Letter to the Hon. Tom Cole, Chairman of the Labor, Health, and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee and the Hon. Rosa DeLauro, Ranking Member of the Labor, Health, and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee - Requesting Full Funding for the National Violent Death Reporting System

Letter

Dear Chairman Cole and Ranking Member DeLauro:

As you begin work on the fiscal year 2018 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, we request $23.5 million for the National Violent Death Reporting System within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention budget for fiscal year (FY) 2018.

The National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) is state-based system that centralizes information from a variety of state and local agencies and sources such as law enforcement, medical examiners, crime labs, and death certificates to provide a more comprehensive picture of the circumstances surrounding violent deaths. The system tracks deaths caused by child abuse, domestic abuse, suicide, and homicide which enables states to develop effective strategies to address root causes and implement strategies for prevention. Furthermore, the NVDRS allows the public health research community to access a rich data set that can be analyzed to study the circumstances that lead to violent deaths in our communities.

Each year more than 58,000Americans die violently. Despite this staggering loss of life, we lack comprehensive data about the circumstances surrounding these deaths. An issue of particular concern is the alarmingly high suicide rate among active and former military personnel -- estimated to be 20 percent of all suicides nationally. But due to the lack of comprehensive national data, this estimate is based solely on information obtained from states currently funded to participate in the NVDRS.

In fact, the current NVDRS budget provides enough resources for only 42 states to track data on violent deaths; another 2 states have successfully applied for grants but received no money due to insufficient funding. With a $7.5 million dollar increase in FY16 NVDRS budget, we can expand this critical program to the remaining eight states and the District of Columbia. Data collected through NVDRS has led to effective programs in participating states all across the country, which have reduced suicide rates and other instances of violent deaths. Given these positive results, additional funding is warranted and would allow all states to design and implement targeted violent-death prevention programs.

We believe that the NVDRS is a cost-effective and integral component to the long-term success of local efforts to better understand and ultimately reduce violent deaths in our communities.

Thank you in advance for your thoughtful attention to this matter.