,,ii  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #bagd  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,november #cj1 
#bjag,mr4 ,young 7for himself and ,mr4  
,donnelly7 introduced the following     
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs
  ,a ,,bill  ,to direct the ,secretary  
of ,veterans ,affairs to conduct a study
 on the ,veterans ,crisis ,line4  #a4   
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,veterans ,crisis ,line ,study ,act 
of #bjag4  #b4 ,study on efficacy of    
,veterans ,crisis ,line  7a7 ,study ,the
 ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall 
conduct a study on the outcomes and the 
efficacy of the ,veterans ,crisis ,line 
during the five-year period beginning   
,january #a1 #bjad1 based on an analysis
 of national suicide data and data      
collected from the ,veterans ,crisis    
,line4  7b7 ,matters included ,the study
 under subsection 7a7 shall address the 
following3 7#a7 ,the efficacy of the    
,veterans ,crisis ,line in leading      

veterans to sustained mental health     
regimens1 by determining--  7,a7 the    
number of veterans who1 after contacting
 the ,veterans ,crisis ,line and being  
referred to a suicide prevention        
specialist1 begin and continue mental   
health care furnished by the ,secretary 
of ,veterans ,affairs2 and  7,b7 the    
number of veterans who1 after contacting
 the ,veterans ,crisis ,line and being  
referred to a suicide prevention        
specialist1 either--  7i7 begin mental  
health care furnished by the ,secretary 
but do not continue such care2 or  7ii7 
do not begin such care4  7#b7 ,the      
visibility of the ,veterans ,crisis     
,line1 by determining-- 7,a7 the number 
of veterans who contact the ,veterans   
,crisis ,line and have not previously   
received hospital care or medical       
services furnished by the ,secretary2   
and  7,b7 the number of veterans who    
contact the ,veterans ,crisis ,line and 
have previously received hospital care  
or medical services furnished by the    

,secretary4  7#c7 ,the role of the      
,veterans ,crisis ,line as part of the  
mental health care services of the      
,department1 by determining1 of the     
veterans who are enrolled in the health 
care system established under section   
#agje7;a7 of title #ch1 ,united ,states 
,code1 who contact the ,veterans ,crisis
 ,line1 the number who are under the    
care of a mental health care provider of
 the ,department at the time of such    
contact4  7#d7 ,whether receiving       
sustained mental health care affects    
suicidality and whether veterans        
previously receiving mental health care 
furnished by the ,secretary use the     
,veterans ,crisis ,line in times of     
crisis1 with respect to the veterans    
described in paragraph 7#c71 by         
determining the time frame between      
receiving such care and the time of such
 contact4  7#e7 ,the effectiveness of   
the ,veterans ,crisis ,line in assisting
 veterans at risk for suicide when the  
,veterans ,crisis ,line is contacted by 

a non-veteran1 by determining1 of the   
number of non-veterans who contact the  
,veterans ,crisis ,line looking for     
support in assisting a veteran1 how many
 of such individuals receive support in 
having a veteran begin to receive mental
 health care furnished by the           
,secretary4  7#f7 ,the overall efficacy 
of the ,veterans ,crisis ,line in       
preventing suicides and whether the     
number of contacts affects the efficacy1
 by determining--  7,a7 the number of   
veterans who contact the ,veterans      
,crisis ,line who ultimately commit or  
attempt suicide2 and  7,b7 of such      
veterans1 how many times did a veteran  
contact the ,veterans ,crisis ,line     
prior to committing or attempting       
suicide4  7#g7 ,the long-term efficacy  
of the ,veterans ,crisis ,line in       
preventing repeated suicide attempts and
 whether the efficacy is temporary1 by  
determining1 of the number of veterans  
who contacted the ,veterans ,crisis     
,line and did not commit or attempt     

suicide during the following six-month  
period1 the number who contacted the    
,veterans ,crisis ,line in crisis at a  
later time and thereafter did commit or 
attempt suicide4  7#h7 ,whether referral
 to mental health care affects the risk 
of suicide1 by determining-- 7,a7 the   
number of veterans who contact the      
,veterans ,crisis ,line who are not     
referred to1 or do not continue         
receiving1 mental health care who commit
 suicide2 and  7,b7 the number of       
veterans described in paragraph         
7#a77;,a7 who commit or attempt suicide4
  7#i7 ,the efficacy of the ,veterans   
,crisis ,line to promote continued      
mental health care in those veterans who
 are at high risk for suicide whose     
suicide was prevented1 by determining1  
of the number of veterans who contacted 
the ,veterans ,crisis ,line and did not 
commit or attempt suicide soon          
thereafter1 the number that begin and   
continue to receive mental health care  
furnished by the ,secretary4  7c7 ,data 

collection practices ,during the portion
 of the five-year period of study under 
subsection 7a7 after the date of the    
enactment of this ,act1 data shall be   
collected in the same manner that it had
 been collected during the portion of   
the period of the study before such date
 of enactment4 ,data collection shall   
not be construed as being extended1     
contracted1 or modified in any way due  
to the enactment of this ,act4  7d7     
,submission ,not later than ,march #a1  
#bjbj1 the ,secretary shall submit to   
the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of
 the ,senate and the ,committee on      
,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of    
,representatives the study conducted    
under subsection 7a74  7e7 ,veterans    
crisis line defined ,in this section1   
the term ,veterans ,crisis ,line means  
the toll-free hotline for veterans      
established under section #agbj;,f7h7 of
 title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code4