Change management for Veterans Crisis Line

[kevwalsh]

The change represented by the epic #9715.

1. Describe the change from the perspective of VA employees, in plain language. What is the employee going to experience with this change?

CMS editors will see a new phone number for the Veteran Crisis line on VA.gov. The number will have been programmatically changed from 800-273-8255 to 988 by the CMS team. Editors will be told:

• phone number is changing
• we've done this for you
• if your content is in draft, we've left it in draft
• we didn't touch News releases, Stories, or Events
• you can validate

2. Explain why the change is necessary from a CMS/platform and project goal perspective. On July 16, 2020, the FCC adopted rules to establish 988 as the nationwide, easy-to-remember 3-digit dialing code for Americans in crisis to connect with suicide prevention and mental health crisis counselors.

This change will impact what Veterans see when they click Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now link in the global header on VA.gov:

3. Select the role(s) impacted by the change.

Audit

• [ ] All CMS users
• [ ] All CMS editors
• [ ] Vet Center editor
• [x] VA Medical Center editor
• [ ] VA Outreach Hub editor
• [x] VA Benefits Hub editor
• [ ] Campaign landing page editor
• [ ] VA Resources and Support editor
• [ ] Offices editor
• [ ] Supporting roles such as CMS account admin, Facilities or Public websites team member

4. How will success be defined and measured for this change?

• [x] No help desk support is needed, as measured through help desk tickets
• [ ] The content adheres to VA policies and standards for VA.gov, as measured through a dashboard tool and/or audit

5. Does the change require new or updated:

• [ ] Knowledge Base article(s) If existing articles, list URLs:
• [ ] Training video(s) If existing videos, list URLs:
• [ ] CMS UI support
• [ ] Announcement block

6. Will the change be tested with users before release?

• [ ] Yes
• [x] No

7. Are there any known dependencies?

Key Dates

• July 13: pre-event communication at VHA Digital Media Office Hours with VAMC editors
• Aug. 1-10: script invoked to change 800-273-8255 to 988
• Aug. 10: VHA DM sends email to VAMC editors while CMS team sends email to Benefit Hub editors.

[dsinla]

@ContentBrewmaster - Can you confirm any comms are on hold?

[ContentBrewmaster]

They are, pending notification from the CMS team that the change is complete. Is it?