This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to take specified actions related to its suicide prevention services.
Specifically, the bill requires the VA to annually submit a National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report and publish it on a VA website.
The VA must also analyze and report on which benefits and services from the VA have the greatest impact on suicide prevention among veterans.
The VA must collaborate with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop a toolkit for state and local coroners and medical examiners that contains best practices for accurately identifying and reporting suicide deaths of veterans. The toolkit must be available on a publicly available website, and the VA and CDC must conduct outreach to state and local agencies to promote the availability and use of the toolkit.
The VA must review the findings and recommendations of the Government Accountability Office's management review of the VA's mental health and suicide prevention services and study the feasibility and advisability of creating a suicide prevention office within the VA.
