Sens. Gary Peters, D-M.I., and John Thune, R-S.C., have introduced new legislation meant to improve the Veterans Crisis Hotline, according to a news release. The bill – officially called the No Veterans Crisis Line Call Should Go Unanswered Act – would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop a strategy to improve its 24-hour hotline and staff enough personnel to ensure that every veteran who uses the service can speak with a trained human operator.
"Our veterans put their lives on the line in service to our country, and they should never have a call for help go unanswered," Peters said in the release. "When an estimated 22 veterans commit suicide every day, the Veterans Crisis Line can be a critical, lifesaving tool for veterans in crisis. I'm proud to cosponsor this bipartisan legislation that will help ensure the Veterans Crisis Line has the staff and resources to assist every veteran who reaches out for support."
The VA launched the Veterans Crisis Hotline in 2007. In the years since, more than 2.5 million former service members have called, instant messaged or texted the staffers who work the line. However, the service has recently come under fire from watchdog and veterans groups.
Last year, investigators from the VA Office of Inspector General Office of Healthcare Inspections discovered that calls made to the hotline went to voicemail, Military Times reported. Further inquiries revealed that officials managing the hotline were outsourcing its activities to untrained contractors during peak times, resulting in inadequate service. At least 24 veterans were directly impacted.
In February, the OIG offered a number of recommendations for improving the hotline, including:
- Hiring more staff to handle higher call volumes.
- Instituting more effective call-tracking processes.
- Establishing quality assurance programs for contractors.
Officials agreed to implement these changes by September 30. The VA also rearranged its organizational hierarchy to fit the hotline under its Member Services division, which manages interactions between veterans and agency programs, and named Gregory Hughes director.
Ultimately, these changes achieved little. By May, contractors were still handling more than 35 percent of calls. And major internal issues had boiled over, with some staff simply neglecting their posts.
"We have some truly outstanding staff here who are very committed to their positions. These staff are routinely handling 15 to 20 calls daily and the quality of their calls [is] excellent," Hughes wrote in an email. "We have other staff that are taking 1-5 calls a day and this cannot continue … what we have seen is that there are staff who spend very little time on the phone or engaged in assigned productive activity."
Hughes resigned his post in June.
With this latest legislation, Peters and Thune hope to tackle the problems plaguing the Veterans Crisis Hotline in a meaningful way. However, even if the bill ultimately passes, an uphill battle lies ahead. Call volumes continue to increase every year, requiring more financial resources and staff. Today, the hotline receives 50 times the number of calls it did in 2007, the Associated Press reported.