Public Law 116-171
The following are excerpts, highlighted in red, from the final legislation and/or conference report which contain references to and studies for The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (Pound signs [##] between passages denote the deletion of unrelated text.)
S785 Tester (D-Mont.) 09/23/20
Enrolled (finally passed both houses)
To improve mental health care provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes..
SEC. 204. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS STUDY OF ALL-CAUSE MORTALITY OF VETERANS, INCLUDING BY SUICIDE, AND REVIEW OF STAFFING LEVELS OF MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS.
(a) Study of Deaths of Veterans by Suicide.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall seek to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine under which the Secretary shall collaborate and coordinate with the National Academies on a revised study design to fulfill the goals of the 2019 study design of the National Academies described in the explanatory statement accompanying the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (Public Law 116-94), as part of current and additional research priorities of the Department of Veterans Affairs, to evaluate the effects of opioids and benzodiazepine on all-cause mortality of veterans, including suicide, regardless of whether information relating to such deaths has been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
(2) GOALS.—In carrying out the collaboration and coordination under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall seek as much as possible to achieve the same advancement of useful knowledge as the 2019 study design described in such paragraph.
(b) Review of Staffing Levels for Mental Health Professionals.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a review of the staffing levels for mental health professionals of the Department.
(2) ELEMENTS.—The review required by paragraph (1) shall include a description of the efforts of the Department to maintain appropriate staffing levels for mental health professionals, such as mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, and other appropriate counselors, including the following:
(A) A description of any impediments to carry out the education, training, and hiring of mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists under section 7302(a) of title 38, United States Code, and strategies for addressing those impediments.
(B) A description of the objectives, goals, and timing of the Department with respect to increasing the representation of such counselors and therapists in the behavioral health workforce of the Department, including—
(i) a review of qualification criteria for such counselors and therapists and a comparison of such criteria to that of other behavioral health professions in the Department; and
(ii) an assessment of the participation of such counselors and therapists in the mental health professionals trainee program of the Department and any impediments to such participation.
(C) An assessment of the development by the Department of hiring guidelines for mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, and other appropriate counselors.
(D) A description of how the Department—
(i) identifies gaps in the supply of mental health professionals; and
(ii) determines successful staffing ratios for mental health professionals of the Department.
(E) A description of actions taken by the Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, to create an occupational series for mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists of the Department and a timeline for the creation of such an occupational series.
(F) A description of actions taken by the Secretary to ensure that the national, regional, and local professional standards boards for mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists are comprised of only mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists and that the liaison from the Department to such boards is a mental health counselor or marriage and family therapist.
(c) Compilation of Data.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that data under subsections (a) and (b) is compiled separately and disaggregated by year and compiled in a manner that allows it to be analyzed across all data fields for purposes of informing and updating clinical practice guidelines of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
(d) Briefings.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall brief the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives containing the interim results—
(1) with respect to the study under subsection (a)(1), not later than 24 months after entering into the agreement under such subsection; and
(2) with respect to the review under subsection (b)(1), not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(e) Reports.—
(1) REPORT ON STUDY.—Not later than 90 days after the completion by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in coordination with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine of the study required under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary shall—
(A) 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 results of the study; and
(B) make such report publicly available.
(2) REPORT ON REVIEW.—Not later than 90 days after the completion by the Comptroller General of the United States of the review required under subsection (b)(1), the Comptroller General shall—
(A) 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 results of the review; and
(B) make such report publicly available.