Corrections_Today_September_October_2023_Vol.85_No.5

NEWS&VIEWS

VIEW FROM THE LINE

Serving incarcerated Veterans starts with identifying them It’s easier than ever with VRSS By Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian

Forces. My Uncle Jack became the Veterans Service Officer in my hometown of Waltham, Mass., and my father became the city clerk. My Uncle Arsen, sadly, made the ultimate sacrifice and never made it home from his Army service. Many of our families share stories of military and public service, but it is all of us who share the respon sibility of caring for veterans in correctional custody.

Special thanks to Katie Stewart, Nation al Coordinator, Veterans Justice Outreach, Veterans Health Administration for her contributions to this article. L ike many sheriffs and correc tions professionals, I grew up around military culture. My grandparents came to this country as refugees fleeing the Armenian genocide, and all three of their sons would go on to serve in different branches of the United States Armed

It was a decade ago when I first explored the idea of launching a specialized program for military veterans in my custody. Like many correctional facilities, we asked about prior military service during our intake process — but we knew some individuals were not willing to share this information with us. There are several reasons for this lack of self-identification. Some veterans had a misplaced fear of losing VA benefits. Others were not sure if they actually qualified as a veteran. For many, it was simply a matter of pride to not claim that status now that they were wearing a different uniform. I brought this issue to two part ners I often worked with: the VA New England Healthcare System and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Veterans’ Services. It was through these partners that I was first intro duced to the Veterans Reentry Search Service, or VRSS. This tool allows us to check our population against VA’s records and conclusively de termine which people in our custody have served in the military. I still remember the first day we ran a VRSS search in July of

Adobe Stock/hamara

22 — September/October 2023 Corrections Today