H.R. 6000 — Veterans’ Sentinel Act

This section amends Section 1709B of title 38, United States Code—which requires periodic independent evaluations of VA mental health care and suicide prevention programs, including metrics on effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, patient satisfaction, best practices, and programs for women veterans, with annual reports to congressional veterans' affairs committees—to add requirements for the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to annually evaluate statistical trends in suicides and attempted suicides by veterans on VA property and to determine related prevention recommendations (thus, incorporating this information into the existing annual reports). The section also requires the Secretary, not later than 90 days after enactment, to establish a working group to collect and analyze data on such on-campus suicides and attempted suicides for a period of two to five years; directs the working group to review root cause analyses, Behavioral Health Autopsy Program data (including family interviews), and other sources; requires the working group to consider and potentially implement data collection improvements (e.g., unified incident reports and a consolidated management system); and mandates briefings to the congressional veterans' affairs committees not later than one year after enactment and annually thereafter during the working group's operation, plus a final report within 30 days after the period ends detailing the working group's effectiveness and recommendations.