H.R. 4564 — what changed

changed This Act may be cited as the “Suicide Prevention Lifeline Improvement Act of 2019”.2020”.

“(c) Plan

“(1) In general—For purposes of maintaining the suicide prevention hotline under subsection (b)(2), the Secretary shall develop and implement a plan to ensure the provision of high-quality service.

“(2) Contents—The plan required by paragraph (1) shall include the following:

“(A) Quality assurance provisions, including—

“(i) clearly defined and measurable performance indicators and objectives to improve the responsiveness and performance of the hotline, including at backup call centers; and

“(ii) quantifiable timeframes to track the progress of the hotline in meeting such performance indicators and objectives.

“(B) Standards that crisis centers and backup centers must meet—

“(i) to participate in the network under subsection (b)(1); and

“(ii) to ensure that each telephone call, online chat message, and other communication received by the hotline, including at backup call centers, is answered in a timely manner by a person, consistent with the guidance established by the American Association of Suicidology or other guidance determined by the Secretary to be appropriate.

“(C) Guidelines for crisis centers and backup centers to implement evidence-based practices including with respect to followup and referral to other health and social services resources.

“(D) Guidelines to ensure that resources are available and distributed to individuals using the hotline who are not personally in a time of crisis but know of someone who is.

“(E) Guidelines to carry out periodic testing of the hotline, including at crisis centers and backup centers, during each fiscal year to identify and correct any problems in a timely manner.

“(F) Guidelines to operate in consultation with the State department of health, local governments, Indian tribes, and tribal organizations.

“(3) Initial plan; updates—The Secretary shall—

changed “(A) not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of the Suicide Prevention Lifeline Improvement Act of 2019, 2020, complete development of the initial version of the plan required by paragraph (1), begin implementation of such plan, and make such plan publicly available; and

“(B) periodically thereafter, update such plan and make the updated plan publicly available.”

“(d) Transmission of data to CDC—The Secretary shall formalize and strengthen agreements between the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline program and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to transmit any necessary epidemiological data from the program to the Centers, including local call center data, to assist the Centers in suicide prevention efforts.”

“(e) Authorization of appropriations

changed “(1) In general—To carry out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 2021 through 2022.2023.

changed “(2) Allocation—Of the amount authorized to be appropriated by paragraph (1) for each of fiscal years 2020 2021 through 2022, 2023, at least 80 percent shall be made available to crisis centers.”