Subtitle C—Guidance for High-Risk 
Callers 
SEC. 121. DEVELOPMENT OF ENHANCED GUIDANCE AND 
PROCEDURES FOR RESPONSE TO CALLS RE-
LATED TO SUBSTANCE USE AND OVERDOSE 
RISK. 
Not later than one year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with na-
tional experts within the Department on substance use 
disorder and overdose, shall— 
(1) develop enhanced guidance and procedures 
to respond to calls to the Veterans Crisis Line re-
lated to substance use and overdose risk; 
(2) update training materials for staff of the 
Veterans Crisis Line in response to such enhanced 
guidance and procedures; and 
(3) update criteria for monitoring compliance 
with such enhanced guidance and procedures. 
SEC. 122. REVIEW AND IMPROVEMENT OF STANDARDS FOR 
EMERGENCY DISPATCH. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall— 
(1) review the current emergency dispatch 
standard operating procedure of the Veterans Crisis 
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Line to identify any additions to such procedure to 
strengthen communication regarding— 
(A) emergency dispatch for disconnected 
callers; and 
(B) the role of social service assistants in 
requesting emergency dispatch and recording 
such dispatches; and 
(2) update such procedure to include the addi-
tions identified under paragraph (1). 
(b) TRAINING.—The Secretary shall ensure that all 
staff of the Veterans Crisis Line are trained on all updates 
made under subsection (a)(2) to the emergency dispatch 
standard operating procedure of the Veterans Crisis Line. 
Subtitle D—Oversight and Clari-
fication of Staff Roles and Re-
sponsibilities 
SEC. 131. OVERSIGHT OF TRAINING OF SOCIAL SERVICE AS-
SISTANTS AND CLARIFICATION OF JOB RE-
SPONSIBILITIES. 
Not later than one year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary shall— 
(1) establish oversight mechanisms to ensure 
that social service assistants and supervisory social 
service assistants working with the Veterans Crisis 
Line are appropriately trained and implementing 
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guidance of the Department regarding the Veterans 
Crisis Line; and 
(2) refine standard operating procedures to de-
lineate roles and responsibilities for all levels of su-
pervisory social service assistants working with the 
Veterans Crisis Line. 
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. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Commencing not later than 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary shall carry out a pilot program to determine wheth-
er a lengthier, templated safety plan used in clinical set-
tings could be applied in call centers for the Veterans Cri-
sis Line. 
(b) BRIEFING.—Not later than two years after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall brief 
Congress on the findings of the Secretary under the pilot 
program under subsection (a), including such rec-
ommendations as the Secretary may have for continuation 
or discontinuation of the pilot program. 
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SEC. 202. CRISIS LINE FACILITATION PILOT PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Commencing not later than one 
year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary shall carry out a pilot program on the use of crisis 
line facilitation to increase use of the Veterans Crisis Line 
among high-risk veterans. 
(b) BRIEFING.—Not later than two years after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall brief 
Congress on the findings of the Secretary under the pilot 
program under subsection (a), including such rec-
ommendations as the Secretary may have for continuation 
or discontinuation of the pilot program. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) CRISIS
LINE
FACILITATION.—The term 
‘‘crisis line facilitation’’, with respect to a high-risk 
veteran, means the presentation by a therapist of 
psychoeducational information about the Veterans 
Crisis Line and a discussion of the perceived bar-
riers and facilitators to future use of the Veterans 
Crisis Line for the veteran, which culminates in the 
veteran calling the Veterans Crisis Line with the 
therapist to provide firsthand experiences that may 
counter negative impressions of the Veterans Crisis 
Line. 
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(2) HIGH-RISK VETERAN.—The term ‘‘high-risk 
veteran’’ means a veteran receiving inpatient mental 
health care following a suicidal crisis. 
Subtitle B—Research on 
Effectiveness 
SEC. 211. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR RE-
SEARCH ON EFFECTIVENESS AND OPPORTU-
NITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT OF VETERANS 
CRISIS LINE. 
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-
retary $5,000,000 for the Mental Illness Research, Edu-
cation, and Clinical Centers of the Department to conduct 
research on the effectiveness of the Veterans Crisis Line 
and areas for improvement for the Veterans Crisis Line. 
TITLE III—TRANSITION OF 
CRISIS LINE NUMBER 
SEC. 301. FEEDBACK ON TRANSITION OF CRISIS LINE NUM-
BER. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall solicit feed-
back from veterans service organizations on how to con-
duct outreach to members of the Armed Forces, veterans, 
their family members, and other members of the military 
and veterans community on the move to 988 as the new, 
national three-digit suicide and mental health crisis hot-
line, which is expected to be implemented by July 2022, 
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