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GAO-24-106023 1 (2024-02-29)

handle is hein.gao/gaopyq0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Why This Matters Key Takeaways Suicide is a persistent public health problem facing all populations, particularly veterans. Veterans suffer a disproportionately higher rate of suicide compared with non-veterans. An average of almost 18 veterans died by suicide each day in 2021-a rate about 72 percent higher than the general adult population.1 The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) reported that about 62 percent of the veterans who died by suicide in 2021 had not recently obtained health care through the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). VHA works to build networks of support, communication, and health care across communities in which veterans live and work to help prevent deaths by suicide of veterans who do not obtain care through VA's health system. Suicide prevention is VA's stated top clinical priority. VHA's Suicide Prevention Program and Veterans Crisis Line (Crisis Hotline)-which we refer to collectively as suicide prevention programs-have the responsibility for overseeing and implementing the department's suicide prevention initiatives.2 Since establishing these programs in 2007, VHA has moved their organizational placement within its national headquarters, also referred to as the central office, multiple times. In May 2017, both suicide prevention programs were placed alongside VHA's mental health programs within a newly established program office: the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention (OMHSP). However, in July 2023, VHA approved a number of changes to its organizational structure, including changes to the placement of these suicide prevention programs, that it plans to implement by June 2024. The Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act of 2019 includes a provision for us to review VA's management of its mental health and suicide prevention services, including OMHSP's organizational structure.3 This report answers key questions related to the organization of OMHSP and its suicide prevention programs. VHA stated that it created OMHSP in 2017 to ensure oversight and management of evidence-based strategies within VHA and the community related to identifying veterans with mental health care needs, identifying veterans in crisis, and decreasing the rate of veteran suicide. OMHSP leadership officials identified benefits and challenges related to placing suicide prevention and mental health programs within the same office. For example, OMHSP leadership officials reported that this structure facilitated internal coordination. However, officials responsible for OMHSP's suicide prevention efforts noted that it has given them less autonomy with decision-making, such as decisions about suicide prevention initiatives, which require multiple levels of approval. Page 1 GAO-24-106023 VA Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Page 1 GAO-24-106023 VA Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention

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