| 1 | 1 | | II |
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| 2 | 2 | | 118THCONGRESS |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION S. 216 |
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| 5 | 5 | | To amend title 38, United States Code, to modify the family caregiver |
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| 6 | 6 | | program of the Department of Veterans Affairs to include services related |
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| 7 | 7 | | to mental health and neurological disorders, and for other purposes. |
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| 8 | 8 | | IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES |
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| 9 | 9 | | FEBRUARY1, 2023 |
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| 10 | 10 | | Mr. M |
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| 11 | 11 | | ORANintroduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred |
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| 12 | 12 | | to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs |
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| 13 | 13 | | A BILL |
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| 14 | 14 | | To amend title 38, United States Code, to modify the family |
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| 15 | 15 | | caregiver program of the Department of Veterans Affairs |
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| 16 | 16 | | to include services related to mental health and neuro- |
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| 17 | 17 | | logical disorders, and for other purposes. |
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| 18 | 18 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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| 19 | 19 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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| 20 | 20 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
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| 21 | 21 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Reinforcing Enhanced 4 |
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| 22 | 22 | | Support through Promoting Equity for Caregivers Act of 5 |
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| 23 | 23 | | 2023’’ or the ‘‘RESPECT Act of 2023’’. 6 |
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| 26 | 26 | | •S 216 IS |
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| 27 | 27 | | SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF FAMILY CAREGIVER PROGRAM 1 |
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| 28 | 28 | | OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO 2 |
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| 29 | 29 | | INCLUDE SERVICES RELATED TO MENTAL 3 |
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| 30 | 30 | | HEALTH AND NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS. 4 |
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| 31 | 31 | | (a) I |
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| 32 | 32 | | NGENERAL.—Section 1720G of title 38, United 5 |
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| 33 | 33 | | States Code, is amended— 6 |
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| 34 | 34 | | (1) in subsection (a)— 7 |
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| 35 | 35 | | (A) in paragraph (2)(C)(ii), by striking 8 |
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| 36 | 36 | | ‘‘neurological’’ and inserting ‘‘a neurological 9 |
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| 37 | 37 | | disorder’’; 10 |
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| 38 | 38 | | (B) in paragraph (3)— 11 |
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| 39 | 39 | | (i) in subparagraph (A)(ii)(II), by in-12 |
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| 40 | 40 | | serting ‘‘, including through public or pri-13 |
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| 41 | 41 | | vate entities’’ before the semicolon; and 14 |
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| 42 | 42 | | (ii) in subparagraph (C), by adding at 15 |
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| 43 | 43 | | the end the following new clause: 16 |
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| 44 | 44 | | ‘‘(v)(I) For purposes of determining the amount and 17 |
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| 45 | 45 | | degree of personal care services provided under clause (i) 18 |
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| 46 | 46 | | with respect to a veteran described in subclause (II), the 19 |
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| 47 | 47 | | Secretary shall take into account relevant documentation 20 |
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| 48 | 48 | | evidencing the provision of personal care services with re-21 |
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| 49 | 49 | | spect to the veteran during the preceding three-year pe-22 |
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| 50 | 50 | | riod. 23 |
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| 51 | 51 | | ‘‘(II) A veteran described in this subclause is a vet-24 |
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| 52 | 52 | | eran whose need for personal care services as described 25 |
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| 53 | 53 | | in paragraph (2)(C) is based in whole or in part on— 26 |
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| 56 | 56 | | •S 216 IS |
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| 57 | 57 | | ‘‘(aa) a diagnosis of mental illness or history of 1 |
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| 58 | 58 | | suicidal ideation that puts the veteran at risk of self- 2 |
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| 59 | 59 | | harm; or 3 |
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| 60 | 60 | | ‘‘(bb) a neurological disorder.’’; and 4 |
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| 61 | 61 | | (C) by adding at the end the following new 5 |
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| 62 | 62 | | paragraph: 6 |
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| 63 | 63 | | ‘‘(14) The Secretary shall establish a process and re-7 |
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| 64 | 64 | | quirements for clinicians of facilities of the Department— 8 |
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| 65 | 65 | | ‘‘(A) to document incidents in which an eligible 9 |
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| 66 | 66 | | veteran participating in the program established 10 |
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| 67 | 67 | | under paragraph (1)— 11 |
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| 68 | 68 | | ‘‘(i) presents at such a facility for treat-12 |
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| 69 | 69 | | ment for an emergent or urgent mental health 13 |
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| 70 | 70 | | crisis; or 14 |
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| 71 | 71 | | ‘‘(ii) is assessed by such a clinician to be 15 |
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| 72 | 72 | | at risk for suicide; and 16 |
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| 73 | 73 | | ‘‘(B) to provide such documentation, including 17 |
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| 74 | 74 | | any safety plans developed and referrals made to a 18 |
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| 75 | 75 | | suicide prevention coordinator of the Department, to 19 |
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| 76 | 76 | | such program.’’; 20 |
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| 77 | 77 | | (2) in subsection (b)(2)(B), by striking ‘‘neuro-21 |
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| 78 | 78 | | logical’’ and inserting ‘‘a neurological disorder’’; 22 |
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| 79 | 79 | | (3) in subsection (d)— 23 |
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| 80 | 80 | | (A) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 24 |
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| 81 | 81 | | paragraph (5); 25 |
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| 84 | 84 | | •S 216 IS |
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| 85 | 85 | | (B) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 1 |
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| 86 | 86 | | following new paragraph (4): 2 |
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| 87 | 87 | | ‘‘(4) the term ‘neurological disorder’ means a 3 |
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| 88 | 88 | | disease of the brain, spinal cord, nerves, or neuro-4 |
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| 89 | 89 | | muscular system.’’; and 5 |
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| 90 | 90 | | (C) in paragraph (5)(B), as redesignated 6 |
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| 91 | 91 | | by subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘neurological’’ 7 |
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| 92 | 92 | | and inserting ‘‘a neurological disorder’’. 8 |
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| 93 | 93 | | (b) T |
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| 94 | 94 | | IMING FORESTABLISHMENT OF REQUIRE-9 |
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| 95 | 95 | | MENTS ANDPROCESSES.— 10 |
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| 96 | 96 | | (1) R |
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| 97 | 97 | | EPORT.—Not later than one year after the 11 |
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| 98 | 98 | | date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 12 |
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| 99 | 99 | | Veterans Affairs shall— 13 |
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| 100 | 100 | | (A) establish the process and requirements 14 |
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| 101 | 101 | | required under paragraph (14) of section 15 |
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| 102 | 102 | | 1720G(a) of title 38, United States Code, as 16 |
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| 103 | 103 | | added by subsection (a)(1)(B); and 17 |
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| 104 | 104 | | (B) submit to the Committee on Veterans’ 18 |
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| 105 | 105 | | Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 19 |
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| 106 | 106 | | Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representa-20 |
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| 107 | 107 | | tives a description of such process and require-21 |
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| 108 | 108 | | ments. 22 |
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| 109 | 109 | | (2) C |
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| 110 | 110 | | ERTIFICATION.— 23 |
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| 111 | 111 | | (A) I |
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| 112 | 112 | | N GENERAL.—Not later than one year 24 |
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| 113 | 113 | | after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 25 |
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| 116 | 116 | | •S 216 IS |
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| 117 | 117 | | Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall require all 1 |
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| 118 | 118 | | clinicians of facilities of the Department to cer-2 |
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| 119 | 119 | | tify to the Secretary that the clinician under-3 |
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| 120 | 120 | | stands the process and requirements established 4 |
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| 121 | 121 | | under paragraph (1)(A). 5 |
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| 122 | 122 | | (B) F |
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| 123 | 123 | | ACILITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT DE -6 |
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| 124 | 124 | | FINED.—In this paragraph, the term ‘‘facilities 7 |
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| 125 | 125 | | of the Department’’ has the meaning given that 8 |
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| 126 | 126 | | term in section 1701 of title 38, United States 9 |
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| 127 | 127 | | Code. 10 |
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| 128 | 128 | | SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO EVALUATIONS, AS-11 |
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| 129 | 129 | | SESSMENTS, AND REASSESSMENTS RELAT-12 |
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| 130 | 130 | | ING TO ELIGIBILITY OF VETERANS AND 13 |
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| 131 | 131 | | CAREGIVERS FOR FAMILY CAREGIVER PRO-14 |
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| 132 | 132 | | GRAM. 15 |
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| 133 | 133 | | (a) I |
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| 134 | 134 | | NGENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 1720G 16 |
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| 135 | 135 | | of title 38, United States Code, as amended by section 17 |
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| 136 | 136 | | 2(a)(1), is further amended by adding at the end the fol-18 |
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| 137 | 137 | | lowing new paragraphs: 19 |
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| 138 | 138 | | ‘‘(15)(A) For purposes of conducting evalua-20 |
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| 139 | 139 | | tions and assessments to determine eligibility of a 21 |
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| 140 | 140 | | veteran and caregiver for the program established 22 |
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| 141 | 141 | | under paragraph (1) or conducting reassessments to 23 |
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| 142 | 142 | | determine continued eligibility for such program, the 24 |
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| 143 | 143 | | Secretary shall— 25 |
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| 146 | 146 | | •S 216 IS |
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| 147 | 147 | | ‘‘(i) take into account relevant documenta-1 |
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| 148 | 148 | | tion and medical records generated by Depart-2 |
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| 149 | 149 | | ment and non-Department health care pro-3 |
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| 150 | 150 | | viders, including qualified mental health profes-4 |
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| 151 | 151 | | sionals and neurological specialists; 5 |
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| 152 | 152 | | ‘‘(ii) if the caregiver of the veteran claims 6 |
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| 153 | 153 | | that the serious injury or need for personal care 7 |
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| 154 | 154 | | services of the veteran as described in para-8 |
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| 155 | 155 | | graph (2) is based in whole or in part on psy-9 |
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| 156 | 156 | | chological trauma or another mental disorder, 10 |
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| 157 | 157 | | ensure— 11 |
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| 158 | 158 | | ‘‘(I) a qualified mental health profes-12 |
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| 159 | 159 | | sional that treats the veteran participates 13 |
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| 160 | 160 | | in the evaluation process; and 14 |
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| 161 | 161 | | ‘‘(II) a qualified mental health profes-15 |
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| 162 | 162 | | sional participates in the assessment or re-16 |
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| 163 | 163 | | assessment process; and 17 |
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| 164 | 164 | | ‘‘(iii) if the caregiver of the veteran claims 18 |
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| 165 | 165 | | that the serious injury or need for personal care 19 |
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| 166 | 166 | | services of the veteran as described in para-20 |
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| 167 | 167 | | graph (2) is based in whole or in part on a neu-21 |
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| 168 | 168 | | rological disorder, ensure— 22 |
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| 169 | 169 | | ‘‘(I) a neurological specialist that 23 |
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| 170 | 170 | | treats the veteran participates in the eval-24 |
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| 171 | 171 | | uation process; and 25 |
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| 174 | 174 | | •S 216 IS |
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| 175 | 175 | | ‘‘(II) a neurological specialist partici-1 |
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| 176 | 176 | | pates in the assessment or reassessment 2 |
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| 177 | 177 | | process. 3 |
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| 178 | 178 | | ‘‘(B)(i) The Secretary shall establish an appro-4 |
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| 179 | 179 | | priate time limit during a 24-hour period for the ac-5 |
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| 180 | 180 | | tive participation of a veteran in an evaluation, as-6 |
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| 181 | 181 | | sessment, or reassessment to determine eligibility of 7 |
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| 182 | 182 | | the veteran for the program established under para-8 |
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| 183 | 183 | | graph (1). 9 |
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| 184 | 184 | | ‘‘(ii) In determining an appropriate time limit 10 |
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| 185 | 185 | | for a veteran under clause (i), the Secretary shall— 11 |
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| 186 | 186 | | ‘‘(I) take into consideration necessary ac-12 |
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| 187 | 187 | | commodations for the veteran stemming from 13 |
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| 188 | 188 | | the disability or medical condition of the vet-14 |
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| 189 | 189 | | eran; and 15 |
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| 190 | 190 | | ‘‘(II) consult with the primary care pro-16 |
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| 191 | 191 | | vider, neurological specialist, or qualified mental 17 |
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| 192 | 192 | | health professional that is treating the veteran. 18 |
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| 193 | 193 | | ‘‘(C) The Secretary shall not require the pres-19 |
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| 194 | 194 | | ence of a veteran during portions of an evaluation, 20 |
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| 195 | 195 | | assessment, or reassessment to determine eligibility 21 |
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| 196 | 196 | | of the veteran for the program established under 22 |
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| 197 | 197 | | paragraph (1) that only require the active participa-23 |
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| 198 | 198 | | tion of the caregiver. 24 |
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| 201 | 201 | | •S 216 IS |
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| 202 | 202 | | ‘‘(D)(i) The Secretary shall make reasonable ef-1 |
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| 203 | 203 | | forts to assist a caregiver and veteran in obtaining 2 |
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| 204 | 204 | | evidence necessary to substantiate the claims of the 3 |
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| 205 | 205 | | caregiver and veteran in the application process for 4 |
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| 206 | 206 | | evaluation, assessment, or reassessment for the pro-5 |
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| 207 | 207 | | gram established under paragraph (1). 6 |
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| 208 | 208 | | ‘‘(ii)(I) As part of the assistance provided to a 7 |
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| 209 | 209 | | caregiver or veteran under clause (i), the Secretary 8 |
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| 210 | 210 | | shall make reasonable efforts to obtain relevant pri-9 |
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| 211 | 211 | | vate records that the caregiver or veteran adequately 10 |
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| 212 | 212 | | identifies to the Secretary. 11 |
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| 213 | 213 | | ‘‘(II) Whenever the Secretary, after making 12 |
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| 214 | 214 | | reasonable efforts under subclause (I), is unable to 13 |
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| 215 | 215 | | obtain all of the relevant records sought, the Sec-14 |
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| 216 | 216 | | retary shall notify the caregiver and veteran that the 15 |
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| 217 | 217 | | Secretary is unable to obtain records with respect to 16 |
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| 218 | 218 | | the claim, which shall include— 17 |
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| 219 | 219 | | ‘‘(aa) an identification of the records the 18 |
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| 220 | 220 | | Secretary is unable to obtain; 19 |
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| 221 | 221 | | ‘‘(bb) a brief explanation of the efforts 20 |
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| 222 | 222 | | that the Secretary made to obtain such records; 21 |
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| 223 | 223 | | and 22 |
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| 224 | 224 | | ‘‘(cc) an explanation that the Secretary 23 |
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| 225 | 225 | | will make a determination based on the evi-24 |
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| 226 | 226 | | dence of record and that this clause does not 25 |
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| 229 | 229 | | •S 216 IS |
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| 230 | 230 | | prohibit the submission of records at a later 1 |
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| 231 | 231 | | date if such submission is otherwise allowed. 2 |
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| 232 | 232 | | ‘‘(III) The Secretary shall make not fewer than 3 |
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| 233 | 233 | | two requests to a custodian of a private record in 4 |
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| 234 | 234 | | order for an effort to obtain such record to be treat-5 |
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| 235 | 235 | | ed as reasonable under subclause (I), unless it is 6 |
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| 236 | 236 | | made evident by the first request that a second re-7 |
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| 237 | 237 | | quest would be futile in obtaining such record. 8 |
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| 238 | 238 | | ‘‘(iii) Under regulations prescribed by the Sec-9 |
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| 239 | 239 | | retary, the Secretary— 10 |
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| 240 | 240 | | ‘‘(I) shall encourage a caregiver and vet-11 |
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| 241 | 241 | | eran to submit relevant private medical records 12 |
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| 242 | 242 | | of the veteran to the Secretary to substantiate 13 |
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| 243 | 243 | | the claims of the caregiver and veteran in the 14 |
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| 244 | 244 | | application process for evaluation, assessment, 15 |
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| 245 | 245 | | or reassessment for the program established 16 |
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| 246 | 246 | | under paragraph (1) if such submission does 17 |
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| 247 | 247 | | not burden the caregiver or veteran; and 18 |
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| 248 | 248 | | ‘‘(II) may require the caregiver or veteran 19 |
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| 249 | 249 | | to authorize the Secretary to obtain such rel-20 |
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| 250 | 250 | | evant private medical records if such authoriza-21 |
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| 251 | 251 | | tion is required to comply with Federal, State, 22 |
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| 252 | 252 | | or local law. 23 |
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| 253 | 253 | | ‘‘(16)(A) The Secretary, in consultation with a 24 |
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| 254 | 254 | | health care provider, neurological specialist, or quali-25 |
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| 257 | 257 | | •S 216 IS |
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| 258 | 258 | | fied mental health professional that is treating a vet-1 |
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| 259 | 259 | | eran, shall waive the reassessment requirement for 2 |
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| 260 | 260 | | the veteran for participation in the program estab-3 |
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| 261 | 261 | | lished under paragraph (1) if— 4 |
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| 262 | 262 | | ‘‘(i) the serious injury of the veteran under 5 |
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| 263 | 263 | | paragraph (2) is significantly caused by a de-6 |
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| 264 | 264 | | generative or chronic condition; and 7 |
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| 265 | 265 | | ‘‘(ii) such condition is unlikely to improve 8 |
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| 266 | 266 | | the dependency of the veteran for personal care 9 |
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| 267 | 267 | | services. 10 |
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| 268 | 268 | | ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall require a health care 11 |
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| 269 | 269 | | provider, neurological specialist, or qualified mental 12 |
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| 270 | 270 | | health professional that is treating a veteran to cer-13 |
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| 271 | 271 | | tify at appropriate intervals determined by the Sec-14 |
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| 272 | 272 | | retary the clinical decision of the provider, specialist, 15 |
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| 273 | 273 | | or professional under subparagraph (A). 16 |
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| 274 | 274 | | ‘‘(C) The Secretary may rescind a waiver under 17 |
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| 275 | 275 | | subparagraph (A) with respect to a veteran and re-18 |
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| 276 | 276 | | quire a reassessment of the veteran if a health care 19 |
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| 277 | 277 | | provider, neurological specialist, or qualified mental 20 |
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| 278 | 278 | | health professional that is treating the veteran 21 |
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| 279 | 279 | | makes a clinical determination that the level of de-22 |
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| 280 | 280 | | pendency of the veteran for personal care services 23 |
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| 281 | 281 | | has diminished since the last certification of the clin-24 |
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| 284 | 284 | | •S 216 IS |
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| 285 | 285 | | ical decision of the provider, specialist, or profes-1 |
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| 286 | 286 | | sional under subparagraph (B).’’. 2 |
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| 287 | 287 | | (b) D |
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| 288 | 288 | | EFINITIONS.—Subsection (d) of such section, as 3 |
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| 289 | 289 | | amended by section 2(a)(2), is further amended— 4 |
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| 290 | 290 | | (1) by redesignating paragraph (5) as para-5 |
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| 291 | 291 | | graph (6); 6 |
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| 292 | 292 | | (2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol-7 |
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| 293 | 293 | | lowing new paragraph (5): 8 |
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| 294 | 294 | | ‘‘(5) The term ‘neurological specialist’ means a 9 |
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| 295 | 295 | | neurologist, neuropsychiatrist, physiatrist, geriatri-10 |
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| 296 | 296 | | cian, certified brain injury specialist, neurology 11 |
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| 297 | 297 | | nurse, neurology nurse practitioner, neurology physi-12 |
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| 298 | 298 | | cian assistant, or such other licensed medical profes-13 |
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| 299 | 299 | | sional as the Secretary considers appropriate.’’; and 14 |
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| 300 | 300 | | (3) by adding at the end the following new 15 |
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| 301 | 301 | | paragraph: 16 |
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| 302 | 302 | | ‘‘(7) The term ‘qualified mental health profes-17 |
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| 303 | 303 | | sional’ means a psychiatrist, psychologist, licensed 18 |
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| 304 | 304 | | clinical social worker, psychiatric nurse, licensed pro-19 |
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| 305 | 305 | | fessional mental health counselor, or other licensed 20 |
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| 306 | 306 | | mental health professional as the Secretary considers 21 |
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| 307 | 307 | | appropriate.’’. 22 |
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| 310 | 310 | | •S 216 IS |
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| 311 | 311 | | SEC. 4. AUTHORITY FOR SECRETARY OF VETERANS AF-1 |
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| 312 | 312 | | FAIRS TO AWARD GRANTS TO ENTITIES TO 2 |
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| 313 | 313 | | IMPROVE PROVISION OF MENTAL HEALTH 3 |
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| 314 | 314 | | SUPPORT TO FAMILY CAREGIVERS OF VET-4 |
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| 315 | 315 | | ERANS. 5 |
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| 316 | 316 | | (a) I |
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| 317 | 317 | | NGENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 17 of 6 |
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| 318 | 318 | | title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 7 |
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| 319 | 319 | | end the following new section: 8 |
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| 320 | 320 | | ‘‘§ 1720K. Grants to provide mental health support to 9 |
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| 321 | 321 | | family caregivers of veterans 10 |
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| 322 | 322 | | ‘‘(a) P |
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| 323 | 323 | | URPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to 11 |
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| 324 | 324 | | provide for assistance by the Secretary to entities to carry 12 |
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| 325 | 325 | | out programs that improve the provision of mental health 13 |
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| 326 | 326 | | support to the family caregivers of veterans participating 14 |
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| 327 | 327 | | in the family caregiver program. 15 |
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| 328 | 328 | | ‘‘(b) A |
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| 329 | 329 | | UTHORITY.—The Secretary may award grants 16 |
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| 330 | 330 | | to carry out, coordinate, improve, or otherwise enhance 17 |
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| 331 | 331 | | mental health counseling, treatment, or support to the 18 |
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| 332 | 332 | | family caregivers of veterans participating in the family 19 |
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| 333 | 333 | | caregiver program. 20 |
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| 334 | 334 | | ‘‘(c) A |
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| 335 | 335 | | PPLICATION.—(1) To be eligible for a grant 21 |
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| 336 | 336 | | under this section, an entity shall submit to the Secretary 22 |
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| 337 | 337 | | an application therefor at such time, in such manner, and 23 |
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| 338 | 338 | | containing such information as the Secretary may require. 24 |
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| 339 | 339 | | ‘‘(2) Each application submitted under paragraph (1) 25 |
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| 340 | 340 | | shall include the following: 26 |
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| 343 | 343 | | •S 216 IS |
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| 344 | 344 | | ‘‘(A) A detailed plan for the use of the grant. 1 |
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| 345 | 345 | | ‘‘(B) A description of the programs or efforts 2 |
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| 346 | 346 | | through which the entity will meet the outcome 3 |
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| 347 | 347 | | measures developed by the Secretary under sub-4 |
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| 348 | 348 | | section (g). 5 |
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| 349 | 349 | | ‘‘(C) A description of how the entity will dis-6 |
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| 350 | 350 | | tribute grant amounts equitably among areas with 7 |
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| 351 | 351 | | varying levels of urbanization. 8 |
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| 352 | 352 | | ‘‘(D) A plan for how the grant will be used to 9 |
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| 353 | 353 | | meet the unique needs of veterans residing in rural 10 |
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| 354 | 354 | | areas, American Indian or Alaska Native veterans, 11 |
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| 355 | 355 | | elderly veterans, women veterans, and veterans from 12 |
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| 356 | 356 | | other underserved communities. 13 |
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| 357 | 357 | | ‘‘(d) D |
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| 358 | 358 | | ISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary shall seek to en-14 |
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| 359 | 359 | | sure that grants awarded under this section are equitably 15 |
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| 360 | 360 | | distributed among entities located in States with varying 16 |
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| 361 | 361 | | levels of urbanization. 17 |
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| 362 | 362 | | ‘‘(e) P |
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| 363 | 363 | | RIORITY.—The Secretary shall prioritize 18 |
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| 364 | 364 | | awarding grants under this section that will serve the fol-19 |
|---|
| 365 | 365 | | lowing areas: 20 |
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| 366 | 366 | | ‘‘(1) Areas with high rates of veterans enrolled 21 |
|---|
| 367 | 367 | | in the family caregiver program. 22 |
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| 368 | 368 | | ‘‘(2) Areas with high rates of— 23 |
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| 369 | 369 | | ‘‘(A) suicide among veterans; or 24 |
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| 370 | 370 | | ‘‘(B) referrals to the Veterans Crisis Line. 25 |
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| 373 | 373 | | •S 216 IS |
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| 374 | 374 | | ‘‘(f) REQUIREDACTIVITIES.—Any grant awarded 1 |
|---|
| 375 | 375 | | under this section shall be used— 2 |
|---|
| 376 | 376 | | ‘‘(1) to expand existing programs, activities, 3 |
|---|
| 377 | 377 | | and services; 4 |
|---|
| 378 | 378 | | ‘‘(2) to establish new or additional programs, 5 |
|---|
| 379 | 379 | | activities, and services; or 6 |
|---|
| 380 | 380 | | ‘‘(3) for travel and transportation to facilitate 7 |
|---|
| 381 | 381 | | carrying out paragraph (1) or (2). 8 |
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| 382 | 382 | | ‘‘(g) O |
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| 383 | 383 | | UTCOMEMEASURES.—(1) The Secretary shall 9 |
|---|
| 384 | 384 | | develop and provide to each entity that receives a grant 10 |
|---|
| 385 | 385 | | under this section written guidance on the following: 11 |
|---|
| 386 | 386 | | ‘‘(A) Outcome measures. 12 |
|---|
| 387 | 387 | | ‘‘(B) Policies of the Department. 13 |
|---|
| 388 | 388 | | ‘‘(2) In developing outcome measures under para-14 |
|---|
| 389 | 389 | | graph (1), the Secretary shall consider the following goals: 15 |
|---|
| 390 | 390 | | ‘‘(A) Increasing the utilization of mental health 16 |
|---|
| 391 | 391 | | services among family caregivers of veterans partici-17 |
|---|
| 392 | 392 | | pating in the family caregiver program. 18 |
|---|
| 393 | 393 | | ‘‘(B) Reducing barriers to mental health serv-19 |
|---|
| 394 | 394 | | ices among family caregivers of veterans partici-20 |
|---|
| 395 | 395 | | pating in such program. 21 |
|---|
| 396 | 396 | | ‘‘(h) T |
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| 397 | 397 | | RACKINGREQUIREMENTS.—(1) The Secretary 22 |
|---|
| 398 | 398 | | shall establish appropriate tracking requirements with re-23 |
|---|
| 399 | 399 | | spect to the entities receiving a grant under this section. 24 |
|---|
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| 402 | 402 | | •S 216 IS |
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| 403 | 403 | | ‘‘(2) Not less frequently than annually, the Secretary 1 |
|---|
| 404 | 404 | | shall submit to Congress a report on such tracking re-2 |
|---|
| 405 | 405 | | quirements. 3 |
|---|
| 406 | 406 | | ‘‘(i) P |
|---|
| 407 | 407 | | ERFORMANCEREVIEW.—The Secretary shall— 4 |
|---|
| 408 | 408 | | ‘‘(1) review the performance of each entity that 5 |
|---|
| 409 | 409 | | receives a grant under this section; and 6 |
|---|
| 410 | 410 | | ‘‘(2) make information regarding such perform-7 |
|---|
| 411 | 411 | | ance publicly available. 8 |
|---|
| 412 | 412 | | ‘‘(j) R |
|---|
| 413 | 413 | | EMEDIATIONPLAN.—(1) In the case of an enti-9 |
|---|
| 414 | 414 | | ty that receives a grant under this section and does not 10 |
|---|
| 415 | 415 | | meet the outcome measures developed by the Secretary 11 |
|---|
| 416 | 416 | | under subsection (g), the Secretary shall require the entity 12 |
|---|
| 417 | 417 | | to submit to the Secretary a remediation plan under which 13 |
|---|
| 418 | 418 | | the entity shall describe how and when it plans to meet 14 |
|---|
| 419 | 419 | | such outcome measures. 15 |
|---|
| 420 | 420 | | ‘‘(2) The Secretary may not award a subsequent 16 |
|---|
| 421 | 421 | | grant under this section to an entity described in para-17 |
|---|
| 422 | 422 | | graph (1) unless the Secretary approves the remediation 18 |
|---|
| 423 | 423 | | plan submitted by the entity under such paragraph. 19 |
|---|
| 424 | 424 | | ‘‘(k) M |
|---|
| 425 | 425 | | AXIMUMAMOUNT.—The amount of a grant 20 |
|---|
| 426 | 426 | | awarded under this section may not exceed 10 percent of 21 |
|---|
| 427 | 427 | | amounts made available for grants under this section for 22 |
|---|
| 428 | 428 | | the fiscal year in which the grant is awarded. 23 |
|---|
| 429 | 429 | | ‘‘(l) S |
|---|
| 430 | 430 | | UPPLEMENT, NOTSUPPLANT.—Any grant 24 |
|---|
| 431 | 431 | | awarded under this section shall be used to supplement 25 |
|---|
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| 434 | 434 | | •S 216 IS |
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| 435 | 435 | | and not supplant funding that is otherwise available 1 |
|---|
| 436 | 436 | | through the Department to provide mental health support 2 |
|---|
| 437 | 437 | | among family caregivers of veterans participating in the 3 |
|---|
| 438 | 438 | | family caregiver program. 4 |
|---|
| 439 | 439 | | ‘‘(m) F |
|---|
| 440 | 440 | | UNDING.—(1) Amounts for the activities of 5 |
|---|
| 441 | 441 | | the Department under this section shall be budgeted and 6 |
|---|
| 442 | 442 | | appropriated through a separate appropriation account. 7 |
|---|
| 443 | 443 | | ‘‘(2) In the budget justification materials submitted 8 |
|---|
| 444 | 444 | | to Congress in support of the budget of the Department 9 |
|---|
| 445 | 445 | | for any fiscal year (as submitted with the budget of the 10 |
|---|
| 446 | 446 | | President under section 1105(a) of title 31), the Secretary 11 |
|---|
| 447 | 447 | | shall include a separate statement of the amount re-12 |
|---|
| 448 | 448 | | quested to be appropriated for that fiscal year for the ac-13 |
|---|
| 449 | 449 | | count specified in paragraph (1). 14 |
|---|
| 450 | 450 | | ‘‘(n) A |
|---|
| 451 | 451 | | UTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 15 |
|---|
| 452 | 452 | | is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for each 16 |
|---|
| 453 | 453 | | of fiscal years 2023 through 2025 $50,000,000 to carry 17 |
|---|
| 454 | 454 | | out this section. 18 |
|---|
| 455 | 455 | | ‘‘(o) D |
|---|
| 456 | 456 | | EFINITIONS.—In this section: 19 |
|---|
| 457 | 457 | | ‘‘(1) The terms ‘caregiver’ and ‘family care-20 |
|---|
| 458 | 458 | | giver’ have the meanings given those terms in sec-21 |
|---|
| 459 | 459 | | tion 1720G(d) of this title. 22 |
|---|
| 460 | 460 | | ‘‘(2) The term ‘family caregiver program’ 23 |
|---|
| 461 | 461 | | means the program of comprehensive assistance for 24 |
|---|
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| 464 | 464 | | •S 216 IS |
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| 465 | 465 | | family caregivers under section 1720G(a) of this 1 |
|---|
| 466 | 466 | | title. 2 |
|---|
| 467 | 467 | | ‘‘(3) The term ‘Veterans Crisis Line’ means the 3 |
|---|
| 468 | 468 | | toll-free hotline for veterans established under sec-4 |
|---|
| 469 | 469 | | tion 1720F(h) of this title.’’. 5 |
|---|
| 470 | 470 | | (b) C |
|---|
| 471 | 471 | | LERICALAMENDMENT.—The table of sections 6 |
|---|
| 472 | 472 | | at the beginning of such subchapter is amended by adding 7 |
|---|
| 473 | 473 | | at the end the following new item: 8 |
|---|
| 474 | 474 | | ‘‘1720K. Grants to provide mental health support to family caregivers of vet- |
|---|
| 475 | 475 | | erans.’’. |
|---|
| 476 | 476 | | SEC. 5. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT ON MENTAL |
|---|
| 477 | 477 | | 9 |
|---|
| 478 | 478 | | HEALTH SUPPORT FOR CAREGIVERS. 10 |
|---|
| 479 | 479 | | (a) R |
|---|
| 480 | 480 | | EPORTREQUIRED.—Not later than one year 11 |
|---|
| 481 | 481 | | after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comp-12 |
|---|
| 482 | 482 | | troller General of the United States shall submit to the 13 |
|---|
| 483 | 483 | | Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the 14 |
|---|
| 484 | 484 | | Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep-15 |
|---|
| 485 | 485 | | resentatives a report on the provision of mental health 16 |
|---|
| 486 | 486 | | support to caregivers of veterans. 17 |
|---|
| 487 | 487 | | (b) C |
|---|
| 488 | 488 | | ONTENTS.—The report submitted under sub-18 |
|---|
| 489 | 489 | | section (a) shall include the following: 19 |
|---|
| 490 | 490 | | (1) An assessment of the need for mental 20 |
|---|
| 491 | 491 | | health support among caregivers participating in the 21 |
|---|
| 492 | 492 | | caregiver programs. 22 |
|---|
| 493 | 493 | | (2) An assessment of options for mental health 23 |
|---|
| 494 | 494 | | support in facilities of the Department of Veterans 24 |
|---|
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| 497 | 497 | | •S 216 IS |
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| 498 | 498 | | Affairs and in the community for caregivers partici-1 |
|---|
| 499 | 499 | | pating in the caregiver programs. 2 |
|---|
| 500 | 500 | | (3) An assessment of the availability and acces-3 |
|---|
| 501 | 501 | | sibility of mental health support in facilities of the 4 |
|---|
| 502 | 502 | | Department and in the community for caregivers 5 |
|---|
| 503 | 503 | | participating in the caregiver programs. 6 |
|---|
| 504 | 504 | | (4) An assessment of the awareness among 7 |
|---|
| 505 | 505 | | caregivers of the availability of mental health sup-8 |
|---|
| 506 | 506 | | port in facilities of the Department and in the com-9 |
|---|
| 507 | 507 | | munity for caregivers participating in the caregiver 10 |
|---|
| 508 | 508 | | programs. 11 |
|---|
| 509 | 509 | | (5) An assessment of barriers to mental health 12 |
|---|
| 510 | 510 | | support in facilities of the Department and in the 13 |
|---|
| 511 | 511 | | community for caregivers participating in the care-14 |
|---|
| 512 | 512 | | giver programs. 15 |
|---|
| 513 | 513 | | (c) D |
|---|
| 514 | 514 | | EFINITIONS.—In this section: 16 |
|---|
| 515 | 515 | | (1) C |
|---|
| 516 | 516 | | AREGIVER.—The term ‘‘caregiver’’ has the 17 |
|---|
| 517 | 517 | | meaning given that term in section 1720G(d) of title 18 |
|---|
| 518 | 518 | | 38, United States Code. 19 |
|---|
| 519 | 519 | | (2) C |
|---|
| 520 | 520 | | AREGIVER PROGRAMS .—The term ‘‘care-20 |
|---|
| 521 | 521 | | giver programs’’ means— 21 |
|---|
| 522 | 522 | | (A) the program of comprehensive assist-22 |
|---|
| 523 | 523 | | ance for family caregivers under subsection (a) 23 |
|---|
| 524 | 524 | | of section 1720G of title 38, United States 24 |
|---|
| 525 | 525 | | Code; and 25 |
|---|
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| 528 | 528 | | •S 216 IS |
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| 529 | 529 | | (B) the program of support services for 1 |
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| 530 | 530 | | caregivers under subsection (b) of such section. 2 |
|---|
| 531 | 531 | | Æ |
|---|
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