Data Analysis

Our study uses qualitative research methods to find out if Texas Veterans Treatment Court (VTC) programs are following the best practices recommended by All Rise. All Rise is a well-known national organization that trains treatment court programs. In their 2023 publication, "Adult Treatment Court Best Practice Standards, 2nd ed.," All Rise emphasized the importance of this research, stating, "Like many complex service organizations, treatment courts are highly susceptible to downward drift in their operations, meaning that the quality and effectiveness of their services may decline significantly over time" (Pg. 215). 

The Texas Legislature authorized the establishment of VTC programs in 2009, but it wasn't until 2013 that best practices were required in specialty courts, including VTC. However, according to the Texas Judicial Council's website, best practices have only been adopted for adult and family drug courts at the time of this study. Therefore, it is unknown to what extent, if any, the quality and effectiveness of VTC programs may have inclined or declined. 

The research underscores the challenges associated with acquiring and evaluating comprehensive data on the operations of treatment courts, primarily due to the high costs and complexities involved. Many programs rely on confidential reports from team members to gain insights into their typical operations. While self-reports offer certain benefits, they are susceptible to inaccuracies and omissions, particularly when team members are unfamiliar with specific policies or procedures. Furthermore, there is a risk of conscious or unconscious biases influencing how staff members present themselves or their programs in a favorable light, leading to potentially skewed reports. 

An example of potentially biased reporting is evident in the statistics on the successful completion of justice-involved veterans (JIVs) in VTC programs. An analysis of the legislative-mandated annual reports by the Texas Veterans Commission reveals possible disparities in the numbers of JIVs who completed VTC programs successfully versus those who were unsuccessful between 2020 and 2022. Some VTC programs claimed only one or two unsuccessful completions in each of the three years, while others reported anywhere from 5 to 41 unsuccessful completions. Granted, the interpretation of this data may be subjective, but these discrepancies should prompt an examination of the strategies and practices employed by programs with high successful completion rates, as compared to those with substantial unsuccessful completion rates.