,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #cdie  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,june #bf1 #bjai ,mr4
 ,bergman 7for himself and ,ms4         
,houlahan7 introduced the following     
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs  ,a   
,,bill  ,to require the ,secretary of   
,veterans ,affairs to provide financial 
assistance to eligible entities to      
provide and coordinate the provision of 
suicide prevention services for veterans
 at risk of suicide and veteran families
 through the award of grants to such    
entities1 and for other purposes4  #a4  
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,improve ,well-,being for ,veterans 
,act4  #b4 ,financial assistance to     
certain entities to provide and         
coordinate the provision of suicide     
prevention services for veterans at risk
 of suicide and veteran families  7a7   
,distribution of financial assistance   
,the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs   
shall provide financial assistance to   

eligible entities approved under this   
section through the award of grants to  
such entities to provide and coordinate 
the provision services to veterans and  
veteran families to reduce the risk of  
suicide4  7b7 ,award of grants  7#a7 ,in
 general ,the ,secretary shall award a  
grant to each eligible entity for which 
the ,secretary has approved an          
application under subsection 7e7 to     
provide or coordinate the provision of  
suicide prevention services under this  
section4  7#b7 ,grant amounts1 intervals
 of payment1 and matching funds ,in     
accordance with the services being      
provided under a grant under this       
section and the duration of those       
services1 the ,secretary may establish--
  7,a7 a maximum amount to be awarded   
under the grant2  7,b7 intervals of     
payment for the administration of the   
grant2 and  7,c7 a requirement for the  
recipient of the grant to provide       
matching funds in a specified           
percentage4  7c7 ,distribution of       

financial assistance and preference     
7#a7 ,distribution  7,a7 ,geographic    
,the ,secretary shall ensure that1 to   
the extent practicable and in compliance
 with subparagraph 7,b71 financial      
assistance under this section is        
equitably distributed across geographic 
regions1 including rural communities and
 ,tribal land4  7,b7 ,areas with need   
,the ,secretary shall ensure that1 to   
the extent practicable1 financial       
assistance under this section is        
distributed-- 7i7 to provide services in
 areas of the ,united ,states that have 
experienced high rates or a high burden 
of veteran suicide2 and  7ii7 to        
eligible entities that can assist       
veterans at risk of suicide that are not
 currently receiving health care        
furnished by the ,department of         
,veterans ,affairs4  7#b7 ,preference   
,the ,secretary shall give preference in
 the provision of financial assistance  
under this section to eligible entities 
providing or coordinating1 or who have  

demonstrated the ability to provide or  
coordinate1 suicide prevention services 
or other services that improve the      
quality of life of veterans and their   
families and reduce the factors that    
contribute to veteran suicide4  7d7     
,requirements for receipts of financial 
assistance  7#a7 ,notification that     
services are from ,department ,each     
entity receiving financial assistance   
under this section to provide suicide   
prevention services to veterans at risk 
of suicide and veteran families shall   
notify the recipients of such services  
that such services are being paid for1  
in whole or in part1 by the ,department4
  7#b7 ,development of plan with        
beneficiaries  7,a7 ,in general ,if an  
entity receiving financial assistance   
under this section provides temporary   
cash assistance under subsection        
7k77#e77,k71 the entity shall develop a 
plan to ensure that any beneficiary of  
such temporary cash assistance is       
self-sustaining at the end of the period

 of eligibility for such temporary cash 
assistance4  7,b7 ,consultation with    
beneficiary ,any plan developed under   
subparagraph 7,a7 with respect to a     
beneficiary shall be developed in       
consultation with the beneficiary4  7#c7
 ,reports ,the ,secretary--  7,a7 shall 
require each entity receiving financial 
assistance under this section to submit 
to the ,secretary an annual report that 
describes the projects carried out with 
such financial assistance during the    
year covered by the report2  7,b7 shall 
specify to each such entity the         
evaluation criteria and data and        
information1 which shall include a      
mental health measurement of each       
veteran served1 to be submitted in such 
report2 and  7,c7 may require such      
entities to submit to the ,secretary    
such additional reports as the          
,secretary considers appropriate4  7e7  
,application for financial assistance   
7#a7 ,in general ,an eligible entity    
seeking financial assistance under this 

section shall submit to the ,secretary  
an application therefor in such form1 in
 such manner1 and containing such       
commitments and information as the      
,secretary considers necessary to carry 
out this section4  7#b7 ,matters ,to be 
included ,each application submitted by 
an eligible entity under paragraph 7#a7 
shall contain the following3 7,a7 ,a    
description of the suicide prevention   
services proposed to be provided by the 
eligible entity and the identified need 
for those services4  7,b7 ,a detailed   
plan describing how the eligible entity 
proposes to coordinate and deliver      
suicide prevention services to veterans 
not currently receiving care furnished  
by the ,department1 including-- 7i7 an  
identification of the community partners
 with which the eligible entity proposes
 to work in delivering such services2   
7ii7 a description of the arrangements  
currently in place between the eligible 
entity and such partners2 and  7iii7 an 
identification of how long such         

arrangements have been in place4  7,c7  
,a description of the types of veterans 
at risk of suicide and veteran families 
proposed to be provided suicide         
prevention services4  7,d7 ,an estimate 
of the number of veterans at risk of    
suicide and veteran families proposed to
 be provided suicide prevention services
 and the basis for such estimate1       
including the percentage of those       
veterans who are not currently receiving
 care furnished by the ,department4     
7,e7 ,evidence of the experience of the 
eligible entity 7and the proposed       
partners of the entity7 in providing    
suicide prevention services to          
individuals at risk of suicide1         
particularly to veterans at risk of     
suicide and veteran families4  7,f7 ,a  
description of the managerial and       
technological capacity of the eligible  
entity--  7i7 to coordinate the         
provision of suicide prevention services
 with the provision of other services2  
7ii7 to assess continuously the needs of

 veterans at risk of suicide and veteran
 families for suicide prevention        
services2  7iii7 to coordinate the      
provision of suicide prevention services
 with the services of the ,department   
for which the beneficiaries are         
eligible2  7iv7 to tailor suicide       
prevention services to the needs of     
veterans at risk of suicide and veteran 
families2  7v7 to continuously seek new 
sources of assistance to ensure the     
continuity of suicide prevention        
services for veterans at risk of suicide
 and veteran families as long as the    
veteran is determined to be at risk of  
suicide2 and  7vi7 to measure1 over a   
long-term period1 the improved mental   
resiliency and mental outlook of the    
veteran served4  7,g7 ,such additional  
application criteria as the ,secretary  
considers appropriate4  7f7 ,technical  
assistance  7#a7 ,in general ,the       
,secretary shall provide training and   
technical assistance to eligible        
entities in receipt of financial        

assistance under this section           
regarding--  7,a7 the data required to  
be collected and shared with the        
,department2  7,b7 the means of data    
collection and sharing2  7,c7           
familiarization with and appropriate use
 of any tool to be used to measure the  
effectiveness of the use of the         
financial assistance provided2 and  7,d7
 the requirements for reporting under   
subsection 7d77#c7 on services provided 
via such financial assistance4  7#b7    
,provision of training and technical    
assistance ,the ,secretary may provide  
the training and technical assistance   
described in paragraph 7#a7 directly or 
through grants or contracts with        
appropriate public or nonprofit         
entities4  7g7 ,administration of grant 
program  7#a7 ,selection criteria ,the  
,secretary1 in consultation with        
entities specified in paragraph 7#c71   
shall establish criteria for the        
selection of eligible entities that have
 submitted applications under subsection

 7e74  7#b7 ,development of measures and
 metrics ,the ,secretary shall develop1 
in consultation with entities specified 
in paragraph 7#c71 the following3 7,a7  
,a framework for collecting and sharing 
information about entities in receipt of
 financial assistance under this section
 for purposes of improving the discovery
 of services available for veterans at  
risk of suicide and veteran families1   
set forth by service type1 locality1 and
 eligibility criteria4  7,b7 ,the       
measures to be used by each entity in   
receipt of financial assistance under   
this section to determine the           
effectiveness of the programming being  
provided by such entity in improving    
mental resiliency and mental outlook of 
veterans at risk of suicide and veteran 
families4  7,c7 ,metrics for measuring  
the effectiveness of the provision of   
financial assistance under this section4
  7#c7 ,coordination ,in developing a   
plan for the design and implementation  
of the provision of financial assistance

 under this section1 including criteria 
for the award of grants1 the ,secretary 
shall consult with the following3 7,a7  
,veterans service organizations4  7,b7  
,national organizations representing    
potential community partners of eligible
 entities in providing supportive       
services to address the needs of        
veterans at risk of suicide and their   
families1 including national            
organizations that-- 7i7 advocate for   
the needs of individuals with or at risk
 of behavioral health conditions2  7ii7 
represent mayors2  7iii7 represent first
 responders2 or  7iv7 represent chiefs  
of police and sheriffs4  7,c7           
,organizations with which the           
,department has a current memoranda of  
agreement or understanding related to   
mental health or suicide prevention4    
7,d7 ,state departments of veterans     
affairs4  7,e7 ,national organizations  
representing members of the reserve     
components of the ,armed ,forces4  7,f7 
,vet ,centers4  7,g7 ,organizations with

 experience in creating measurement     
tools for purposes of determining       
programmatic effectiveness4  7,h7 ,such 
other organizations as the ,secretary   
considers appropriate4  7#d7 ,report on 
grant criteria ,before notifying        
eligible entities of the availability of
 funding under this section1 the        
,secretary shall submit to ,congress a  
report containing--  7,a7 criteria for  
the award of a grant under this section2
  7,b7 the tool to be used by the       
,department to measure the effectiveness
 of the use of financial assistance     
provided under this section2 and  7,c7 a
 framework for the sharing of           
information about entities in receipt of
 financial assistance under this        
section4  7h7 ,information on potential 
beneficiaries  7#a7 ,in general ,the    
,secretary may make available to        
recipients of financial assistance under
 this section certain information       
regarding potential beneficiaries of    
services for which such financial       

assistance is provided4  7#b7           
,information included ,the information  
made available under paragraph 7#a7 with
 respect to potential beneficiaries may 
include the following3 7,a7             
,confirmation of the status of a        
potential beneficiary as a veteran4     
7,b7 ,confirmation of whether a         
potential beneficiary is currently      
receiving care furnished by the         
,department or has recently received    
such care4  7i7 ,duration ,the authority
 of the ,secretary to provide financial 
assistance under this section shall     
terminate on the date that is three     
years after the date on which the first 
grant is awarded under this section4    
7j7 ,reporting  7#a7 ,interim report    
7,a7 ,in general ,not later than #ah    
months after the date on which the first
 grant is awarded under this section1   
the ,secretary shall submit to the      
appropriate committees of ,congress a   
report on the provision of financial    
assistance under this section4  7,b7    

,elements ,the report submitted under   
subparagraph 7,a7 shall include the     
following3  7i7 ,an assessment of the   
effectiveness of the provision of       
financial assistance under this section1
 including the effectiveness of         
community partners in conducting        
outreach to veterans at risk of suicide 
and veteran families4  7ii7 ,a list of  
grant recipients and their partner      
organizations that delivered services   
funded by the grant and the amount of   
such grant received by each recipient   
and partner organization4  7iii7 ,the   
number of veterans supported by each    
grant recipient1 including through      
services provided to family members4    
7iv7 ,the number of veterans supported  
by financial assistance under this      
section1 including through services     
provided to family members4  7v7 ,the   
number of veterans supported by         
financial assistance under this section1
 including through services provided to 
family members1 who were not previously 

receiving care furnished by the         
,department4  7vi7 ,the number of       
veterans whose mental resiliency and    
mental outlook received a baseline      
measurement assessment under this       
section and the number of such veterans 
whose mental resiliency and mental      
outlook will be measured by the         
,department or a community partner over 
a period of time4  7vii7 ,the types of  
data the ,department was able to collect
 and share with partners1 including a   
characterization of the benefits of that
 data4  7#b7 ,final report ,not later   
than three years after the date on which
 the first grant is awarded under this  
section1 the ,secretary shall submit to 
the appropriate committees of           
,congress--  7,a7 a follow-up on the    
interim report submitted under paragraph
 7#a7 containing the elements set forth 
in subparagraph 7,b7 of such paragraph2 
and  7,b7 a report on--  7i7 the        
effectiveness of the provision of       
financial assistance under this section1

 including the effectiveness of         
community partners in conducting        
outreach to veterans at risk of suicide 
and veteran families2  7ii7 an          
assessment of the increased capacity of 
the ,department to provide services to  
veterans at risk of suicide and veteran 
families1 set forth by ,state1 as a     
result of the provision of financial    
assistance under this section2 and      
7iii7 the feasibility and advisability  
of extending or expanding the provision 
of financial assistance under this      
section4  7k7 ,definitions ,in this     
section3  7#a7 ,appropriate committees  
of ,congress ,the term appropriate      
committees of ,congress means-- 7,a7 the
 ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs and  
the ,subcommittee on ,military          
,construction1 ,veterans ,affairs1 and  
,related ,agencies of the ,committee on 
,appropriations of the ,senate2 and     
7,b7 the ,committee on ,veterans'       
,affairs and the ,subcommittee on       
,military ,construction1 ,veterans      

,affairs1 and ,related ,agencies of the 
,committee on ,appropriations of the    
,house of ,representatives4  7#b7       
,eligible entity ,the term eligible     
entity means--  7,a7 an incorporated    
private institution or foundation-- 7i7 
no part of the net earnings of which    
incurs to the benefit of any member1    
founder1 contributor1 or individual2    
7ii7 that has a governing board that    
would be responsible for the operation  
of the suicide prevention services      
provided under this section2 and  7iii7 
that is approved by the ,secretary as to
 financial responsibility2  7,b7 a      
corporation wholly owned and controlled 
by an organization meeting the          
requirements of clauses 7i71 7ii71 and  
7iii7 of subparagraph 7,a72  7,c7 a     
tribally designated housing entity 7as  
defined in section #d of the ,native    
,american ,housing ,assistance and      
,self-,determination ,act of #aiif 7#be 
,u4,s4,c4 #dajc772 or  7,d7 a           
community-based organization that is    

physically based in the targeted        
community and that can effectively      
network with local civic organizations1 
regional health systems1 and other      
settings where veterans at risk of      
suicide and the families of such        
veterans are likely to have contact4    
7#c7 ,peer specialist ,the term peer    
specialist means a person eligible to be
 appointed as a peer specialist under   
section #gdjb7;b77#ac7 of title #ch1    
,united ,states ,code4  7#d7 ,risk of   
suicide ,the term risk of suicide means 
exposure to or the existence of any of  
the following3 7,a7 ,health risk        
factors1 including the following3  7i7  
,mental health challenges4  7ii7        
,substance abuse4  7iii7 ,serious or    
chronic health conditions or pain4  7iv7
 ,traumatic brain injury4  7,b7         
,environmental risk factors1 including  
the following3 7i7 ,access to lethal    
means 7such as drugs1 firearms1 etc474  
7ii7 ,prolonged stress4  7iii7          
,stressful life events4  7iv7 ,exposure 

to the suicide of another person or to  
graphic or sensationalized accounts of  
suicide4  7v7 ,unemployment4  7vi7      
,homelessness4  7vii7 ,recent loss4     
7viii7 ,legal or financial challenges4  
7,c7 ,historical risk factors1 including
 the following3  7i7 ,previous suicide  
attempts4  7ii7 ,family history of      
suicide4  7iii7 ,history of abuse1      
neglect1 or trauma4  7#e7 ,suicide      
prevention services ,the term suicide   
prevention services means services to   
address the needs of veterans at risk of
 suicide and veteran families and       
includes the following3  7,a7 ,outreach 
to identify veterans at risk of suicide1
 with an emphasis on veterans who are at
 highest risk or not receiving health   
care or other services furnished by the 
,department4  7,b7 ,a baseline mental   
health assessment for risk screening and
 referral to care4  7,c7 ,education on  
suicide risk and prevention to families 
and communities4  7,d7 ,direct          
treatment4  7,e7 ,medication management4

  7,f7 ,individual and group therapy4   
7,g7 ,case management services4  7,h7   
,peer support services4  7,i7           
,assistance in obtaining any benefits   
from the ,department that the veteran at
 risk of suicide or veteran family may  
be eligible to receive1 including-- 7i7 
vocational and rehabilitation           
counseling2  7ii7 supportive services   
for homeless veterans2  7iii7 employment
 and training services2  7iv7           
educational assistance2 and  7v7 health 
care services4  7,j7 ,assistance in     
obtaining and coordinating the provision
 of other benefits provided by the      
,federal ,government1 a ,state or local 
government1 or an eligible entity4  7,k7
 ,temporary cash assistance 7not to     
exceed #f months7 to assist with        
emergent needs relating to--  7i7 health
 care services2  7ii7 daily living      
services2  7iii7 personal financial     
planning2  7iv7 transportation services2
  7v7 temporary income support services2
  7vi7 fiduciary and representative     

payee services2  7vii7 legal services to
 assist the veteran family with issues  
that may contribute to the risk of      
suicide of the veteran2 and  7viii7     
child care 7not to exceed #e1jjj per    
veteran family per fiscal year74  7,l7  
,such other services necessary for      
improving the resiliency of veterans at 
risk of suicide and veteran families as 
the ,secretary considers appropriate1   
which may include-- 7i7 adaptive sports 
or in-place recreational therapy2  7ii7 
substance use reduction programming2    
7iii7 individual1 group1 or family      
counseling2 and  7iv7 relationship      
coaching4  7#f7 ,vet ,center ,the term  
,vet ,center means a center for         
readjustment counseling and related     
mental health services for veterans     
under section #agab;,a of title #ch1    
,united ,states ,code4  7#g7 ,veteran   
,the term veteran has the meaning given 
that term in section #aja of title #ch1 
,united ,states ,code4  7#h7 ,veteran   
family ,the term veteran family means1  

with respect to a veteran at risk of    
suicide1 any of the following3  7,a7 ,a 
parent4  7,b7 ,a spouse4  7,c7 ,a child4
  7,d7 ,a sibling4  7,e7 ,a step-family 
member4  7,f7 ,an extended family       
member4  7,g7 ,any other individual who 
lives with the veteran4  7#i7 ,veterans 
service organization ,the term veterans 
service organization means any          
organization recognized by the          
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs for the
 representation of veterans included as 
part of the annually updated list at    
https3_/_/www4va4gov_/vso_/ or a        
successor website4