A mental health program for service members transitioning to civilian life was unable to contact most enrollees

A Defense Department program that helps service members departing the military access mental health services is failing to connect with most of the individuals who are enrolled in the program.   

DOD created the inTransition program in 2010 after a mental health task force report found that a high number of service members were “disengaging” from mental health care treatment when they switched from the military’s to the Veterans Affairs Department’s health system. Also, the suicide rate for veterans in the first year after they separate from the military is about 2.5 times higher than for active duty members. 

Service members who have received care for mental health or a traumatic brain injury in the year before their separation from the military are automatically enrolled in the program, and they made up 85% of the program’s enrollees in 2022. 

However a Government Accountability Office report published Monday found that the inTransition program in 2022 was unable to successfully contact more than 70% of those who were automatically enrolled. 

Specifically, 66%, or 59,835, of automatic enrollees did not pick up or return the program’s calls and the program could not reach 6%, or 5,710, because of missing or incorrect phone numbers. 

Program officials told GAO that they think the low connection rate could be attributed to the use of telephone calls to make contact. But, as of January 2024, the program did not have specific plans to incorporate text messages or email. 

Likewise, GAO reported that automatic enrollment for the inTransition program generally only occurred two to three months after an individual had left the military. 

“This timing for enrollment may result in a gap in assistance for some service members, affecting the program’s ability to ensure continuity of mental health services during times of transition,” investigators wrote. 

Because automatic enrollment is based on care received in the year prior to departure from the service, program officials explained that the process has to take place after a service member has separated. 

The report recommended that the Defense Health Agency identify and enroll eligible service members in the program before they leave the military and expand the methods used to contact them, such as by email or text message. 

It also pointed out that there are many other programs to assist transitioning service members with accessing mental health services, most notably the Transition Assistance Program — a required course that provides counseling, employment assistance and other veterans’ benefits information to individuals leaving the military. 

However the report argued that the number of such programs could duplicate efforts and create confusion for veterans. It recommended that the DOD-VA Joint Executive Committee, which oversees the departments’ coordination for health care and benefits, assess the effectiveness of overall federal programs that promote access to mental health services for transitioning service members and suggest any changes to address gaps or overlap. 

DOD did not provide formal comments to GAO, but said in a statement to Government Executive that it concurs with the recommendations and is "committed to improving access to mental health, especially during the critical military to civilian transition period." 

VA also concurred with the recommendation concerning the DOD-VA Joint Executive Committee. 

The Defense Department Office of Inspector General in 2021 found that DOD did not perform required suicide risk screening or provide uninterrupted mental health care to service members transitioning to civilian life. 

GAO and VA Office of Inspector General officials testified in February to the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee that VA community-based counseling centers (vet centers), which provide mental health services to veterans readjusting to civilian life, are not complying with mandatory procedures and have not fully addressed identified oversight concerns. 

That panel and the Senate Armed Services Committee held a joint hearing in 2023 where Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Jon Tester, D-Mont., urged for continued improvements to mental health care access during the military-to-civilian transition.