The BRAVE Act would change how the Department of Veterans Affairs supports mental health services for veterans. It would require reports and reviews on staffing, pay, coordination between Vet Centers and VA medical facilities, Vet Center locations and technology, outreach, and services for women veterans. It would also direct the VA to add women-specific risk factors to its REACH VET program, review demand for veteran and family retreats, and start a pilot offering residential mental health treatment to veterans with spinal cord injuries or disorders. The bill would offer annual mental health consultations to veterans receiving service-connected disability compensation for a mental health diagnosis and extend the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program.
Veterans could be offered annual mental health consultations, and veterans with spinal cord injuries or disorders could gain access to a treatment pilot at least three VA medical facilities. The VA would study how well its outreach serves women veterans and review access to Vet Centers and retreat programs. These are requirements and reviews in the bill; the text does not describe their results.
The bill would raise the maximum grant amount under the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program from $750,000 to $1 million and extend the program period from three years to six years. It does not state the total cost of the bill. It would require a cost estimate if the VA plans to replace the RCSNet information technology system.
No publicly available information.
No publicly available information.