Title: Veterans’ Sentinel Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Veterans' Sentinel Act
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to implement a pilot program establishing a working group in the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention to collect and analyze data regarding on-campus (i.e., on VA property) suicides and on-campus attempted suicides by veterans. The working group is authorized to implement improvements to the process by which the VA collects data related to on-campus suicides to unify the disparate sources of such data.
The VA must annually brief Congress regarding the progress and findings of the working group.
The bill requires the VA to (1) annually evaluate the statistical trends of suicides and attempted suicides by veterans that occur on VA property, and (2) determine recommendations for preventing such suicides and attempted suicides.
Finally, the bill requires the Government Accountability Office to submit a report on (1) the actions the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention has taken to meet the priority objective of the VA with respect to preventing veteran suicide, (2) the challenges the office has faced in making such actions, and (3) recommendations for improvements.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8449 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8449

   To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot 
 program to collect and analyze data regarding suicides and attempted 
  suicides by veterans on the property of the Department of Veterans 
                    Affairs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 30, 2020

 Mr. Crow (for himself, Mr. Kelly of Mississippi, Mr. DesJarlais, Ms. 
Omar, and Mr. Crist) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                 to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot 
 program to collect and analyze data regarding suicides and attempted 
  suicides by veterans on the property of the Department of Veterans 
                    Affairs, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans' Sentinel Act''.

SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM ON COLLECTING AND ANALYZING DATA REGARDING 
              CERTAIN VETERAN SUICIDES.

    (a) Pilot Program.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
        shall establish in the Office of Mental Health and Suicide 
        Prevention a pilot program under which the Secretary 
        establishes a working group in the Office to collect and 
        analyze data regarding on-campus suicides and on-campus 
        attempted suicides.
            (2) Working group.--
                    (A) Membership.--The members of the working group 
                established under paragraph (1) shall be selected from 
                among staff representing each of the following:
                            (i) The Office of Mental Health and Suicide 
                        Prevention.
                            (ii) The Veterans Health Administration.
                            (iii) The Veterans Benefits Administration.
                            (iv) The National Cemeteries 
                        Administration.
                            (v) The Office of Operations, Security, and 
                        Preparedness of the Department.
                            (vi) The National Patient Safety Centers of 
                        the Department.
                            (vii) Any other element of the Department 
                        as the Secretary determines appropriate.
                    (B) Reporting.--The working group shall report 
                directly to the Executive Director of the Office of 
                Mental Health and Suicide Prevention.
            (3) Methodology.--In collecting and analyzing the 
        information under paragraph (1), the working group shall--
                    (A) use root cause analysis to review all on-campus 
                suicides and on-campus attempted suicides;
                    (B) with respect to on-campus suicides--
                            (i) conduct Behavioral Health Autopsy 
                        Program assessments, including family 
                        interviews; and
                            (ii) document reasons for any deficiencies 
                        in the data collected; and
                    (C) not less frequently than every 90 days, 
                communicate with the medical centers and field offices 
                of the Department in order to coordinate the collection 
                and review actions of the working group with such 
                actions carried out by the medical centers and field 
                offices.
            (4) Data collection intake improvements.--The working group 
        shall consider, and may implement for purposes of the pilot 
        program under paragraph (1), improvements to the process by 
        which the Secretary collects data on on-campus suicides and on-
        campus attempted suicides to unify the disparate sources of 
        such data, including with respect to--
                    (A) modifying incident reports and other methods to 
                collect data, including both suicide and attempted 
                suicide report fields;
                    (B) developing and ensuring that each data source, 
                including the Behavioral Health Autopsy Program 
                assessment, relating to on-campus suicides and on-
                campus attempted suicides include a specified section 
                for such on-campus incidents; and
                    (C) developing an associated management system to 
                consolidate all relevant data for on-campus suicides 
                and on-campus attempted suicides, including such data 
                from Behavioral Health Autopsy Program assessments, 
                health records of the Department, root cause analyses, 
                incident reports, and other sources of data.
            (5) Briefings.--Not later than one year after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter during the 
        life of the pilot program under paragraph (1), the Secretary 
        shall provide to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the 
        House of Representatives and the Senate a briefing on the 
        progress and findings of the working group established under 
        such paragraph.
            (6) Report.--Not later than 30 days after the date on which 
        the pilot program under paragraph (1) is completed, the 
        Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs 
        of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report 
        detailing--
                    (A) the effectiveness of the working group 
                established under such paragraph; and
                    (B) any recommendations to enhance the data 
                collection and management by the Secretary with respect 
                to on-campus suicides and on-campus suicide attempts, 
                including improvements identified under paragraph (4).
            (7) Duration.--The Secretary shall carry out the pilot 
        program under paragraph (1) for a period that is not less than 
        two years.
            (8) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    (A) The term ``on-campus attempted suicide'' means 
                an attempted suicide by a veteran that occurs on 
                property of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
                    (B) The term ``on-campus suicide'' means a suicide 
                by a veteran that occurs on property of the Department 
                of Veterans Affairs.
    (b) Annual Reports.--Section 1709B of title 38, United States Code, 
is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c);
            (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following new 
        subsection (b):
    ``(b) On-Campus Suicides.--On an annual basis, the Secretary 
shall--
            ``(1) evaluate the statistical trends of suicides and 
        attempted suicides by veterans that occur on the property of 
        the Department; and
            ``(2) determine recommendations for preventing such 
        suicides and attempted suicides.''; and
            (3) in subsection (c), as so redesignated--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph 
                (3); and
                    (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following 
                new paragraph (2):
            ``(2) Beginning with the report submitted in 2022, the 
        matters under subsection (b), including any other matters 
        relating to such matters as the Executive Director of the 
        Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention determines 
        appropriate.''.
    (c) Comptroller General Report on the Office of Mental Health and 
Suicide Prevention.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 
        United States shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' 
        Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report 
        on--
                    (A) the actions the Office of Mental Health and 
                Suicide Prevention of the Department of Veterans 
                Affairs has taken to meet the priority objective of the 
                Department with respect to preventing veteran suicide;
                    (B) the challenges the Office has faced in making 
                such actions; and
                    (C) recommendations for improvements.
            (2) Elements.--The report under paragraph (1) shall 
        include, with respect to the Office, an analysis of--
                    (A) staffing and resource levels;
                    (B) policies and processes;
                    (C) leadership structure and stability;
                    (D) identification and prioritization of 
                activities;
                    (E) organizational and reporting structure within 
                the Department; and
                    (F) any other matters the Comptroller General 
                determines appropriate.
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