The Litmus Team to Study Incarcerated Veterans

Many veterans return from military service with mental health and substance use disorders, face housing instability, and suffer from traumatic brain injury. Veterans are arrested an incarcerated at higher rates than people with no military service. The Litmus program has been awarded funding from the Council on Criminal Justice in support of the Council’s Veterans Justice Commission, which “is examining the extent and nature of veterans’ involvement in the criminal justice system and developing recommendations for evidence-based policy changes that enhance safety, health, and justice.” The project team, to be directed by Litmus Senior Research Scholar Sandy Mullins, will work directly with several local jails and state prison systems to improve estimates of the number of veterans in the criminal justice system, characterize this population, and evaluate veteran-housing units. They will also derive a national estimate of the cost of veterans’ justice-system involvement and an estimate of the cost of providing healthcare to incarcerated veterans, in support of the Council’s work.