1.This Act may be cited as the
Armed Forces Suicide Prevention Act of
2008
.
2.Enhancement of suicide
prevention programs of the Department of Defense
(a)Enhancement of
suicide prevention programsThe Secretary of Defense shall take
appropriate actions to enhance the suicide prevention programs of the
Department of Defense.
(b)Training and
additional requirements for members of the Armed ForcesThe
actions taken under subsection (a) shall include the following:
(1)A review and
evaluation of existing suicide prevention efforts across the military
departments, including an assessment of the effectiveness of current efforts
and of how such efforts are addressing issues related to combat stress.
(2)A requirement for
suicide prevention training (as described in subsection (c)) on an annual basis
for all members of the Armed Forces (including members of the National Guard
and Reserve), for all civilian health care community and family support
professionals of the Department of Defense, and for such other service
personnel of the Department as the Secretary shall designate for purposes of
this paragraph.
(3)Enhancement of
the basic lifesaving training course for members of the Armed Forces to include
within such training matters relating to recognition of risk factors for
suicide, identification of signs and symptoms of mental health concerns and
combat stress, and protocols for responding to crisis situations involving
members of the Armed Forces who may be at high risk for suicide.
(4)Enhancement of
training for military medics and medical personnel to include within such
training matters relating to recognition of risk factors for suicide,
identification of signs and symptoms of mental health concerns and combat
stress, and protocols for responding to crisis situations involving members of
the Armed Forces who may be at high risk for suicide.
(5)Review and
enhancement of requirements for access of units to crisis response teams to
prevent and respond to traumatic events, such as members in crisis or loss of
unit members, which teams shall include qualified mental health professionals
and may include medical staff, chaplains, family support staff, peers, and
other appropriate personnel.
(c)Suicide
prevention trainingFor purposes of this section, suicide
prevention training is comprehensive training on suicide prevention (including,
at a minimum, education, training, peer-to-peer support methods, outreach, and
de-stigmatization on suicide) developed by the Secretary of Defense for
purposes of this section in consultation with the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs, the National Institute of Mental Health, the Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration of the Department of Health and Human
Services, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
(d)
(1)The actions taken under subsection (a) shall include a
campaign of outreach throughout the Armed Forces and the military family
communities intended to—
(A)reduce the stigma
among members of the Armed Forces and their families, and in such communities,
associated with mental health concerns;
(B)encourage members
of the Armed Forces and individuals in such communities to seek help with such
concerns;
(C)increase
awareness among members of the Armed Forces and in such communities that mental
health is essential to overall health; and
(D)increase
awareness among members of the Armed Forces and in such communities regarding
substance abuse concerns, relationship and financial difficulties, and legal
and occupational difficulties.
(2)As part of the campaign of outreach, the Secretary
shall provide for the inclusion in addresses to veterans service organizations
and other public addresses, and in other public speeches, by senior officials
of the Department of Defense of the themes of the importance of mental health,
and the importance of seeking help on mental health concerns and stress on
military family members, for members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and their
families.
(e)Post-deployment
assistance for spouses and parents of returning members
(1)The Secretary shall provide spouses and parents of
members of the Armed Forces, including members of the National Guard and
Reserve, who are returning from deployment assistance in—
(A)understanding
issues that arise in the readjustment of such members—
(i)for
members of the National Guard and Reserve, to civilian life; and
(ii)for members of
the regular components of the Armed Forces, to military life in a non-combat
environment;
(B)identifying signs
and symptoms of substance abuse, mental health conditions, traumatic brain
injury, and risk factors for suicide; and
(C)encouraging such
members and their families in seeking assistance for such conditions and in
seeking assistance on relationship, financial, legal, and occupational
difficulties.
(2)Information on
available resourcesIn providing assistance under paragraph (1),
the Secretary shall provide information on the national suicide prevention
hotline, local resources for mental health services, family counseling
services, or other appropriate services, including services available from both
military providers of such services and community-based providers of such
services.
(3)The
Secretary shall provide resources under paragraph (1) with respect to a member
of the Armed Forces not later than six months after the date of the return of
such member from deployment.
(f)
(1)The Secretary shall provide for an evaluation and
assessment of the actions undertaken under this section by an appropriate
non-Federal Government entity selected by the Secretary for purposes of this
subsection. The Secretary may provide for the evaluation and assessment by
contract or other cooperative agreement with, or by grant to, the entity so
selected.
(2)In
conducting the evaluation and assessment required under paragraph (1), the
entity selected under that paragraph shall evaluate and assess the
effectiveness of the actions taken under this section in reducing the incidence
of suicide among members of the Armed Forces, including—
(A)the extent to
which the actions taken under this section effectively targeted members of the
Armed Forces and their families; and
(B)the extent to
which the actions taken under this section increased awareness among members of
the Armed Forces and their families on risk factors for suicide.
3.Report to
Congress on suicide prevention programs and activities
(a)Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to
Congress a report on the programs and activities of the Secretary of Defense to
reduce the incidence of suicide among members of the Armed Forces.
(b)Each
report under this section shall include the following:
(1)The total number
of suicides among members of the Armed Forces during the period beginning on
January 1, 2002, and ending at the end of the most recent calendar year quarter
preceding the submittal of such report, including the number of suicides
confirmed and the number of deaths being investigated as a suicide, set
forth—
(A)by calendar year
quarter in which death occurred;
(B)by military
department of the members concerned; and
(C)by whether death
occurred while the members concerned were deployed or while assigned to
permanent duty station or homeport.
(2)A description of
the status of the program required by section 2, including, for the first three
reports under this section, a current description of the implementation of the
program, including the costs of implementation of the program.
(3)A description of
the coordination of the program with suicide prevention efforts of the
Department of Veterans Affairs.
(4)In the case of
the first report under this section, a plan for additional programs and
activities to reduce the incidence of suicide among current and former members
of the Armed Forces.
(5)Such
recommendations for additional legislative or administrative action as the
Secretary considers appropriate to improve and enhance the suicide prevention
programs and activities of the Department of Defense.
(c)In
developing the plan required by subsection (b)(4), the Secretary of Defense
shall consult with the following:
(1)The Secretary of
Veterans Affairs.
(2)The National
Institute of Mental Health.
(3)The Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the Department of Health and
Human Services.
(4)The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
4.Workforce
development for uniformed behavioral health professionals for the Department of
DefenseThe Secretary of
Defense may award grants to, and enter into contracts and cooperative
agreements with, such entities as the Secretary considers appropriate to
identify and implement within the Department of Defense innovative and
effective strategies for the recruitment and retention of qualified uniformed
behavioral health professionals to provide mental health services, and
substance abuse disorder prevention and treatment services, for members of the
Armed Forces.
5.Reducing the
stigma associated with seeking mental health treatmentThe Secretary of Defense may award grants
to, and enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with, such entities as
the Secretary considers appropriate to identify and implement within the
Department of Defense innovative and effective strategies for reducing the
stigma associated with seeking mental health treatment.
6.Authorization of
appropriationsThere is hereby
authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2009 for the Department of
Defense $6,000,000 to carry out this Act.