MONTGOMERY, Alabama — A new collaboration between the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Mental Health has officially launched, with the two agencies working together to improve both the quality and access to mental and behavioral health care resources for veterans.
This is the result of Senate Bill 135, introduced by Sen. Andrew Jones (R-Centre), chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans and Military Affairs, and went into effect June 1.
Under the bill, ADVA and ADMH will collaborate through a series of meetings to identify gaps in existing mental and behavioral health care resources for Alabama’s veterans, who together make up approximately 26 percent of the state’s population, along with their immediate family members.
“We’re catching up with mental health. There are many theories — social media, increased isolation, many other theories — but mental health is becoming more and more of a concern,” Jones told the Alabama Daily News last week.
“That’s part of the impetus for this bill, to look at the specific needs of veterans, their mental health needs, and meet them where they are and get them treatment.”
The first item on the agenda under the new law will be forming a steering committee, whose members will include Jones, Republican Rep. Chip Brown of Hollingers Island, who sponsored the House bill, and ADMH Commissioner Kimberly Boswell, who will serve as the committee’s chair.
“One of the things that ADVA felt strongly about while working on this bill, and we feel the same, is that there is already enough information, research and needs assessments out there,” Boswell told ADN on Thursday.
“So we don’t think we need to launch a massive needs assessment. We believe there’s enough information out there about veterans’ needs. It’s just a matter of reviewing that information and identifying where there are gaps.”
Currently, Alabama has about 400,000 veterans, which is not much different than other states. More prone to Veterans are at higher risk for suicide and drug addiction than non-veterans. ADVA Commissioner Kent Davis said he would expand mental health resources for veterans. Single highest priority Towards 2024.
Alabama lawmakers have committed significant resources and state funds in recent years to expanding mental health care resources, including the state’s new crisis center and 988 crisis line.
Yet the demand for mental health care resources among the population, including veterans, remains high. Often exceeded capacity Of those resources.
“It’s only in the last three or four years that crisis services have really taken off in the state, and before that it wasn’t just veterans who were lacking services, all Alabamians were struggling to get behavioral health services,” Boswell said.
“Our focus has always been on all Alabamians, but the veteran crisis in our state, particularly the suicide numbers, is so severe that we felt this coordinated effort was absolutely necessary and there was an urgent need to address the needs of Alabama’s veterans.”
Boswell said one of the first issues the steering committee will tackle is how to respond to veterans who call the state’s 988 crisis line.
“We know that 31 per cent of calls made to 988 are from veterans,” Mr Boswell said.
“The problem with that is, if they turn the dial down to 1 (which veterans are instructed to do by an automated message), they’re only going to get federal resources, they’re not going to get Alabama state resources. So that’s one of the first things the committee has to address.”
One model that has caught the attention of the steering committee’s incoming members as a model for mental and behavioral health care for veterans in particular is any form of treatment where veterans treat other veterans, something that is unique to the community, Boswell said.
“We see great value in partnering with the people veterans are consulting with – organizations that support veterans like ADVA and the VFW. They are trusted advisors to veterans, and people aren’t going to get mental health services, or get them unless someone they trust recommends it,” she said.
“So when it comes to veterans’ access to health care, veterans need to talk to each other, or it won’t be provided.”
Brown, a military veteran himself, generally agreed that veterans are more likely to accept care from other veterans, a sentiment echoed by ADVA Deputy Attorney General Beverly Gebhart, also a U.S. Air Force veteran.
“I think from a national perspective, there’s been a lot of research and efforts recently to recognize the fact that veterans face different challenges,” Gebhardt told ADN on Thursday.
“Veterans are a complex population and they experience a variety of situations, some of which are very similar to emergency personnel, but some that are unique to military service.”
Another motivation for the bill is the provision of federal VA care to veterans, which is often underutilized and, according to Brown, is often incompetent and inadequate.
“Unfortunately, in the past we’ve relied heavily on the federal government, such as the Department of Veterans Affairs, on mental health and substance abuse, and as we all know, they’ve not been up to the task,” Brown told ADN.
“I’m a 50 percent disabled veteran, so I’m in the federal VA system, but it’s not enough. I’ve heard so many stories of veterans trying to get mental health care and not being able to get it through the federal VA.”
Boswell said the steering committee’s first meeting is expected to take place in mid-August. The bill requires the committee to complete a comprehensive review of existing mental and behavioral health services for veterans by Jan. 1, 2025, and develop a comprehensive plan to address gaps in those services by April 1, 2025.
The commission will submit a final version of the comprehensive plan to the governor by June 30, 2025, with the plan to be implemented by Aug. 31. Boswell said the plan could be implemented in the form of a bill, recommendations for changes to state agency procedures or additional funding.
Alabama lawmakers recently $30 million allocated in opioid settlement The budget includes a $3 million allocation for a variety of agencies and initiatives, including a $3 million allocation for the Veterans Pilot Program. Boswell said the $3 million allocation is a good starting point to better implement any recommendations the committee will make over the coming year.
