Whistleblowers have told Congress that callers to the Veterans Crisis Line who present difficult cases are being transferred to an understaffed "complex needs" unit that does not collect callback information in case contact is lost.
The allegations indicate some veterans in crisis may still be falling through the cracks -- even as they reach out for help -- and have prompted an investigation by Republicans on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. In September, the case of a veteran who contacted the crisis line and died by suicide minutes after cutting off contact was detailed by the Department of Veterans Affairs inspector general.
Aides for committee ranking member Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., told reporters Tuesday that callers who exhibit "disruptive behavior," use curse words or who responders otherwise think are too difficult to handle themselves are being handed off to a "callers with complex needs" unit that is understaffed and undertrained, according to the whistleblowers.
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Further, the whistleblowers allege that contact information for the callers isn't being recorded, so if they hang up or get disconnected while they are waiting on hold for the special unit to answer, there is no way to call them back, said the committee aides, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.
The allegations prompted Moran to request a Government Accountability Office,...
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