Exploring Veteran Disconnection: Using Culturally Responsive Methods in the Evaluation of Veterans Treatment Court Services

Returning veterans often experience difficulties engaging with community-based treatment services. This article describes a collaborative effort between social work evaluators and veteran community leaders to investigate a perceived social disconnection between returning veterans and a treatment court attempting to assist them. Collaborators conducted an exploratory evaluation with individuals participating in a veterans treatment court (VTC) in Hamilton County, Ohio. The evaluation utilized both ecological theory and culturally responsive methods to explore participant perceptions. The analysis made explicit a chain of participant perceptions expected to promote program engagement and retention. Recommendations are made for program evaluation, training, and avenues for further study.