VA suicide screening doubles after watchdog found mass failures

By Brett Rowland
The Center Square

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has improved suicide risk screening and follow-up care among veterans in its system after a December 2024 federal watchdog report found staff were failing to complete required suicide risk checks for 40% or more of patients.

As of March 2026, 88% of veterans who received VA care in the prior 12 months had completed an annual suicide risk screen, up from 55% in fiscal year 2023, when VA’s Office of Inspector General found the rate never exceeded 60% in any single month. The OIG attributed the failures to inadequate staff training, missing performance benchmarks and unclear accountability for who was responsible for fixing the problem.

Ninety-six percent of veterans identified as at risk completed a follow-up evaluation within 24 hours as of March 2026, up from 82% in fiscal year 2023. VA said both figures are records since tracking started in 2021.

The improvements come as veteran suicide remains a persistent crisis. In 2023, the veteran suicide rate was 35.2 per 100,000, up slightly from 34.7 per 100,000 in 2022 and about double the national rate of 14.1 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

VA spent $714 million on suicide prevention outreach programs in 2026, up from $556 million in 2025, according to the department’s fiscal year 2027 budget request.

Jim Whaley, CEO of Mission Roll Call, a nonprofit veterans advocacy organization, told The Center Square in March that prevention spending has not moved the needle on outcomes.

“A lot of money has gone into suicide prevention, and it really hasn’t worked,” Whaley said.

VA’s then-Under Secretary for Health accepted the OIG’s six recommendations and submitted action plans in September 2024, under the Biden administration. The OIG acknowledged VA’s progress on those recommendations in April 2026.

“VA care and benefits are key to reducing Veteran suicide, and under President Trump, the department is redoubling its efforts to reach those most at risk,” VA Secretary Doug Collins said Wednesday.

Collins made a similar commitment in March, pledging for the first time to track the efficacy of the hundreds of millions of dollars spent annually on prevention programs.

“A serious effort to track the efficacy of the hundreds of millions the department spends per year in this area to ensure we have real solutions, not just rhetoric,” he said at the time.

VA’s suicide risk screening program requires all patients to get an annual screen. Veterans who screen positive must receive a comprehensive follow-up evaluation, typically the same day. The OIG’s 2024 review found that while the program had been in place since 2018, required staff training did not include instruction on how to conduct screenings or evaluations. It also found that more than half of facility staff believed suicide risk screening was only the responsibility of dedicated suicide prevention teams, not all clinical staff.

More than 60% of veteran suicides involve people who were not in VA care in the two years before their death, according to VA.

Veterans in crisis can contact the Veterans Crisis Line by dialing 988 and pressing 1, chatting at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat, or texting 838255.