Improving Linkage to Health and Other Services for Veterans Leaving Incarceration

Veterans leaving incarceration (henceforth, "reentry Veterans") are among the most underserved by the VA and thus are an increasingly high priority population. The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that 140,000 Veterans are incarcerated in the U.S. at a given time, approximately 80% of whom are eligible for VA benefits. Many of these Veterans had problems with substance use disorders (SUD)(including alcohol) and/or mental health (MH) issues prior to being incarcerated.

The VA's national Health Care for Reentry Veterans (HCRV) program identifies 10,000-15,000 incarcerated Veterans annually preparing to transition back to the community. A HCRV outreach specialist works with incarcerated VHA-eligible Veterans to establish a post-release plan for linkage to VHA services. This program, with 1-2 outreach specialists per state, has improved the connection between reentry Veterans and the VHA. However, the investigators' analyses of homeless program data linked to VHA administrative data indicate that 43% of eligible HCRV Veterans do not have a VHA outpatient contact in the first 4 months post incarceration. Reducing this number is critical given the elevated rates of chronic health conditions, as well as MH or SUDs in this population.

To address this gap, the investigators will work with the national HCRV office to implement an evidence-based peer support intervention to extend the reach and effectiveness of the HCRV program in linking Veterans to VHA. Peers with incarceration experience are likely to better understand and connect with Veterans on a personal level than the outreach specialist, and thus are more likely to maintain contact and link to VHA during the first months post-release. Peers are gaining popularity in forensic settings (called "forensic peer specialists") with civilian populations and would likely be beneficial for a Veteran population .

The aims of this project are:

• Conduct contextual analysis to identify VHA and community reentry resources, and to describe how reentry Veterans use them.
• Implement peer-support, in one state, to link reentry veterans to VHA primary, mental health, and SUD services. The investigators will use external and internal facilitation as the implementation strategy.
• Spread the peer-support intervention to another, geographically, and contextually different state.

Inclusion criteria

Phase 1

• Veteran released from a Massachusetts state prison or county jail.
• (for intervention subjects: interested in receiving reentry services) Phase 2
• Veteran released from a Connecticut state prison or jail.
• (for intervention subjects: interested in receiving reentry services)

Exclusion criteria

• No history of dementia or other serious cognitive condition that would prevent them from being interviewed or completing a survey questionnaire.