44:17 - 00:54:17:21

 

And then, you know, the next three really all tie in together. They're all about just increased awareness. Of veterans who are in jail and increased confidence and being able to report those numbers. We talked about self-reporting and that not everyone will self-report. And so it's likely that the number of veterans in jail has been underreported. As time goes on and we continue to compile this data, we'll see how that fleshes out.



00:54:17:23 - 00:54:48:19

 

But since the Liz VRS interface should increase our veteran identification, and that should also allow us to really increase our reporting capabilities oVRSSll on veterans in jail. You know, I've said seVRSSl times that Liz collects inmate data for all jails, but veteran status wasn't an item that we ever collected and lids before. And even if we had, like I said, not every inmate self-reports their status.



00:54:48:20 - 00:55:24:04

 

And so now that we're collecting these veteran matches every month, we can also provide greater additional context regarding not only how many inmates are confined in the jails, but also things like what's their aVRSSge length of stay? Are there specific crime types that appear most prevalent for veterans? Are there differences in veteran conviction rates and localities that have veterans specialty courts, or behavioral health dockets VRSS those that don't?



00:55:24:06 - 00:55:58:13

 

So maybe next year we'll be back with comparison comparison statistics to show what incarcerated veteran numbers look like previous VRSS what they look like post VRSS, another goal, you know, is also not only to increase the number of inmates or people referred to veterans court dockets if they're eligible, but also to potentially increase the number of localities in Virginia that support veterans court dockets.



00:55:58:13 - 00:56:32:23

 

And again, that ties back to increasing confidence. In our numbers of incarcerated veterans, and that will help support the need, help, help to support advocacy of the need for those veterans court dockets. And we're also hopeful that the virus has interface. And the support we provide to the jails will help increase programing within the jails and cells.



00:56:33:00 - 00:57:02:02

 

Certainly, facility programing also depends on the resources of each individual jail and or local community programs. You know, some jails are in an area where they have certain community programs that will provide a level of in jail program support or counseling, etc. for no cost, and others aren't available to do that. You know, one last thing I would like to say, just in closing, thank you for your patience.



00:57:02:02 - 00:57:39:15

 

I know I'm kind of a long presenter, but, you know, I would like to say in closing, is that for for our effort at least, I feel really proud of the way that we've really been able to leVRSSge our inner agency cooperation and communication on this, because it's really been, a cooperative effort between multiple agencies, between the Compensation Board, our Department of Veterans Services, and our local and regional jails to make this happen.



00:57:39:17 - 00:58:16:24

 

And so all of us working together, supporting the initiatives, supporting, and understanding how important it is to identify and to help this special population is what helped to bring this interface about, and hopefully is what will help to support this in the future. So that's it. Thank you Archie.



00:58:17:01 - 00:58:44:01



Thanks so much, Carrie. That was great. I must say, Carrie's was the brainchild for this. This is Donna again, and it was really took her diligence, a lot of work, patience to kind of bring this effort on board. And it's really a good example of a local, state and federal partnership. Carrie was right when she said that. And we're seeing a lot of great outcomes response from the jail.



00:58:44:01 - 00:59:07:23

 

So it's been amazing. And similar to Katie's question posed earlier to our Illinois and Indiana presenters. I'm Carrie, so I kind of wanted to ask, what would you say to like a local jail or regional jail or something like a state compensation board who's kind of interested in veteran identification but doesn't know how to start that or hasn't implemented yet.



00:59:07:23 - 00:59:13:01

 

So what advice would you give them?



00:59:13:03 - 00:59:39:20

 

If it was an individual jail or entity doing it on their own? I would say that the process was really easy. And thank you for for mentioning the federal partnership. I did not mean to leave out the US Department of Veterans Affairs because obviously there development of business itself made it possible for all of us to use it and to begin this.



00:59:39:21 - 01:00:15:10

 

So thank you so much, Donna. But if it's a local individual entity or agency, using the S is pretty simple and straightforward. And so I don't think folks should be nervous or apprehensive about using it, because whether you're a small agency or a large agency, it's a very simple process. You don't have to have an extremely savvy IT staff in order to make this happen.



01:00:15:11 - 01:01:03:08

 

I know some of the the smaller jails or smaller agencies might be concerned about that, but it's simply dropping a CSV file there. But if someone is looking to pull together many agencies or many jails, try to lift a collaborative effort like we did with the Virginia jails or like the courts we're talking about a few minutes ago, I agree with our court presenter that centralizing it really, was the key to making it the most efficient and the most streamlined.



01:01:03:09 - 01:01:38:16

 

You know, it took a little bit of work on the front end to kind of get everything aligned. But now that the process is in place, I feel like we have a good, solid process. And it's it should be very simple. And everyone knows their role, and it's pretty smooth from here on out, whereas.



01:01:38:18 - 01:01:41:16

 

If.



01:01:41:18 - 01:02:17:17

 

If DVS had tried to handle this jail by jail, it could have been potentially overwhelming and mildly chaotic. So I, I agree with the court presenter trying to centralize this kind of effort is my biggest recommendation. That's that's the biggest thing. If you can't centralize or your small small agency that that wants to do it but is nervous about it because you don't have a lot of it staff VRSS has made it or I'm sorry.



01:02:17:18 - 01:02:49:17

 

US Department of Veterans Affairs has made the VA's process very simple. So even even a small agency, a small court, a small jail can make it happen. Awesome. Thanks, Carrie. Super helpful and and thanks for making our lives a little easier here at DBS. So okay, so we're going to move on. We're moving on down the Sejm. And so as we move on to the next phase, we're going to talk a little bit about kind of shim for.



01:02:49:18 - 01:03:26:09

 

So I have the pleasure and I'm excited to introduce our next guest. So Stephanie has a unique role in that. She serves as the statewide veteran services manager for the Virginia Department of Corrections, where she provides leadership for initiatives that support and enhance services for justice of all veterans across the Commonwealth. So in Virginia. In this role, she works closely with federal, state and community partners to expand access to veteran benefits, strength and coordination, and improve continuity of care within correctional and reentry systems.



01:03:26:09 - 01:03:57:18

 

So Miss Carlton has advanced seVRSSl significant efforts within Vedic, including streamlining statewide veteran identification processes, developing and delivering training on veteran services and reentry initiatives, and launching the agency's Veteran Journal program using the Change Company journals she previously presented for the National Institute of Corrections on veteran focused practices and correctional settings, reflecting national level recognition. Recognition of her work.



01:03:57:20 - 01:04:20:14

 

Coming from a multi-generational military family, Miss Carlton brings a strong personal connection to her work and a deep appreciation for the experiences and needs of veterans. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice with the Minor and Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness from Virginia Commonwealth University, so I'm excited to introduce Stephanie, Stephanie and the work they're doing at Department of Corrections.



01:04:20:14 - 01:04:38:22

Speaker-Stephanie

So over to you. Thank you, Donna, I appreciate that introduction. Thank you all so much for being here. I appreciate the ability to be able to present here today. Our chief. You can go on to the next slide please.



01:04:38:24 - 01:05:04:06

 

So with VA doc, when we get people into the Department of Corrections, one of the first things we asked them at intake is have they ever served in the military in Virginia? They're free to say yes or they're free to say no. We do not force them, but we really push to have them let us know. That way we can make that connection for them.



01:05:04:08 - 01:05:45:23

 

But aside from making that connection at intake, we also use the verse and squares we implemented, using both of these to enhance our veteran identification efforts. Two supplements self-reported veteran status because a lot of veterans don't like to self-report for whatever reasons. There are very many various reasons. This gives us the ability to know that they are veterans, even if they don't disclose, and then we can have that conversation with them later, especially when it gets close to their release date, because we want to make sure that we catch them for veterans specific reentry services.



01:05:46:00 - 01:06:18:21

 

This is connecting them to Des for any type of benefits or if they need assistance with employment or housing. We make those referrals. We make referrals out to the US Department of Veterans Affairs to determine if their eligibility for VA health care, and to get them registered and ready to make that transition, so that we reduce that gap in service from when they're release to when they get assistance on the outside.



01:06:18:23 - 01:06:49:04

 

So again, it enhances our reentry planning. We have increased our referrals to DBS. We've implemented a number of systems outside of the verse and squares, but in conjunction with using those, I run the report once a month. And from that report, you know, we upload the CSV file with all of our intake inmate information, and then it kicks back some state ID numbers.



01:06:49:06 - 01:07:15:11

 

From there I will go into our local system. We call it oh wow. Chorus. Sorry. We call it chorus. And I input those numbers. I capture their name, the facility that they're at, and then I also grab their social security number, and I go right on into squares and input the information into squares. And I pull any military information that's provided in there.



01:07:15:11 - 01:07:35:24

 

And I put that system into our chorus system so that we have made that identification. And it's there from there. Once I capture all that information, I take that and send it over to the facilities. You can go to the next slide. Archie.



01:07:36:01 - 01:08:02:18

 

Yeah, I realized I was getting into the next slide. So once we send it out to the facility, we have, I make, in the email. I have various forms for making the connections to DS and the VA. I also include that spreadsheet of all of the inmate information or the veteran information. And then I include any forms that may be needed, such as the SF 182 for the counselors to assist.



01:08:02:18 - 01:08:33:11

 

They get their DD 214 or the VA 2141 93, which that form notifies the VA that the veteran is incarcerated and we do this before 61 days, so they do not begin incurring debt with the federal government for receiving any type of benefits outside of the 10% that they are allotted while incarcerated. Doing this supports timely identification for veterans specific housing that Virginia offers.



01:08:33:13 - 01:09:10:05

 

We have one facility in the East that offers veterans specific reentry services. We call that the Vets program. Veterans expecting to transition successfully. And we have to have AD2 14 to verify their veteran status before we can send them to veterans specific housing as well as programing, because we want to make sure that veterans who really are veterans are receiving these resources that are allotted for them, and other people who are not veterans are not, you know, carrying onto the coattails.



01:09:10:06 - 01:09:23:04

 

And this is been a huge benefit and resource for the Virginia Department of Corrections. Next slide please.



01:09:23:06 - 01:09:51:01

 

Some of the challenges with VRS and solutions. The voice identifies individuals as veterans, but it doesn't provide the detailed service information that is needed for us to put that information into chorus. We have a section where we put in the date that they were enlisted, the date that they exited, what their branch is, what their rank was, including their character of discharge.



01:09:51:01 - 01:10:28:17

 

We want to capture as much information as possible to ensure that we are making the connections that we need to make for them. And my solution to this challenge is implementing the use of squares with squares. I've noticed that some of the data can be incomplete or inaccurate. There was an instance where I had a RD2 14 in front of me and the information just did not match, or I had a DD 214 and there was no record of this person in squares, so be with that.



01:10:28:17 - 01:11:01:05

 

Then I coordinate with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, their specialist health care for returning, and I accidentally muted myself. We will reach out to them and see if they can assist us with obtaining a DD 214 or verifying service. Of course, with all the proper procedures in place, and then we will capture that, capture their service that way and input input the information into chorus.



01:11:01:06 - 01:11:31:15

 

Once we have all of the veteran information in chorus, we then go in and we place what we call an alert or a flag in chorus. And what that flag is, is I list them as a veteran and chorus. Then there's also a comment on there that tells them to get what their counselor to send referrals out to DVS or the VA, and also noting that eligibility is not guaranteed.



01:11:31:15 - 01:12:07:23

 

And that flagged the comment, the comment and everything will actually follow them to probation and parole to where when their probation officer pulls them up, they can look at that flag and they can see in the flag system, oh, they're a veteran. Let me make sure that we have made those connections to DBS and the VA. It's our way of following through with them from the first instance, making contact with doc all the way through until the end, when they can be released and no longer be a part of doc supervision.



01:12:08:00 - 01:12:35:17

 

And I'm I believe the last slide is my contact information. I appreciate the opportunity to present here. If you guys have any questions, there's my contact information on the screen and I can also put it in the chat. Again, thank you for being here. Thanks so much stuff. And I and I and I love this slide where you talked about challenges and solutions because a lot of times you know, everything.



01:12:35:21 - 01:13:08:06

 

It's not always so seamless. And I know especially with a big system like Department of Corrections. So it was nice to see those solutions outlined for other folks to kind of address as well. So I wanted to kind of ask similar question since it's such a big system. I wanted to know a little bit about what you would say to another state correctional system or another big system or criminal justice partner on, you know, who was interested in doing veteran and identification but hadn't implemented something like VRSS yet?



01:13:08:06 - 01:13:41:02

 

What advice or what would you say to them to try to get that started? Yeah, absolutely. Great question. Thank you. Honestly, I would say being interested is really already a great first step. When I took on this role about a year and a half ago, VRSS was already implemented within the Department of Corrections. So it my responsibility was I actually had to ask questions, so I had to reach out, hey, what is the visa system?



01:13:41:02 - 01:14:04:16

 

How do I use it? How do I log in? So I mean, really just ask the question, how do I get this started? We want to identify veterans. How can we get started with VRS? Somebody will have a connection for you. And thankfully, Katie went ahead and put in the chat earlier at the beginning of this with all of the information to contact VR assessing, get started.



01:14:04:18 - 01:14:32:19

 

For us, it really gave us a better way to identify the veterans beyond just self-reporting, and it helps strengthen that process. We I honestly don't know what we would do without virus because that system is amazing. I applaud the VA all the time for having that system and allowing us to have access to it so that we can utilize it.



01:14:32:19 - 01:14:57:15

 

So, I mean, reach out to VRSS, says, reach out to squares, determine what steps you need to take to get started and just get started. It's a little overwhelming at first because it's a lot of information, especially when you're not familiar with the system like I was. But yeah, just reach out, take your time, ask questions, really get comfortable, but dive right in.



01:14:57:17 - 01:15:18:12

 

Thanks. Thanks, Steph and I, and thanks for your work that you're doing with doc. I really appreciate you. And Steph and I work closely together. So we're excited and continue our partnership with doc. So moving on. We're in the home stretch of the victim and we're moving on. And I'm going to pass this back over to Katie. Great.



01:15:18:12 - 01:15:50:13

 

Thanks so much. I'm so grateful for all the information our presenters have shared today. And last but not least, we're going to hear from some folks with the Georgia Department of Community Supervision. We're going to hear specifically from Sasha Boden. She holds a B.S. in sociology and an M.S. in Conflict management from Kennesaw State University. She has developed a strong foundation in social dynamics and conflict resolution through roles including three years as a community supervision officer supporting individuals in diverse community settings.



01:15:50:14 - 01:16:14:11

 

Currently, she serves as a research assistant in the Strategic Planning and Analysis Division for the Department of Community Supervision, where she acts as a practitioner bridging the gap between research and real world application. The Sasha is committed to contributing to the field of criminal justice by applying evidence based insights to inform policy and practice. So the. Sasha, we are so glad you're here today.



01:16:14:17 - 01:16:53:08

 

Sasha and I are going to have a conversation about what it has looked like for the Georgia Department of Community Supervision to implement voice among their entire population. So we'll just start with the question, why did your agency start using voice? Okay. Thank you for the introduction. Yeah. So our agency began using VRS as a way to, as everyone else stated, to accurately identify veterans within our supervision population and then also to determine that eligibility for the veterans specific services.



01:16:53:09 - 01:17:22:17

 

In addition, another layer to that is also to gain we wanted to gain insight into the supervision experience of our veteran population as well. Great. Thanks so much. So as you all have implemented voice, and feel free to tell us a bit more about your implementation. What have been the benefits? So using VRS to help identify our veteran population really opened the door for a more intentional outreach and service delivery.



01:17:22:18 - 01:18:02:00

 

So it helps spark that internal and external collaboration. So particularly our reentry division is working closely with the Veterans Justice Outreach Specialists to create a more direct service connections for the veterans that we supervise. Great. Thanks so much and I'm sure will tell us a bit more about it. But they have begun the process similarly to Indiana and Illinois and Virginia, for a state wide kind of centralized matching process between their data and voice.



01:18:02:02 - 01:18:27:18

 

And so that is huge in terms of being able to really increase the number of veterans that are being identified in this context in the supervision population. So folks on, I believe, felony probation and parole. So through that process, have you all been able to compare rates of veterans, self-report VRSS veterans identified through voice? And if so, what's the difference?



01:18:27:24 - 01:19:06:22

 

So yes, so within our supervision population, we had roughly 3200 individuals that self-identified. However, once we start implementing or use VRS, we identify nearly 8500 veterans. So upon using VRS, says we, it highlighted a significant gap in the self reporting in comparison to the VA's. So that was one of the major takeaways from that. That's huge. So, you know, really significant difference between the number of veterans that were identified VSL for report VRSS using voice.



01:19:06:23 - 01:19:38:08

 

So if there's any question out there, folks saying we asked the question, that's a that's enough. We're thrilled you're asking the question, but you are missing many, many, many, many veterans. So thank you so much for that. So what have been the challenges in implementing VRSS and what solutions did you all find to those challenges? So the the main challenge was trying to take the the variables and implement into our taking our population and putting it into the VRSS.



01:19:38:09 - 01:20:13:11

 

So the system is set up for the courts and facilities. So translating that to community supervision was the most difficult part and took a little bit more time. So I had to really work with VRC helpdesk because they were very helpful. In addition to a veteran specialist who took time out to kind of help me walk through, and being able to get the get my sign in and everything situated, and then also with our internal data team.



01:20:13:11 - 01:20:26:16

 

So it was just all three of those things working together to get the correct CSV files so that I can get the VA's output.



01:20:26:18 - 01:20:45:20

 

Great. Thanks so much. And yeah, I do think we have some folks from the help desk with us today, and I hope they have heard how many shout outs they've gotten. And I hope all of your colleagues on the call who are considering using one of these systems are hearing that there is support and it is effective and available.



01:20:45:20 - 01:21:06:10

 

So I'm so glad to hear our presenters talking about that today. And our last question. You know, if you're talking to other supervision agencies that are saying, hey, you know, I've heard about VRSS or squares, you know, I'm thinking about using them, but I'm just not sure what would you tell them to help them make that next step.



01:21:06:12 - 01:21:48:00

 

So I'll go back to what the comparing the rates part. So that was again one of our biggest takeaways is how many veterans we were missing through self-report alone. So tools like VRS gave us a more complete picture of our population a lot. So it would allow us to better serve them. So because of that, I would encourage building those population, those partnerships early, particularly particularly working with the the outreach specialist and as well as the local service providers, so that once those individuals are identified, you've already made those connections and you can proactively respond.



01:21:48:02 - 01:22:07:09

 

Thank you so much. Such a wealth of knowledge from all of our presenters today. I feel so lucky to have all of you on. I will hand the baton back to Jim as we wrap up. Oh geez. Thanks Katie, and thanks for bringing it home like that at the end. And while you guys, as I knew you would, Katie and Donna, thank you so much.



01:22:07:10 - 01:22:25:05

 

They're the brains behind planning this session. And while timing was absolutely great, so much great information is shared. I saw all the things in chat and now what we're going to do. And we have just a few minutes left. And I'm glad you left us a little bit of time, because there were a few questions in chat that we want to make sure we get to.



01:22:25:06 - 01:22:51:15

 

So I'm going to pull some of those up real quick and look at those questions, and I'll direct them as I as I think I'll be. I'll be calling on you folks that are panelists. So the first one was from it was about veterans. The question was do you cover other uniformed services? Examples was Coast Guard, Public Health Commission Corps, National Oceanic Atmospheric, are they eligible for veterans benefits but do not serve in the armed forces?



01:22:51:16 - 01:23:32:07

 

Katie, I think that might be your forte. Is that correct? Katie. Well, the answer to that. Yeah, and maybe that person might like to provide some more context in the chat about what particular service they're inquiring about. If you're asking, are those individuals identified through VRSS, you know, I may hand that over to Samantha Gonzalez, but what I will say is I make a bad joke about VTS, that it's actually the former service member, search service, because not everyone identified through VRSS is eligible for VA health care services.



01:23:32:11 - 01:23:56:04

 

It really answers a question, yes or no, that this individual has a history of military service. You know, I think we will have to unless Sam happens to know follow up about whether VRSS folks that were, say, in the Public Health Service Corps and I don't know if anyone from squares is available to respond to that either. But if so, please do.



01:23:56:05 - 01:24:27:11

 

If not, we'll follow up on that. Thank you. Katie, if you do want to respond, please raise your hand and we'll get to you and acknowledge your response. But otherwise, like you said, Katie will follow up on that. Great question. Yes, this is John with squares. Good afternoon. Rather so squares as the earlier gentleman presented. It's more of an identification that they did serve and that they are eligible for certain benefits.



01:24:27:11 - 01:25:05:01

 

And squares does target homeless at risk of homeless. Those veterans who are are engaged in the justice system, or those who have mental health or need a mental health resources. So once the search data is input, there are certain results that will come back and then it is up on that particular program to then understand exactly those specific benefits that they're eligible for, then that right?



01:25:05:03 - 01:25:37:08

 

Yes. Yes, absolutely. Thank you. Okay I appreciate that. Sure. Beautiful. And another question that I wondered about this and and ask how about those who have been discharged from service either dishonorably less than, honorable or general? Are they eligible for services? Katie. So like all of these questions complicated. So to back up to the identification piece VRSS will identify them I think squares as well.



01:25:37:09 - 01:26:04:20

 

And they will give you squares is a much smarter system I'll say than vessels. Vessels will just simply give you a yes or no. Squares will give you more information about services that those individuals may or may not be eligible for. I what I always say is always apply for VA health care benefits. If you are interested in VA health care benefits and you have a history of military service eligibility changes throughout the years.



01:26:04:20 - 01:26:34:00

 

So if you learned that you were not eligible once upon a time, that could be different. Apply again if you're interested. Again, there may be particular services that you're eligible for, like some of our homeless programs or other caveats that Congress has built out over the years. So there is not an oVRSSll answer, but always apply. And you may learn that you are now eligible or you are eligible for particular services.



01:26:34:02 - 01:26:58:20

 

Got it. Thank you. If I can just I can just piggyback on that and agree wholeheartedly with Katie. Yes. There are instances where veterans who are were discharged less than, honorable, dishonorable or otherwise. There are some instances where they can.



01:26:58:22 - 01:27:23:11

 

Be eligible for those for certain benefits, but that is a next step. You know then what squares squares, you know, will, you know, provide that some some of those codings. But the very specific benefits that is that next step that they'll need to go through. Thank you so much. Done that. Thank you so much. I'm so glad we have the the experts on today to help us answer these questions.



01:27:23:11 - 01:27:52:04

 

Thank you. So I'm hearing basically it depends. It's not yes or no. So yeah great great stuff. Thank you. And just a couple more. And the one Leslie, Leslie asked the question about the Social Security number in the squares. And I think that was answered in the before. So that was answered previously. And then Sonia asked, is there any support and prevention for veterans when they are initially in contact or involved with law enforcement and court systems?



01:27:52:04 - 01:28:11:02

 

I think some of you might have talked about that, but who would like to take that one? Support and prevention for veterans when they are initially in contact with, become involved with, with law enforcement? Who would like to address that? How pass that over to Matt. They're the experts. Matt. That's what I was thinking. I didn't want to bust him out.



01:28:11:02 - 01:28:48:01

 

Yeah. Matt. How about you, sir? Yeah. So when they're having that initial contact with law enforcement and the specialist getting contact with them, they're just really getting them access to services at a very early point. And it's really just trying to meet the basic needs. So they would try to get them in. It could be something as simple as getting them an ID, helping them to get an ID so they can apply for housing resource, and just moving through the checklist or whatever they might need food.



01:28:48:03 - 01:29:12:15

 

Maybe they don't need a to go to treatment, but, you know, just simply connect them to an AA meeting or in a meeting and getting them support that way. That's really some of the things we try trying to do. And we've been very fortunate in Illinois because of our partnerships. We try to do that whether they fortify for veteran services or not.



01:29:12:17 - 01:29:36:01

 

Most over 95% of the time they do qualify, but if they don't, then we still have resources that we're able to connect them to. Well said. Matt. Thank you so much, sir. Thank you I appreciate that. Great answer. Great questions. Thank you all so much. Yeah. Go ahead. I know it's just two minutes left in the meeting, but I just wanted to piggyback on Matt as well.



01:29:36:02 - 01:29:55:11

 

And and basically echo what he said. Squares does have a program that is specifically targeted towards understanding benefits, legal services, benefits. And so.



01:29:55:13 - 01:30:24:01

 

Again, it's going to be that particular program that will provide the detail on what those benefits are. But yes, there are instances where those veterans who are engaged in the justice system can get legal services at the very beginning of that service, beginning of their engagement with the legal system. Justice. I think the key is right there, what this webinar is all about identifying.



01:30:24:04 - 01:30:51:23

 

And we need to strengthen our identification efforts. So I think that's a great. Absolutely. Absolutely. We're chiming in. It's a great way to end this. And I just want to do before we close, I just want to say thanks again to Katie and Donna for the great job of planning this and for putting together an outstanding, knowledgeable panel of Matt, Kerry, Katie Wilson, Stephanie LA, Sasha, and all of you folks done that and others that were here to to answer those specialized questions.



01:30:51:23 - 01:31:13:19

 

So with no case, it looks like Samantha has her hand raised to share share comment real quick before we close. Samantha, you had your hand up. Thank you. Thank you. Samantha. Hi. I'm so sorry. No, we're wrapping up here. But awesome today. And I actually learned a lot on my end. I'm with the help desk at Bruce, and hearing from the courts was wonderful.



01:31:13:19 - 01:31:38:04

 

Hearing how you guys implement it, because I can share that with quartz that come into me on a daily basis that ask questions. So it was super helpful. But also, if anyone is interested in setting up an account, it's a super, super easy process. We I do account approvals multiple times a day. We have a user guide that has step by step instructions, and we also have a CSV file that's already like formatted to our standards.



01:31:38:04 - 01:31:57:21

 

If any jails or courts prisons don't have anything set up yet, I can provide that to you. So I will also put my name in the chat and my email if anyone wants to reach out. If you have any questions. I like I said, I'm on the VR support desk so I'm happy to answer any questions. Thank you very much, Samantha, for seeing that hand up there.



01:31:57:21 - 01:32:20:22

 

And thank you guys for the information. You just put in chat as well. And as we wrap up, we will stay on all of us. Panelists will stay on for a little while, so if you have any other questions you want to chat in, we'll try to get to you. But with that being said, that ends that concludes our 90 minute webinar, 91 minute webinar, I think, on strengthening veteran identification.



01:32:20:24 - 01:32:31:06

 

Thank you so much, everyone, for being here. I look forward to more webinars in the future as these topics come up. If I can talk Donna and Katie into doing doing their thing again. So thank you all.