I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5073 
To improve the Veterans Crisis Line of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 23, 2021 
Mr. DELGADO (for himself, Mr. MANN, Ms. SHERRILL, and Mrs. MILLER- 
MEEKS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To improve the Veterans Crisis Line of the Department 
of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Revising and Expediting Actions for the Crisis Hotline 
for Veterans Act’’ or the ‘‘REACH for Veterans Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Definitions. 
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TITLE I—VETERANS CRISIS LINE TRAINING AND QUALITY 
MANAGEMENT 
Subtitle A—Staff Training 
Sec. 101. Review of training for Veterans Crisis Line call responders. 
Sec. 102. Retraining guidelines for Veterans Crisis Line call responders. 
Subtitle B—Quality Review and Management 
Sec. 111. Monitoring of calls on Veterans Crisis Line. 
Sec. 112. Quality management processes for Veterans Crisis Line. 
Sec. 113. Annual common cause analysis for callers to Veterans Crisis Line 
who die by suicide. 
Subtitle C—Guidance for High-Risk Callers 
Sec. 121. Development of enhanced guidance and procedures for response to 
calls related to substance use and overdose risk. 
Sec. 122. Review and improvement of standards for emergency dispatch. 
Subtitle D—Oversight and Clarification of Staff Roles and Responsibilities 
Sec. 131. Oversight of training of social service assistants and clarification of 
job responsibilities. 
TITLE II—PILOT PROGRAMS AND RESEARCH ON VETERANS 
CRISIS LINE 
Subtitle A—Pilot Programs 
Sec. 201. Extended safety planning pilot program for Veterans Crisis Line. 
Sec. 202. Crisis line facilitation pilot program. 
Subtitle B—Research on Effectiveness 
Sec. 211. Authorization of appropriations for research on effectiveness and op-
portunities for improvement of Veterans Crisis Line. 
TITLE III—TRANSITION OF CRISIS LINE NUMBER 
Sec. 301. Feedback on transition of crisis line number. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 
means the Department of Veterans Affairs. 
(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 
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(3) VETERANS CRISIS LINE.—The term ‘‘Vet-
erans Crisis Line’’ means the toll-free hotline for 
veterans established under section 1720F(h) of title 
38, United States Code. 
TITLE I—VETERANS CRISIS LINE 
TRAINING AND QUALITY MAN-
AGEMENT 
Subtitle A—Staff Training 
SEC. 101. REVIEW OF TRAINING FOR VETERANS CRISIS 
LINE CALL RESPONDERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall enter into an 
agreement with an organization outside the Department, 
such as the American Association of Suicidology, to review 
the training for Veterans Crisis Line call responders on 
assisting callers in crisis. 
(b) COMPLETION OF REVIEW.—The review conducted 
under subsection (a) shall be completed not later than one 
year after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(c) ELEMENTS OF REVIEW.—The review conducted 
under subsection (a) shall consist of a review of the train-
ing provided by the Department on subjects including risk 
assessment, lethal means assessment, substance use and 
overdose risk assessment, safety planning, referrals to 
care, supervisory consultation, and emergency dispatch. 
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(d) UPDATE OF TRAINING.—If any deficiencies in the 
training for Veterans Crisis Line call responders are found 
pursuant to the review under subsection (a), the Secretary 
shall update such training and associated standards of 
practice to correct those deficiencies not later than one 
year after the completion of the review. 
SEC. 102. RETRAINING GUIDELINES FOR VETERANS CRISIS 
LINE CALL RESPONDERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall de-
velop guidelines on retraining and quality management for 
when a Veterans Crisis Line call responder has an adverse 
event or when a quality review check by a supervisor of 
such a call responder denotes that the call responder needs 
improvement. 
(b) ELEMENTS OF GUIDELINES.—The guidelines de-
veloped under subsection (a) shall specify the subjects and 
quantity of retraining recommended and how supervisors 
should implement increased use of silent monitoring or 
other performance review mechanisms. 
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Subtitle B—Quality Review and 
Management 
SEC. 111. MONITORING OF CALLS ON VETERANS CRISIS 
LINE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall require that 
not fewer than two calls per month for each Veterans Cri-
sis Line call responder be subject to supervisory silent 
monitoring, which is used to monitor the quality of con-
duct by such call responder during the call. 
(b) BENCHMARKS.—The Secretary shall establish 
benchmarks for requirements and performance of Vet-
erans Crisis Line call responders on supervisory silent 
monitored calls. 
(c) QUARTERLY REPORTS.—Not less frequently than 
quarterly, the Secretary shall submit to the Office of Men-
tal Health and Suicide Prevention of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs a report on occurrence and outcomes of 
supervisory silent monitoring of calls on the Veterans Cri-
sis Line. 
SEC. 112. QUALITY MANAGEMENT PROCESSES FOR VET-
ERANS CRISIS LINE. 
Not later than one year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the leadership for the Veterans Crisis 
Line, in partnership with the Office of Mental Health and 
Suicide Prevention of the Department and the National 
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Center for Patient Safety of the Department, shall estab-
lish quality management processes and expectations for 
staff of the Veterans Crisis Line, including with respect 
to reporting of adverse events and close calls. 
SEC. 113. ANNUAL COMMON CAUSE ANALYSIS FOR CALL-
ERS TO VETERANS CRISIS LINE WHO DIE BY 
SUICIDE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than annually, 
the Secretary shall perform a common cause analysis for 
all identified callers to the Veterans Crisis Line that died 
by suicide during the one-year period preceding the con-
duct of the analysis before the caller received contact with 
emergency services and in which the Veterans Crisis Line 
was the last point of contact. 
(b) SUBMITTAL OF RESULTS.—The Secretary shall 
submit to the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Preven-
tion of the Department the results of each analysis con-
ducted under subsection (a). 
(c) APPLICATION OF THEMES OR LESSONS.—The 
Secretary shall apply any themes or lessons learned under 
an analysis under subsection (a) to updating training and 
standards of practice for staff of the Veterans Crisis Line. 
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