| 1 | 1 | | II |
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| 2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION S. 701 |
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| 5 | 5 | | To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish the Veteran Family |
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| 6 | 6 | | Resource Program, and for other purposes. |
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| 7 | 7 | | IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES |
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| 8 | 8 | | FEBRUARY25, 2025 |
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| 9 | 9 | | Mrs. M |
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| 10 | 10 | | URRAY(for herself, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. MUR- |
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| 11 | 11 | | KOWSKI, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. |
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| 12 | 12 | | K |
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| 13 | 13 | | AINE, and Mr. WELCH) introduced the following bill; which was read |
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| 14 | 14 | | twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs |
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| 15 | 15 | | A BILL |
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| 16 | 16 | | To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish |
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| 17 | 17 | | the Veteran Family Resource Program, and for other |
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| 18 | 18 | | purposes. |
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| 19 | 19 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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| 20 | 20 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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| 21 | 21 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
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| 22 | 22 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Helping Heroes Act’’. 4 |
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| 23 | 23 | | SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF VETERAN FAMILY RESOURCE 5 |
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| 24 | 24 | | PROGRAM. 6 |
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| 25 | 25 | | (a) E |
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| 26 | 26 | | STABLISHMENT.— 7 |
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| 27 | 27 | | (1) I |
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| 28 | 28 | | N GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans 8 |
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| 29 | 29 | | Affairs shall, acting through the Under Secretary for 9 |
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| 32 | 32 | | •S 701 IS |
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| 33 | 33 | | Health and the Office of Patient Care Services and 1 |
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| 34 | 34 | | Care Management and Social Work Services of the 2 |
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| 35 | 35 | | Veterans Health Administration, establish a pro-3 |
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| 36 | 36 | | gram— 4 |
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| 37 | 37 | | (A) to enhance the resilience, health, and 5 |
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| 38 | 38 | | well-being of veterans by addressing social de-6 |
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| 39 | 39 | | terminants of health challenges experienced in 7 |
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| 40 | 40 | | their family units through person-centered clin-8 |
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| 41 | 41 | | ical integrations, connections to benefits fur-9 |
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| 42 | 42 | | nished by the Department of Veterans Affairs, 10 |
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| 43 | 43 | | and community resource engagement; and 11 |
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| 44 | 44 | | (B) to ensure veterans and their families 12 |
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| 45 | 45 | | have access to a continuum of services and re-13 |
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| 46 | 46 | | sources needed to support wellness within their 14 |
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| 47 | 47 | | family units as they define the family units. 15 |
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| 48 | 48 | | (2) D |
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| 49 | 49 | | ESIGNATION.—The program established 16 |
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| 50 | 50 | | pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be known as the 17 |
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| 51 | 51 | | ‘‘Veteran Family Resource Program’’ (in this section 18 |
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| 52 | 52 | | referred to as the ‘‘Program’’). 19 |
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| 53 | 53 | | (b) F |
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| 54 | 54 | | AMILYCOORDINATORS AND STAFFING.— 20 |
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| 55 | 55 | | (1) I |
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| 56 | 56 | | N GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 21 |
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| 57 | 57 | | out the Program by, not later than the date that is 22 |
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| 58 | 58 | | five years after the date of the enactment of this 23 |
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| 59 | 59 | | Act— 24 |
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| 62 | 62 | | •S 701 IS |
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| 63 | 63 | | (A) appointing at least one family coordi-1 |
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| 64 | 64 | | nator in each Veterans Integrated Service Net-2 |
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| 65 | 65 | | work; and 3 |
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| 66 | 66 | | (B) ensuring adequate staffing and re-4 |
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| 67 | 67 | | sources to ensure family coordinators are able 5 |
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| 68 | 68 | | to carry out their functions and duties under 6 |
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| 69 | 69 | | the Program. 7 |
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| 70 | 70 | | (2) F |
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| 71 | 71 | | UNCTIONS.—The functions of a family co-8 |
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| 72 | 72 | | ordinator under paragraph (1) are as follows: 9 |
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| 73 | 73 | | (A) To serve at medical centers of the De-10 |
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| 74 | 74 | | partment as point persons who understand and 11 |
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| 75 | 75 | | have a good working knowledge of— 12 |
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| 76 | 76 | | (i) all resources that families, care-13 |
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| 77 | 77 | | givers, and survivors may be eligible for 14 |
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| 78 | 78 | | under provisions of law administered by 15 |
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| 79 | 79 | | the Secretary; and 16 |
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| 80 | 80 | | (ii) community resources available to 17 |
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| 81 | 81 | | such families, caregivers, and survivors 18 |
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| 82 | 82 | | when they have needs that are not met by 19 |
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| 83 | 83 | | the resources described in clause (i). 20 |
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| 84 | 84 | | (B) To help veterans, their families, their 21 |
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| 85 | 85 | | caregivers, and their survivors access and navi-22 |
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| 86 | 86 | | gate the public and private resources described 23 |
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| 87 | 87 | | in subparagraph (A). 24 |
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| 90 | 90 | | •S 701 IS |
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| 91 | 91 | | (3) DUTIES.—Each family coordinator ap-1 |
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| 92 | 92 | | pointed under paragraph (1) shall, to the extent 2 |
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| 93 | 93 | | practicable— 3 |
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| 94 | 94 | | (A) assess the needs of veterans and the 4 |
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| 95 | 95 | | family members of veterans using evidence- 5 |
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| 96 | 96 | | based strategies; 6 |
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| 97 | 97 | | (B) build positive relationships with vet-7 |
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| 98 | 98 | | erans and such family members; 8 |
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| 99 | 99 | | (C) refer veterans and such family mem-9 |
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| 100 | 100 | | bers to local, State, Federal, and non-Depart-10 |
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| 101 | 101 | | ment resources to support the overall health, 11 |
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| 102 | 102 | | well-being, and treatment goals of such vet-12 |
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| 103 | 103 | | erans; and 13 |
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| 104 | 104 | | (D) develop and maintain a list of— 14 |
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| 105 | 105 | | (i) supportive services offered by the 15 |
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| 106 | 106 | | Department; and 16 |
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| 107 | 107 | | (ii) supportive services offered by non- 17 |
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| 108 | 108 | | Department providers; 18 |
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| 109 | 109 | | (c) G |
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| 110 | 110 | | OALS ANDMETRICS.— 19 |
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| 111 | 111 | | (1) G |
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| 112 | 112 | | OALS.—The goals of the Program shall be 20 |
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| 113 | 113 | | as follows: 21 |
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| 114 | 114 | | (A) To connect veterans to family re-22 |
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| 115 | 115 | | sources to increase their well-being and resil-23 |
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| 116 | 116 | | iency. 24 |
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| 119 | 119 | | •S 701 IS |
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| 120 | 120 | | (B) To develop internal partnerships to im-1 |
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| 121 | 121 | | prove health care furnished by the Department. 2 |
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| 122 | 122 | | (C) To capture and maintain data to en-3 |
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| 123 | 123 | | hance understanding of process improvement 4 |
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| 124 | 124 | | opportunities and impact. 5 |
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| 125 | 125 | | (D) To function as a community liaison to 6 |
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| 126 | 126 | | bolster existing partnerships and conduct due 7 |
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| 127 | 127 | | diligence to form new partnerships. 8 |
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| 128 | 128 | | (2) M |
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| 129 | 129 | | ETRICS.—The Secretary shall establish 9 |
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| 130 | 130 | | metrics for assessment of the Program, including 10 |
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| 131 | 131 | | metrics relating to the following: 11 |
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| 132 | 132 | | (A) Department referrals into the Pro-12 |
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| 133 | 133 | | gram. 13 |
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| 134 | 134 | | (B) Non-Department referrals into the 14 |
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| 135 | 135 | | Program. 15 |
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| 136 | 136 | | (C) Health factors. 16 |
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| 137 | 137 | | (D) Veteran and staff satisfaction. 17 |
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| 138 | 138 | | (d) E |
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| 139 | 139 | | XPANSION OFPROGRAM.—The Secretary may 18 |
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| 140 | 140 | | expand the Program to additional medical centers of the 19 |
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| 141 | 141 | | Department or otherwise expand the Program to carry out 20 |
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| 142 | 142 | | the purposes specified in subsection (a)(1) as the Sec-21 |
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| 143 | 143 | | retary determines appropriate. 22 |
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| 144 | 144 | | (e) R |
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| 145 | 145 | | EPORT TOCONGRESS.— 23 |
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| 146 | 146 | | (1) I |
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| 147 | 147 | | N GENERAL.—Not later than two years 24 |
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| 148 | 148 | | after the commencement of the Program, the Sec-25 |
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| 151 | 151 | | •S 701 IS |
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| 152 | 152 | | retary shall submit to the appropriate committees of 1 |
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| 153 | 153 | | Congress a report on the progress of the Program. 2 |
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| 154 | 154 | | (2) C |
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| 155 | 155 | | ONTENTS.—The report required by para-3 |
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| 156 | 156 | | graph (1) shall include— 4 |
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| 157 | 157 | | (A) the number of veterans and children 5 |
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| 158 | 158 | | who received supportive services under the Pro-6 |
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| 159 | 159 | | gram; 7 |
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| 160 | 160 | | (B) the demographic data of veterans and 8 |
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| 161 | 161 | | family members in receipt of supportive services 9 |
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| 162 | 162 | | under the Program, including— 10 |
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| 163 | 163 | | (i) the relationship to the veteran; 11 |
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| 164 | 164 | | (ii) age; 12 |
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| 165 | 165 | | (iii) race; 13 |
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| 166 | 166 | | (iv) ethnicity; 14 |
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| 167 | 167 | | (v) gender; 15 |
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| 168 | 168 | | (vi) disability; and 16 |
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| 169 | 169 | | (vii) English proficiency and whether 17 |
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| 170 | 170 | | a language other than English is spoken at 18 |
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| 171 | 171 | | home; 19 |
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| 172 | 172 | | (C) a summary of the supportive services 20 |
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| 173 | 173 | | carried out under the Program and the costs to 21 |
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| 174 | 174 | | the Department of such supportive services; and 22 |
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| 175 | 175 | | (D) an assessment, measured by a survey 23 |
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| 176 | 176 | | of participants, of whether, and how, participa-24 |
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| 177 | 177 | | tion in the Program— 25 |
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| 180 | 180 | | •S 701 IS |
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| 181 | 181 | | (i) resulted in positive outcomes for 1 |
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| 182 | 182 | | veterans and children; and 2 |
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| 183 | 183 | | (ii) contributed to the overall health, 3 |
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| 184 | 184 | | well-being, and treatment goals of the vet-4 |
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| 185 | 185 | | eran. 5 |
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| 186 | 186 | | (3) A |
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| 187 | 187 | | PPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS 6 |
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| 188 | 188 | | DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘appro-7 |
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| 189 | 189 | | priate committees of Congress’’ means— 8 |
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| 190 | 190 | | (A) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 9 |
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| 191 | 191 | | and the Subcommittee on Military Construc-10 |
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| 192 | 192 | | tion, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies of 11 |
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| 193 | 193 | | the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; 12 |
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| 194 | 194 | | and 13 |
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| 195 | 195 | | (B) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 14 |
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| 196 | 196 | | and the Subcommittee on Military Construc-15 |
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| 197 | 197 | | tion, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies of 16 |
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| 198 | 198 | | the Committee on Appropriations of the House 17 |
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| 199 | 199 | | of Representatives. 18 |
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| 200 | 200 | | (f) S |
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| 201 | 201 | | UPPORTIVESERVICESDEFINED.—In this sec-19 |
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| 202 | 202 | | tion, the term ‘‘supportive services’’ means services that 20 |
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| 203 | 203 | | address the social, emotional, and mental health, career- 21 |
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| 204 | 204 | | readiness, and other needs of children, including— 22 |
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| 205 | 205 | | (1) wellness services, including mental, emo-23 |
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| 206 | 206 | | tional, behavioral, and physical health; 24 |
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| 207 | 207 | | (2) peer-support programs for children; and 25 |
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| 210 | 210 | | •S 701 IS |
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| 211 | 211 | | (3) any other services or activities the Secretary 1 |
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| 212 | 212 | | considers appropriate to support the needs of chil-2 |
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| 213 | 213 | | dren. 3 |
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| 214 | 214 | | SEC. 3. SURVEY OF DISABLED VETERANS AND THEIR FAMI-4 |
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| 215 | 215 | | LIES. 5 |
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| 216 | 216 | | (a) I |
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| 217 | 217 | | NGENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 6 |
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| 218 | 218 | | date of the enactment of this Act, and not less frequently 7 |
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| 219 | 219 | | than once every five years thereafter as the Secretary of 8 |
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| 220 | 220 | | Veterans Affairs determines appropriate, the Secretary 9 |
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| 221 | 221 | | shall conduct a survey of disabled veterans and their fami-10 |
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| 222 | 222 | | lies to identify and better understand the needs of such 11 |
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| 223 | 223 | | disabled veterans and their families. 12 |
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| 224 | 224 | | (b) C |
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| 225 | 225 | | ONTENT.—The survey required under sub-13 |
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| 226 | 226 | | section (a) shall include questions with respect to— 14 |
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| 227 | 227 | | (1) the types and quality of support disabled 15 |
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| 228 | 228 | | veterans receive for their children; and 16 |
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| 229 | 229 | | (2) the unmet needs of such children. 17 |
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| 230 | 230 | | SEC. 4. NONDISCRIMINATION. 18 |
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| 231 | 231 | | The following provisions of law shall apply to any pro-19 |
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| 232 | 232 | | gram or activity that receives funds provided under this 20 |
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| 233 | 233 | | Act: 21 |
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| 234 | 234 | | (1) Title IX of the Education Amendments of 22 |
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| 235 | 235 | | 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.). 23 |
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| 236 | 236 | | (2) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 24 |
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| 237 | 237 | | U.S.C. 2000d et seq.). 25 |
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| 240 | 240 | | •S 701 IS |
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| 241 | 241 | | (3) Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1 |
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| 242 | 242 | | 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794). 2 |
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| 243 | 243 | | (4) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 3 |
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| 244 | 244 | | 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). 4 |
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| 245 | 245 | | (5) The Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (42 5 |
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| 246 | 246 | | U.S.C. 6101 et seq.). 6 |
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| 247 | 247 | | (6) Any other Federal law prohibiting discrimi-7 |
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| 248 | 248 | | nation under an applicable program or activity re-8 |
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| 249 | 249 | | ceiving Federal financial assistance. 9 |
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| 250 | 250 | | Æ |
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