LA County Board

8. Advancing Efforts to Coordinate and Streamline Los Angeles County’s\nVeteran Suicide Prevention Efforts and One-Year Extension of the Los\nAngeles County Veteran Suicide Review Team Pilot\nRecommendation as submitted by Supervisors Barger and Horvath: Extend the\nLos Angeles County Veteran Suicide Review Team (VSRT) Pilot by\none-additional year during which the co-chairs shall review and develop\nrecommendations for the pilot to become permanent; instruct the Director of\nMental Health, as the lead Department administrating the VSRT pilot, to amend\nthe VSRT charter to add the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs as the\nprimary co-lead of the VSRT pilot; and take the following actions:\nInstruct the Directors of Mental Health and Military and Veterans Affairs,\nto work with the co-chairs to report back to the Board in writing in 120\ndays with a review and aggregation of the data of veteran suicides in the\nCounty for calendar years 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 up to the date of\nthe VSRT’s first suicide review: where the data to be aggregated with the\npreviously collected data to identify vulnerable populations at risk for\nsuicide, with an emphasis on veteran subgroups, such as, but not limited\nto, minority veterans, LGBTQ+ veterans, and female veterans aggregated\nand reported separately; and request that the team explore the feasibility\nof concurrently tracking and identifying any veteran opioid deaths and\nprovide recommendations to use some of the VSRT tracking and\nrecommendation frameworks to address opioid mortality;\nInstruct the Directors of Military and Veterans Affairs and Mental Health,\nand the Chief Medical Examiner, to work with Chief Executive Officer and\nreport back to the Board during the Supplemental Budget on gaps in\ncurrent resources within the Department of Medical Examiner, on\nnecessary staffing and services needed for the VSRT and future suicide\nmortality efforts, and explore the feasibility of developing and placing any\nadequate postvention services with the Department of Medical Examiner;\nInstruct the Directors of Military and Veterans Affairs and Mental Health,\nto review the current model for recommended changes to better address\nthe collection and review of suicide decedent data and the linkage of\nfamily members and next of kin to the postvention services and benefits;\nassess (confirm) the need for an epidemiologist who can provide\naccurate data and comprehensive analyses to better track and\nunderstand root causes of the deaths that help support intervention and\nprevention strategies; and report back to the Board in writing in 90 days;\nand\nInstruct the Director of Military and Veterans Affairs to develop a plan to\ncoordinate and liaise with the California Department of Veterans Affairs\n(CalVet) and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on\nsuicide prevention pilots and initiatives, and include the following:\nThe plan should include, but not be limited to, the California\nVeteran Health Initiative Research and Surveillance Team with\nCalVet and the VA and Substance Abuse and Mental Health\nServices Administration Suicide Mortality Review Efforts;\nWork with external partners including, but not limited to, the\nCalifornia Association of County Veterans Service Officers and\nNational Association of Counties Veterans and Military Services\nCommittee, to establish collaborative efforts with other jurisdictions\nin California and nationally on veteran suicide mortality efforts;\nWork with the Chief Executive Officer, through the Legislative\nAffairs and Intergovernmental Relations Branch, in collaboration\nwith the Chief Medical Examiner and the Director of Public Health,\nto review the necessary legislative changes and priorities for the\nCounty to advance the work of VSRT at the State and Federal\nlevels; provide recommended County legislative priorities; report\nback to the Board in writing on recommendations for the\nnecessary County priorities and legislative positions for the\nCounty to advance the work of the VSRT; and provide\nrecommendations and opportunities to address issues to\nstreamline veteran suicide mortality including, but not limited to,\nstatutory authority to review deaths without the need for next of kin\nconsent; and\nWork with the Acting Chief Information Officer to explore adding\nVetPro onto the County’s InfoHub and to explore data sharing\npartnership with the VA's Desert Pacific Healthcare Network to\nenhance efforts to connect veterans with healthcare and benefits.\n(24-1867)