Florida Senate - 2010                                    SB 1404 
 
By the Committee on Military Affairs and Domestic Security 
583-01508-10                                          20101404__ 
1                        A bill to be entitled 
2         An act relating to veterans’ suicide prevention; 
3         directing the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, in 
4         partnership with the Statewide Office for Suicide 
5         Prevention and the Division of Community Colleges, to 
6         establish the veterans’ suicide prevention pilot 
7         project, subject to the availability of funding; 
8         specifying the purpose of the project; providing 
9         project requirements; providing staff activities; 
10         requiring an evaluation report for the Governor and 
11         Legislature; providing for project expiration; 
12         amending s. 14.20195, F.S.; revising the membership of 
13         the Suicide Prevention Coordinating Council to include 
14         at least one veteran appointed by the Governor; 
15         providing an effective date. 
16 
17  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
18 
19         Section 1. Veterans’ suicide prevention pilot project.— 
20         (1) PURPOSE.—The Department of Veterans’ Affairs, in 
21  partnership with the Statewide Office for Suicide Prevention and 
22  the Division of Community Colleges, and subject to the 
23  availability of public or private funding, shall establish a 
24  pilot project at a community college or vocational technical 
25  training facility in a rural section of the state considered 
26  underserved by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. 
27  The purpose of the pilot project is to reduce the incidence of 
28  suicide among veterans by conducting outreach activities and 
29  increasing access to services and supports for veterans and 
30  their families who may be in need of mental health services and 
31  suicide prevention counseling. 
32         (2) PILOT PROJECT.—The pilot project must: 
33         (a) Provide outreach to veterans, their families, and the 
34  community in order to increase information on and access to 
35  services for veterans who are at risk of suicide. 
36         (b) Develop a veteran-to-veteran peer support program that 
37  reaches out to veterans on a continual basis. 
38         (c) Provide linkage and access-assistance services for 
39  veterans and their families to community mental health services 
40  and United States Department of Veterans Affairs mental health 
41  counseling services. 
42         (3) PILOT PROJECT STAFF ACTIVITIES.—Pilot project staff may 
43  provide veterans’ benefits assistance services, organize and 
44  lead a veterans’ peer-to-peer support program, conduct liaison 
45  and outreach with local mental health facilities and the United 
46  States Department of Veterans Affairs health care system, 
47  provide outreach to educational facility faculty and community 
48  resources in order to educate persons about the risk of suicide 
49  among veterans and the warning signs of potential suicide which 
50  may be unique to veterans, and assist veterans and their 
51  families in obtaining needed mental health counseling services 
52  through all available federal, state, and local resources. 
53         (4) PROJECT EVALUATION REPORT.—The department shall provide 
54  the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of 
55  the House of Representatives with a report that includes a 
56  description of the project design, an evaluation of project 
57  efficacy, a review of best practices developed during the 
58  project, and recommendations regarding the application of best 
59  practices to other areas of the state. The report is due by 
60  March 1, 2013. 
61         (5) EXPIRATION.—The pilot project shall expire July 1, 
62  2013. 
63         Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 14.20195, Florida 
64  Statutes, is amended to read: 
65         14.20195 Suicide Prevention Coordinating Council; creation; 
66  membership; duties.—There is created within the Statewide Office 
67  for Suicide Prevention a Suicide Prevention Coordinating 
68  Council. The council shall develop strategies for preventing 
69  suicide. 
70         (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Suicide Prevention Coordinating Council 
71  shall consist of 29 28 voting members. 
72         (a) Fourteen members shall be appointed by the director of 
73  the Office of Drug Control and shall represent the following 
74  organizations: 
75         1. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Corporation 
76  described in s. 394.655. 
77         2. The Florida Association of School Psychologists. 
78         3. The Florida Sheriffs Association. 
79         4. The Suicide Prevention Action Network USA. 
80         5. The Florida Initiative of Suicide Prevention. 
81         6. The Florida Suicide Prevention Coalition. 
82         7. The Alzheimer’s Association. 
83         8. The Florida School Board Association. 
84         9. Volunteer Florida. 
85         10. The state chapter of AARP. 
86         11. The Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association. 
87         12. The Florida Council for Community Mental Health. 
88         13. The Florida Counseling Association. 
89         14. NAMI Florida. 
90         (b) The following state officials or their designees shall 
91  serve on the coordinating council: 
92         1. The Secretary of Elderly Affairs. 
93         2. The State Surgeon General. 
94         3. The Commissioner of Education. 
95         4. The Secretary of Health Care Administration. 
96         5. The Secretary of Juvenile Justice. 
97         6. The Secretary of Corrections. 
98         7. The executive director of the Department of Law 
99  Enforcement. 
100         8. The executive director of the Department of Veterans’ 
101  Affairs. 
102         9. The Secretary of Children and Family Services. 
103         10. The director of the Agency for Workforce Innovation. 
104         (c) The Governor shall appoint five four additional members 
105  to the coordinating council. At least four of the appointees 
106  must have expertise that is critical to the prevention of 
107  suicide or represent an organization that is not already 
108  represented on the coordinating council. At least one of the 
109  appointees must be a veteran. 
110         (d) For the members appointed by the director of the Office 
111  of Drug Control, seven members shall be appointed to initial 
112  terms of 3 years, and seven members shall be appointed to 
113  initial terms of 4 years. For the members appointed by the 
114  Governor, three two members shall be appointed to initial terms 
115  of 4 years, and two members shall be appointed to initial terms 
116  of 3 years. Thereafter, such members shall be appointed to terms 
117  of 4 years. Any vacancy on the coordinating council shall be 
118  filled in the same manner as the original appointment, and any 
119  member who is appointed to fill a vacancy occurring because of 
120  death, resignation, or ineligibility for membership shall serve 
121  only for the unexpired term of the member’s predecessor. A 
122  member is eligible for reappointment. 
123         (e) The director of the Office of Drug Control shall be a 
124  nonvoting member of the coordinating council and shall act as 
125  chair. 
126         (f) Members of the coordinating council shall serve without 
127  compensation. Any member of the coordinating council who is a 
128  public employee is entitled to reimbursement for per diem and 
129  travel expenses as provided in s. 112.061. 
130         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.