Sec. 401. Study on effectiveness of suicide prevention and mental health outreach programs of Department of Veterans Affairs
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Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall enter into an agreement with a non-Federal Government entity to conduct a study on the effectiveness of the suicide prevention and mental health outreach materials prepared by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the suicide prevention and mental health outreach campaigns conducted by the Department. The Secretary shall convene not fewer than eight different focus groups to evaluate the effectiveness of the suicide prevention and mental health materials and campaigns as required under subsection (a). Focus groups convened under paragraph
(1)shall be held in geographically diverse areas as follows: Not fewer than two in rural or highly rural areas. Not fewer than one in each of the four districts of the Veterans Benefits Administration. Focus groups convened under paragraph
(1)shall be held at a variety of dates and times to ensure an adequate representation of veterans with different work schedules. Each focus group convened under paragraph
(1)shall include not fewer than five and not more than 12 participants. Each focus group convened under paragraph
(1)shall, to the extent practicable, include veterans of diverse backgrounds, including— veterans of all eras, as determined by the Secretary; women veterans; minority veterans; Native American veterans, as defined in section 3765 of title 38, United States Code; veterans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (commonly referred to as LGBTQ ); veterans who live in rural or highly rural areas; and individuals transitioning from active duty in the Armed Forces to civilian life. Not later than 90 days after the last focus group meeting under subsection (b), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report on the findings of the focus groups. The report required by paragraph
(1)shall include the following: Based on the findings of the focus groups, an assessment of the effectiveness of current suicide prevention and mental health outreach efforts of the Department in reaching veterans as a whole as well as specific groups of veterans (for example, women veterans). Based on the findings of the focus groups, recommendations for future suicide prevention and mental health outreach efforts by the Department to target specific groups of veterans. A plan to change the current approach by the Department to suicide prevention and mental health outreach or, if the Secretary decides not to change the current approach, an explanation of the reason for maintaining the current approach. Such other issues as the Secretary considers necessary. Not later than one year after the last focus group meeting under subsection (b), the Secretary shall complete a representative survey of the veteran population that is informed by the focus group data in order to collect information about the effectiveness of the mental health and suicide prevention outreach campaigns conducted by the Department. Veterans surveyed under paragraph
(1)shall include veterans described in subsection (b)(5). Data of veterans surveyed under paragraph
(1)shall be disaggregated by— veterans who have received care from the Department during the two-year period preceding the survey; and veterans who have not received care from the Department during the two-year period preceding the survey. The Secretary shall include in each contract to develop media relating to suicide prevention and mental health outreach a requirement that the contractor convene focus groups of veterans to assess the effectiveness of suicide prevention and mental health outreach. Each focus group required under subparagraph
(A)shall, to the extent practicable, include veterans of diverse backgrounds, including— veterans of all eras, as determined by the Secretary; women veterans; minority veterans; Native American veterans, as defined in section 3765 of title 38, United States Code; veterans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (commonly referred to as LGBTQ ); veterans who live in rural or highly rural areas; and individuals transitioning from active duty in the Armed Forces to civilian life. The Secretary shall include in each contract described in paragraph (1)(A) a requirement that, if the contractor subcontracts for the development of media, the contractor shall subcontract with a subcontractor that has experience creating impactful media campaigns that target individuals age 18 to 34. Not more than two percent of the budget of the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention of the Department for contractors for suicide prevention and mental health media outreach shall go to subcontractors described in subparagraph (A). In this section, with respect to an area, the terms rural and highly rural have the meanings given those terms in the Rural-Urban Commuting Areas coding system of the Department of Agriculture.