Articles

Most US Veterans return to normal lives after combat, and suffer few, if any, physical or emotional scars of war. But a small and growing percentage return with mental health issues, alcoholism, and drug addictions that lead them into criminal behavior. So the US Veterans Administration is taking action.

The goal is to get treatment for veterans rather than incarceration, or in exchange for reduced time incarcerated. It is similar to successful programs like Prop 36 in California, the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act of 2000. Alcohol and drug treatment and mental health treatment for veterans who commit crimes seeks a solution to the problem. Incarceration without rehabilitation only invites repeat offenses.

Programs for treatment instead of incarceration are not only highly effective and save lives, but they also save money. This is because incarceration cost savings are only the beginning. Health care costs decrease, as well as personal losses from accidents, crime, and injury.

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles provides alcohol and drug treatment for veterans as part of our commitment to integrated behavioral healthcare. We also include HIV/AIDS services, women’s services, and mental health treatment for those with co-occurring disorders. For more information, call us at 888-777-8565 or contact us here.

The following is from an article posted on The Washington Post website.

— Begin external content –

A July 15 Army report said more study is needed to determine whether there is a link between the soldiers’ alleged crimes and their heavy combat duty and lengthy deployments.

The VA is training 145 specialists at its hospitals nationwide to help veterans who are in jails, awaiting trial or serving misdemeanor sentences. Other VA programs target homelessness and help veterans readjust after serving prison terms for serious crimes.

To date, more than 1.9 million U.S. service members have gone to Iraq and Afghanistan, the largest deployment since 3.4 million were sent to Southeast Asia in support of the Vietnam War.
James McGuire, the Los Angeles-based director of the VA’s incarcerated veterans outreach programs, said some war veterans “are obviously struggling.”

“The VA is very attuned to this and received an education about all this after Vietnam, when the whole issue of PTSD came up,” he said, using the abbreviation for post-traumatic stress disorder.

In a typical case, VA specialists would report to a civilian court on an accused veteran’s medical history — and available VA benefits or programs that might help. Prosecutors and judges would decide whether and how to use that information when deciding if a veteran should undergo treatment instead of incarceration.

— Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/06/AR2009080603757.html —

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles makes a daily effort to find treatment news articles that we can share with our readers in the alcohol and drug treatment community. The external content was found among other articles of equal informational and educational quality.

Southern California Locations for Alcohol and Drug Treatment
Tarzana Treatment Centers has locations all over Southern California in Los Angeles County. Other than our central location in Tarzana, we have facilities in Lancaster in the Antelope Valley, Long Beach, and in Northridge and Reseda in the San Fernando Valley.