“The core provisions of the bill rest on implementing recommendations from an April 2021 Government Accountability Office (GAO) review of Defense Department suicide prevention efforts.”
“These steps include assessing the efficacy of DOD’s non-clinical suicide prevention efforts, improving DOD’s data collection through developing consistent suicide-related definitions to be used department-wide, and strengthening collaboration between Pentagon offices dedicated to mental health, namely the Defense Suicide Prevention Office (DSPO) and the Psychological Health Center of Excellence.”
“The S.O.S. Act has also received statements of support from major veteran service organizations, including both the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and American Legion.”
“In responding to the increasing rate of enlisted suicides, the White House released a comprehensive plan for reducing veteran and military suicides. The stated priorities fall within a five-part strategy to address the contributing factors to suicide and mental health crises, including reducing poverty, food insecurity, and barriers to care access…” Read the full article here.
Source: Military Suicide Prevention Efforts Target Data Management – By Adam Patterson, December 29, 2021. GovernmentCIO.
