On April 24, 2018, Governor Hogan signed into law a statute requiring the Maryland Secretary of Health to report annual suicide rates of veterans and active service members in Maryland.[1]  The enactment of the law was in response to the alarming rise in veteran suicide rates across the nation over the past decade.[2]The statute requires the Secretary of Health to publish an annual report on the suicides of veterans and active military personnel which must include age, sex, race, branch of service, and the method of suicide.[3]  The annual report will aggregate all veteran’s and active service member’s suicide information from the past five years to produce operational data to help implement future veteran services.[4]

The Center of Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) recently released veteran and active service member suicide rate data compiled in 16 States between the years 2010-2014.[5]  The report concluded that veterans and service members are more than 1.5 times as likely to commit suicide than non-veterans; male veterans and service members accounted for a quarter of all male suicides, and the most common method of suicide was by firearm.[6]  This data is concurrent to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ report, which additionally concludes that veterans and active service members who did not seek active care were more likely to commit suicide than those seeking care.[7]

In Maryland, there are roughly 400,000 veterans and over 30,000 service members.[8]  Despite being 7.5% of Maryland’s total population, 25% of the total suicides in the state are from veterans and service members.[9]  The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs recently released suicide data sheet for Maryland that stated roughly 70 veterans commit suicide annually.[10]The most common method of suicide was by firearm and there was a higher suicide rate for those over the age of 55.[11]  Moreover, the most common mental health issues among veterans committing suicide were depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.[12]  Furthermore, the CDC report indicated that the marital and educational demographics of the suicide victims were even.[13]

The data stated above is collected from national data and from federal agencies where much of the statistics are based on estimates.  The new Maryland suicide reporting law for veterans and service members will produce more accurate statistics and help implement new veteran aid programs.  Currently, the Maryland Office of the Attorney General and the Maryland Veteran Affairs has legal resource guides and service and benefit programs installed.[14]  However, they lack specific programs and assistances targeting mental health issues and suicide prevention, relying on federal programs to address those issues. The new reporting law should encourage the Maryland legislature to keep pushing for more state-specific veteran and military benefits and to keep Maryland residents aware of the effects of mental health issues and its correlation to suicide.           

Klara Kim is a 3L at the University of Baltimore and will graduate in May of 2019.  She is the President of the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association and the President of the International Law Society. She is also the Community Service Director for the Student Bar Association. For the 2018-2019 academic year, she is a student attorney for the University of Baltimore Tax Clinic and plans to pursue a career in tax law.

She can be reached at klara.kim@ubalt.edu.

[1]S.B. 0066, 438^thGen. Assem., Reg. Sess. (Md. 2018).

[2]Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Suicide Rising Across the U.S.  (2018); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA National Suicide Data Report 2005-2016, https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/docs/data-sheets/OMHSP_National_Suicide_Data_Report_2005-2016_508.pdf.

[3]Id.

[4]Id.

[5]Center for Disease Control and Prevention,A Special Report with Data from the National Violent Death Reporting System (2018), https://www.sprc.org/sites/default/files/resource-program/FINAL_REPORT_-_NVDRS_Special.pdf.

[6]Id. at 8.

[7]U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA National Suicide Data Report 2005-2016, https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/docs/data-sheets/OMHSP_National_Suicide_Data_Report_2005-2016_508.pdf, at 3.

[8]Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs, Annual Report 2017, https://veterans.maryland.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/2017-Annual-Report-FINAL.pdf#3, at 18; Governing, Military Active Duty- Personnel, Civilian by State, (Nov. 5, 2018, 8:37 PM), http://www.governing.com/gov-data/public-workforce-salaries/military-civilian-active-duty-employee-workforce-numbers-by-state.html.

[9]Center for Disease Control and Prevention, A Special Report, supranote 5, at 24.

[10]U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Maryland Veteran Suicide Data Sheet 2016, https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/docs/data-sheets/2016/Maryland_2016.pdf.

[11]Center for Disease Control and Prevention, A Special Report, supranote 5, at 25.

[12]Id. (indicating that PTSD was exclusively associated with veterans and active service members).

[13]Id.at 24 (stating that 51% were married and that 46% had some college or college degree).

[14]Maryland Office of Attorney General, Military and Veteran Legal Resource Guide, http://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/Pages/Veterans/Maryland_Veterans_Resource_Guide.pdf; Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs, Service and Benefits Program, https://veterans.maryland.gov/maryland-department-of-veterans-affairs-service-benefits-program/.