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VVA Veterans Incarcerated program may become the Veterans Justice program
“Male veterans less than half as likely as male non-veterans to be in prison in 2004. Veterans older, better educated than other State and Federal prisoners” Justice Department Report, May 20, 2007
We at Veterans Today have been getting inquiries and request for assistance from Veterans and families related to Veterans from all war periods that are in prison or facing prison terms.
Veterans Today just doesn’t have the in house staff or capability to handle these requests for assistance that range from imprisoned Vets being deported to forming a Veterans’ group within a prison.
The best approach is to educate readers about which Veterans Service Organization in my opinion leads the pack in such expertise and even has a in house Committee focused on veterans who are incarcerated to include encouraging chapters of Vets be formed while they are in prison as mutual support for one another.
I wish to introduce our readers to the Veterans Incarcerated program of Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) that may be renamed the Veterans Justice program during 2011. Thus, if looking for further information on this long time initiative that has gotten little outside attention look for the VVA Veterans Incarcerated Program or VVA Veterans Incarcerated Committee.
Robert L. Hanafin, Major
U.S. Air Force-Retired
Staff Writer
Veterans Today Military Veterans
Background – What is the VVA Veterans Incarcerated Committee and program.
I believe that the concept and idea that Veterans in prison who have served the United States need support, encouragement, and in many cases the legal advice of other Veterans they served with goes back to even before the founding of VVA, but for more detailed information on how the VVA Veterans Incarcerated program was formed, I recommend contacting the Committee Chair, Terry P. Hubert at thubert@vva.org
The following background is taken from the VVA website describes the mission and function of the incarcerated veterans program. I’m going to try translating the legalize language into something those of us with a high school GED can relate to.
The Veterans Incarcerated Committee develops programs of awareness with regard to the special needs of veterans who are presently or formerly in prison. The Committee acts as liaison with members of VVA who are in prisons.
In 1996 the Committee’s functions were further defined with the mission to provide benefits and services not currently being provided to veterans in prison by researching Department of Corrections Regulations for each state which might enable VVA to implement new programs for veterans and by building cooperation at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Though the initial focus was and remains on Vietnam Era Veterans, the Veterans Incarcerated program established an outreach effort through its Awareness Subcommittee.
Today VVA desires to increase the sensitivity of our membership to the issues which affect veterans incarcerated; publicize, through the print media and public appearances, the various successful programs for veterans imprisoned which can be established by each state in their institutions.
A Rules and Regulations Subcommittee was created to work with various ‘State’ Department of Corrections, in each state which has a VVA State Council, to develop a program tailored to that state’s needs and provide information about services that are available to veterans who are incarcerated.
According to Chairman Terry Hubert, “although we are changing the committee’s focus–and expanded our effort to the bigger justice issue facing all veterans–the Committee name change must await the next VVA National Conference-(2011 in Reno) and submit it as a Resolution before our membership—-until then we’ll remain the VIC Committee.
The VVA provides free membership to veterans in prison—as long as they can send in their DD 214 and indicate where they are imprisoned. Local chapters–inside and out support these efforts as much as practical—although its difficult to do because of prison wardens-coming and going—some prison administrators are more receptive then others…We are encouraged by incarcerated veterans’ resiliency to remain active on various prison yards….and provide support for one another and mentoring to fellow prisoners–the VVA will have a national leadership conference this August 2010 in Orlando—the VIC-will put together a Veterans Court seminar and a prison awareness program.”
Below are Major Hanafin’s views/assessment and not necessarily those of VVA or the VVA Veterans Incarcerated program.
I believe that the focus on VVA national and state oversight of the program has been due to VVA leading the way in establishing such an effort at state and national levels. I can’t think of any other Veterans Organization except maybe Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), and Veterans for Peace (VFP) that has such a focus, but VVA remains the only VSO to my knowledge that has and encourages VVA chapters within prisons.
However, given the fact that younger veterans are returning from the current wars and having run-ins with the U.S. Justice System, warranted or not, the VVA Veterans Incarcerated effort hopefully will changed its name and it’s focus to beyond the Vietnam generation of Vets as an outreach and education effort. My discussions with Terry lead me to believe that.
Using my background as a former Department of Justice employee, I checked out the latest data I could find on Veterans in State and Federal Prisons.
Veterans in State and Federal Prison, 2004
According to the Department of Justice in an April 2007 report, using a 2004 Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities, this report gave data on the military and criminal backgrounds of incarcerated veterans, describes their substance abuse and dependence histories, and provides a details on their mental health problems. It compared incarceration rates for veterans and nonveterans in the U.S. population and trends from 1986 to 2004 in the prevalence of military service among inmates. The report also examines characteristics of incarcerated veterans who served in the 1990-91 Gulf War and the Afghanistan/Iraq operations since 2001.
Highlights included the following:
- The percentage of veterans among State and Federal prisoners has steadily declined over the past three decades, according to national surveys of prison inmates conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
- In 2004, 10% of State prisoners reported prior service in the U.S. Armed Forces, down from 12% in 1997 and 20% in 1986.
- The majority of veterans in State (54%) and Federal (64%) prison served during a wartime period.
NCJ 217199 April 29, 2007
Part of the Veterans in State and Federal Prisons Series
Despite the decline in Veterans in prison, substance abuse and dependence histories, mental health problems, and even the impact of Agent Orange, Gulf War Illness and whatever comes out of Iraq and Afghanistan remain. Simply put, the need for outreach to our brothers and sisters in arms who are imprisoned remains.
In our last VVA Veteran magazine it was reported that VVA President John Rowan, Veterans Incarcerate Chair, T. P. Hubert and other VVA leaders decided to rename the VVA Veterans Incarcerated program and committee to the Veterans Justice Committee in order to better address the broad range of issues for all veterans challenged by the justice system. As Terry mentioned, the final decision will be brought before the membership in resolution.
Chairman Hubert assured the 1,900 incarcerated members of VVA that the Veterans Justice Committee (VIC) will continue to advocate for imprisoned veterans.
In my opinion that number 1,900 pails in comparison to the significantly higher number of military veterans in federal, state, and military prisons across the nation and even in our territories. According to the 2007 Justice Department report there were an estimated 140,000 veterans held in state and federal prisons in 2004.
State prisons held 127,500 of these veterans, and federal prisons held 12,500.
The committee name change simply reflects the larger goals of achieving justice for veterans across generations who encounter the criminal justice system and, as much as practical, seeking alternative strategies of treatment and diversion. As the numbers show, we have almost as many troops in prisons across America as we have in combat overseas. This is an overwhelming task for any Veterans Service Organization to take on, and we need to give VVA plus any other organization willing to take on this challenge all the help they can get.
Once again for more detail information on this name change and the broader focus of the Veterans Incarcerated Committee, please contact the chair, Terry P. Hubert at thubert@vva.org
Posted by: Robert L. Hanafin
Major, U.S. Air Force-Retired
Life Member, VVA
Staff Writer, Veterans Today
Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=12106
Posted by Robert L. Hanafin on Jan 26 2010, Filed under Veteran Service Organizations, Veterans Affairs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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MALE VETERANS LESS THAN HALF AS LIKELY AS MALE NON-VETERANS TO BE IN PRISON IN 2004
Veterans Older, Better Educated Than Other State and Federal Prisoners
WASHINGTON—There were an estimated 140,000 veterans held in state and federal prisons in 2004, the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today. State prisons held 127,500 of these veterans, and federal prisons held 12,500.
Almost all veterans in prison were male (99 percent). Among adult males in the U.S. population in 2004, veterans were half as likely as non-veterans to be in prison (630 prisoners per 100,000 veterans, compared to 1,390 prisoners per 100,000 non-veteran U.S. residents). The difference is largely explained by age. Two-thirds of male veterans in the U.S. population were at least 55 years old, compared to 17 percent of non-veteran men. The incarceration rate of these older male veterans (182 per 100,000) was far lower than for those under age 55 (1,483 per 100,000).
In 2004, the percentage of state prisoners who reported prior service in the U.S. Armed Forces (10 percent) was half of the level reported in 1986 (20 percent). BJS began surveying federal prisoners in 1991, and federal inmates showed a similar decline in reporting military service – from 20 percent in 1991 to 10 percent in 2004.
Despite the declining percentages of prisoners with prior military service, the estimated number of veterans in state and federal prison increased by more than 50,000 between 1985 and 2000. This increase coincided with a rapid growth in total prison populations. Since 2000, the number of veterans in prison has fallen 13,100 or 9 percent.
The average length of military service of veterans in prison was about four years, and six in 10 received an honorable discharge. The majority of veterans in state (54 percent) and federal (64 percent) prisons served during a wartime period, but a much lower percentage (20 percent of veterans in state prisons, 26 percent of federal) reported seeing combat. Vietnam-era veterans (36 percent) were the largest group of wartime service veterans in state prisons, followed by veterans of the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War (14 percent). Only 4 percent of the veterans in state prison had served since operations began in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Over half of veterans (57 percent) were serving time for violent offenses, compared to 47 percent of non-veterans. In particular, veterans (23 percent) were twice as likely as non-veterans (9 percent) to have been sentenced for sexual assaults, including rape. Among violent offenders, a higher percentage of veterans reported victimizing females (60 percent for veterans compared to 41 percent for non-veterans) and minors (40 percent for veterans compared to 24 percent for non-veterans).
Veterans were much older than other inmates; the median age of veterans in State prison was 45, compared to 33 for non-veterans. Veterans in state prisons were also more likely to be white (54 percent) than non-veterans in state prisons (33 percent). Veterans were much better educated than other state prisoners. Nearly all veterans (91 percent) reported at least a high school diploma or GED, compared to 60 percent of non-veterans in state prisons. College attendance was three times higher among veterans in state prison as well (33 percent compared to 10 percent of non-veterans).
Veterans were less likely to report drug use in the month before their offense (42 percent) than other state prisoners (58 percent). Veteran status was not related to inmate reports of alcohol dependence and abuse.
The report, Veterans in State and Federal Prison, 2004 (NCJ-217199), was written by BJS statistician Margaret E. Noonan and BJS policy analyst Christopher J. Mumola. Following publication it can be found at http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=808.
For additional information about the Bureau of Justice Statistics please visit the BJS Web site at http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/.
The Office of Justice Programs (OJP), headed by Assistant Attorney General Regina B. Schofield, provides federal leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice and assist victims. OJP has five component bureaus: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; and the Office for Victims of Crime. Additionally, OJP has two program offices: the Community Capacity Development Office, which incorporates the Weed and Seed strategy and OJP’s American Indian and Alaska Native Affairs Desk and the Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking (SMART) Office. More information can be found at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov.
ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:00 P.M. EDT
SUNDAY, APRIL 29, 2007
Bureau of Justice Statistics
Contact: Stu Smith 202/307-0784
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs After hours: 301-983-9354
BJS obtains yearend counts of prisoners in the custody of U.S. military authorities from the Department of Defense Corrections Council. In 1994, the council, composed of representatives from each branch of military service, adopted a standardized report (DD Form 2720) with a common set of items and definitions. This report obtains data on persons held in U.S. military confinement facilities inside and outside of the continental United States, by branch of service, gender, race, Hispanic origin, conviction status, sentence length, and offense. It also provides data on the number of facilities and their design and rated capacities.
http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=143
Veterans in State and Federal Prison, 2004 (4/29/2007) Presents data on the military and criminal backgrounds of incarcerated veterans, uses new measures to describe their substance abuse and dependence histories, and provides a detailed measure of their mental health problems.http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=808
Veterans in Prison and Jail, 2000 (1/18/2000) “Male military veterans are incarcerated at less than half the rate of non-veterans” http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=616
Veterans in Prison 1981 Paper copy only. (10/1/1981) http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=1433
Incarcerated Veterans
Department of Veterans Affairs
Incarcerated Veterans
VA benefits are affected if a beneficiary is convicted of a felony and imprisoned for more than 60 days.
Disability or Death Pension paid to an incarcerated beneficiary must be discontinued. Disability compensation paid to an incarcerated veteran rated 20-percent or more disabled is limited to the 10 percent rate. For a surviving spouse, child or dependent parent receiving Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, or a veteran whose disability rating is 10 percent, the payment is reduced to half of the rate payable to a veteran evaluated as 10 percent disabled.
Any amounts not paid may be apportioned to eligible dependents. Payments are not reduced for participants in work-release programs, residing in halfway houses or under community control.
Failure to notify VA of a veteran’s incarceration can result in overpayment of benefits and the subsequent loss of all VA financial benefits until the overpayment is recovered. VA benefits will not be provided to any veteran or dependent wanted for an outstanding felony warrant.
Persons convicted of a federal or state capital crime are barred from receiving VA burial benefits.
Source URL: http://www1.va.gov/opa/IS1/9.asp
Incarcerated Veterans Q & A
Can a Veteran Receive VA Benefits While in Prison?
VA can pay certain benefits to veterans who are incarcerated in a Federal, state, or local penal institution. However, the amount we can pay depends on the type of benefit and reason for incarceration.
This fact sheet provides information about the benefits most commonly effected by imprisonment.
How Will Your Imprisonment Effect the Payment of:
VA Disability Compensation?
Your monthly payment will be reduced beginning with the 61st day of your imprisonment for a felony. If your payment before you went to prison was $218 or more, your new payment amount will be $112. If you were getting $112 before you were imprisoned, your new payment will be $56. Compensation benefits are not reduced if imprisoned for a misdemeanor.
VA Disability Pension?
If you are imprisoned in a Federal, state, or local penal institution as the result of conviction of a felony or misdemeanor, such pension payment will be discontinued effective on the 61st day of imprisonment following conviction.
Note: When you are released from incarceration, your normal benefits will be restored. You are considered to have been released from incarceration if you are paroled or participating in a work release or half-way house program.
Are You Eligible for VA Medical Care While Imprisoned?
While incarcerated veterans do not forfeit their eligibility for medical care; however, current regulations restrict VA from providing hospital and outpatient care to an incarcerated veteran who is an inmate in an institution of another government agency when that agency has a duty to give the care or services.
VA may provide care once the veteran has been unconditionally released from the penal institution. Veterans interested in applying for enrollment into the VA health care system should contact the nearest VA health care facility upon their release.
Can Your Spouse, Children, or Dependent Parent(s) Receive Any of the Money Not Paid To You Because of Imprisonment?
VA can take all or part of the benefits you are not receiving and apportion it to your spouse, child or children, and dependent parents on the basis of individual need. They should contact the nearest VA regional office for details on how to apply. They will be asked to provide income information as part of the application process.
Will Your Benefits Be Automatically Resumed When You Get out of Prison?
Your award for compensation or pension benefits shall be resumed the date of release from incarceration if the Department of Veterans Affairs receives notice of release within 1 year following release. Depending on the type of disability, VA may schedule you for a medical examination to see if your disability has improved. You will need to visit or call your local VA regional office for assistance.
Compensation & Pension Service – April 2006
PDF: http://www.FedCURE.org/documents/VA-Dept-IncarceratedVeterans2006.pdf
Source URL: http://www.vba.va.gov/benefit_facts/MISC/English/Incarceratedeg_0406.doc
Incarcerated Veterans Transition Program
The Incarcerated Veterans Transition Program (IV-TP), managed by the U.S. Department of Labor, Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS), is designed to help ex-offender veterans who are at risk of homelessness to reenter the workforce. The program provides direct services – through a case management approach – to link incarcerated veterans with appropriate employment and life skills support as they transition from a correctional facility into the community. Go here for more: Incarcerated Veterans Transition Program.http://www.fedcure.org/documents/IncarceratedVeteransTransitionProgram.
pdf
Also see these other resources for Incarcerated Veterans (Some of the information may be dated – OLD, so could lead to dead links, my apologies, Major Hanafin):
Federal Cure – Parole, US vs. Booker, Federal Prison, Federal … Incarcerated Veterans:. VA benefits are restricted if a veteran, … Incarcerated Veterans:. A veteran may not receive VA pension benefits while incarcerated… http://www.fedcure.org/alerts/vetbenefits.shtml
Incarcerated Veterans Guidebook This guide is the the PDF format. 31 pages. File size is 172 KB. http://www.vetsinfo.com/incarcerated_veterans.htm
Re-Entry Blog: Regional Veterans programs for the Incarcerated Vete… VA Outreach for Incarcerated Veterans is diverse, but has some basic uniformity. Current VA Outreach by Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISN’s) is: http://72.34.34.34/~wjinabt/archives/re-entry/2004/11/regional_vetera.html
Who We Are The Veterans of the Vietnam War and The Veterans Coalition maintains a program for incarcerated veterans to assist them in their re-integration into society … http://www.vvnw.org/About_VVnW/About.htm
Forgotten warriors: an evaluation of the emotional well-being of ….. The MLQ results also indicated that, compared to their nonincarcerated counterparts, the incarcerated veterans were more likely to be black, … http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=3582960&dopt=Abstract
Incarcerated veterans often face service-related illnesses The outside contact, they said, reminds incarcerated veterans their service was valued and that they have a future once they are released. Tom Baxter … http://www.thepowerhour.com/news/incarcerated_vets.htm
Veteran Facts 1 in every 6 incarcerated veterans was not honorably discharged from the military. … Nearly 60% of incarcerated veterans had served in the Army. … http://www.rcnv.org/rcnv/archives/2003/veteran_facts.htm
DON’T LEAVE VETERANS OUT OF THE TOBACCO SETTLEMENT The Bureau of Justice Statistics of the US Department of Justice is expected to release a study on incarcerated veterans on Tuesday, January 18th. … http://veterans.house.gov/democratic/dc/jointdc1-14-00.htm
Incarcerated Veterans: The VA Can Pay Certain Benefits to Veterans … Whether a veteran is eligible to receive VA benefits while in prison, how payments are affected by imprisonment, whether money not paid to a veteran can be … http://www.nicic.org/Library/019375
Incarcerated Veterans Transition Program The Incarcerated Veterans Transition Program (IVTP) is operated by VVSD and funded … An in-reach specialist will meet with incarcerated veterans to assess … http://www.vvsd.net/incarcerated.htm
Incarcerated Veterans Help – VeteransResources.org Supporting veterans seeking benefits while incarcerated. http://www.veteransresources.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=31
ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:30 PM EST BJS TUESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2000 ….. The BJS study also found that: –Fifty percent of these incarcerated veterans had served during a period of wartime 35 percent were Vietnam-era veterans and … http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/press/vpj.pr
National Coalition for Homeless Veterans – Incarcerated Veterans NCHV will end homelessness among veterans by shaping public policy, educating the public, and building the capacity of service providers. http://www.nchv.org/incarcerated.cfm
Volunteers of America – Our Services Incarcerated Veterans Transition Program … Less than three percent of formerly incarcerated veterans served by the program since its inception in Kentucky … http://www.voa.org/OurServices/Corrections/Incarcerated+Veterans+Transition+Program.htm
Benefits for Incarcerated Veterans Benefits for Incarcerated Veterans. Can a veteran receive VA benefits … While incarcerated veterans do not forfeit their eligibility for medical care, … http://www.vba.va.gov/ro/new-orleans/prison.htm
Veterans Incarcerated White Paper It may seem like a semantic distinction, but VVA refers to this population as “Veterans Incarcerated,” not as “incarcerated veterans” precisely because … http://www.vva.org/legiss/vi_white.htm
A Guidebook for Incarcerated Veterans 2. Forward. This handbook can be an important tool. Review all of the programs thoroughly to understand the opportunities available. … http://www.dva.wa.gov/PDF%20files/IncVetHandbook.pdf
Incarcerated We will name the first Incarcerated Veterans Beacon House in honor of his … To honor Herb we must keep and grow the Incarcerated Veterans Program he led … http://www.vvnw.org/Veteran_Services/nvclp.htm
US Department of Labor—Veterans’ Employment and Training … General Information. Incarcerated Veterans Transition Program Brochure (PDF Format) – Incarcerated Veterans Transition Program Grant Provisions (PDF Format) … http://www.dol.gov/vets/programs/ivtp/main.htm
Incarcerated Veterans Transition Program.p65 approach – to link incarcerated veterans with appropriate employment and life skills support … Applicants familiar with incarcerated veterans … http://www.dol.gov/vets/programs/ivtp/incarcerated_veterans_transition_program.pdf
Veterans in Prison or Jail 1 in every 6 incarcerated veterans. were not honorably discharged from the military. $ About 20% of veterans in prison. or jail reported seeing combat duty … http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/vpj.pdf
Incarcerated Veterans The VA can pay certain benefits to veterans who are incarcerated in a Federal, state or local penal institution. http://www.military.com/Resources/ResourcesContent/0,13964,30991-mil_status_veteran-1,00.html
SOURCE:
FedCURE
P.O. Box 15667
Plantation, Florida 33318-5667
USA
Web Site: http://www.FedCURE.org
E-mail: FedCURE@FedCURE.org
E-fax: (408) 549-8935
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