Sneak Preview: VA Issues Rule for New Suicide Prevention Program

(The following is excerpted from a recent Thompson Grants Compliance Expert article.) The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently issued a regulation establishing the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox (SSG Fox) Suicide Prevention Grant program, under which the agency will provide community-based, three-year grants to support service providers in their effort to reduce veteran suicides. The regulations cover pre-award requirements such as eligibility criteria, proposal scoring criteria and allowable use of funds, as well as post-award requirements (e.g., reporting, monitoring and corrective action plans (CAP)).

VA issued the regulation (38 C.F.R. Part 78) in a March 10 interim final rule, which becomes effective April 11. Interested parties can provide comments on the regulations via Regulations.gov by May 9.

Authorized by the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act of 2019 (Pub. L. 116-171), the SSG Fox program will provide grants of up to $750,000 to eligible entities that provide suicide prevention services. Eligible entities include state and local governments; Indian tribes; incorporated private institutions, foundations or corporations with a governing board that is responsible for operating suicide prevention services; and community-based organizations that can effectively network with local civic organizations, regional health systems and other settings where eligible individuals and their families are likely to have contact.

“Establishment of [this regulation] ensures organization and clarity for implementation of this new grant program,” VA states in the interim final rule. “Suicide prevention services covered by this [regulation] are those services that address the needs of eligible individuals and their families, and are necessary for improving their mental health status and well-being and reducing the suicide risk of eligible individuals and their families.”

(The full version of this story has now been made available to all for a limited time here.)

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