1.This Act may be cited as the
Heroes at Home Act of
2006
.
2.Responsibilities of
Task Force on Mental Health on transition to civilian life of members of the
National Guard and Reserve returning from deployment in Operation Iraqi Freedom
and Operation Enduring Freedom
(a)Section 723 of the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 (Public Law 109–163;
119 Stat. 3348) is amended—
(1)by redesignating subsections (d), (e), (f),
and (g) as subsections (e), (f), (g), and (h), respectively; and
(2)by inserting after subsection (c) the
following new subsection (d):
(d)Assessment and
recommendations on transition to civilian life of members of national guard and
reserve returning from deployment in operation iraqi freedom and enduring
freedom
(1)In addition to the
activities required under subsection (c), the task force shall, not later than
12 months after the date of the enactment of the Heroes at Home Act of 2006,
submit to the Secretary a report containing an assessment of, and
recommendations for improving, assistance to members of the National Guard and
Reserve returning from deployment in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation
Enduring Freedom, and their families, in transitioning to civilian employment
upon their return from such deployment, including—
(A)members who were self-employed before
deployment and seek to return to such employment after deployment;
(B)members who were students before deployment
and seek to return to school or commence employment after deployment;
(C)members who have experienced multiple
recent deployments; and
(D)members who have been wounded or injured
during deployment.
(2)In conducting the
assessment and making the recommendations required by paragraph (1), the task
force shall utilize the assistance of a working group that consists of
individuals selected by the task force from among individuals as
follows:
(A)With the concurrence of the Administrator
of the Small Business Administration, personnel of the Small Business
Administration.
(B)Representatives of employers who employ
members of the National Guard and Reserve described in paragraph (1) on their
return to civilian life as described in that paragraph.
(C)Representatives of employee assistance
organizations.
(D)Representatives of associations of
employers.
(E)Representatives of organizations that
assist wounded or injured members of the National Guard and Reserves in finding
or sustaining employment.
(F)Representatives of such other public or
private organizations and entities as the co-chairs of the task force, in
consultation with the members of the task force, consider appropriate.
(3)The report required
by paragraph (1) shall include recommendations on the following:
(A)The provision of outreach and training to
employers, employment assistance organizations, and associations of employers
on the employment, readjustment, and mental health needs of members of the
National Guard and Reserve described in paragraph (1) upon their return from
deployment as described in that paragraph.
(B)The provision of outreach and training to
employers, employment assistance organizations, and associations of employers
on the needs of family members of such members.
(C)The improvement of collaboration between
the pubic and private sectors in order to ensure the successful transition of
such members into civilian employment upon their return from such
deployment.
(4)In the period between
the submittal of the report required by paragraph (1) and the termination of
the task force under subsection (h), the task force (including the working
group established under paragraph (2)) shall serve as an advisor to the
Assistance Center for Employers and Employment Assistance Organizations
established under section 3 of the Heroes at Home Act of 2006.
(5)Employment
assistance organization definedIn this subsection, the term
employment assistance organization
means an organization or
entity, whether public or private, that provides assistance to individuals in
finding or retaining employment, including organizations and entities under
military career support
programs.
.
(b)Subsection (f) of such section, as
redesignated by subsection (a)(1) of this section, is further amended—
(1)in the subsection heading, by striking
Report
and inserting
Reports
;
(2)by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the
following new paragraph (1):
(1)The report submitted
to the Secretary under each of subsections (c) and (d) shall include—
(A)a description of the activities of the task
force under such subsection;
(B)the assessment and recommendations required
by such subsection; and
(C)such other matters relating to the
activities of the task force under such subsection as the task force considers
appropriate.
;
and
(3)in paragraph (2)—
(A)by striking the report under
paragraph (1)
and inserting a report under paragraph
(1)
; and
(B)by striking the report as
and inserting such report as
.
(c)Subsection (g) of
such section, as redesignated by subsection (a)(1) of this section, is further
amended—
(1)by striking the report from the task
force under subsection (e)(1)
and inserting a report from the
task force under subsection (f)(1)
; and
(2)by inserting contained in such
report
after the task force
the second place it
appears.
(d)Subsection (h) of such section, as
redesignated by subsection (a)(1) of this section, is further amended—
(1)by inserting with respect to the
assessment and recommendations required by subsection (d)
after
the task force
; and
(2)by striking subsection
(e)(2)
and inserting subsection (f)(2)
.
3.Assistance Center for
Employers and Employment Assistance Organizations
(a)
(1)The Secretary of
Defense shall establish an office to assist employers, employment assistance
organizations, and associations of employers in facilitating the successful
transition to civilian employment of members of the National Guard and Reserve
returning from deployment in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring
Freedom.
(2)The office established under this
subsection shall be known as the Assistance Center for Employers and
Employment Assistance Organizations
(in this section referred to as the
Center
).
(3)The Secretary shall designate an individual
to act as the head of the Center.
(4)In establishing the Center, the Secretary
shall ensure close communication between the Center and the military
departments, including the commands of the reserve components of the Armed
Forces.
(b)The Center shall have the following
functions:
(1)To provide education and technical
assistance to employers, employment assistance organizations, and associations
of employers to assist them in facilitating the successful transition to
civilian employment of members of the National Guard and Reserve described in
subsection (a) on their return from deployment as described in that
subsection.
(2)To provide education and technical
assistance to employers, employment assistance organizations, and associations
of employers to assist them in facilitating the successful adjustment of family
members of the National Guard and Reserve to the deployment and return from
deployment of members of the National Guard and Reserve as described in that
subsection.
(c)
(1)In carrying out the
functions specified in subsection (b), the Center shall provide employers,
employment assistance organizations, and associations of employers resources,
services, and assistance that include the following:
(A)Guidelines on best practices and effective
strategies.
(B)Education on the physical and mental health
difficulties that can and may be experienced by members of the National Guard
and Reserve described in subsection (a) on their return from deployment as
described in that subsection in transitioning to civilian employment, including
difficulties arising from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and traumatic
brain injury (TBI), including education on—
(i)the detection of warning signs of such
difficulties;
(ii)the medical, mental health, and employment
services available to such members, including materials on services offered by
the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs (including
through the vet center program under section 1712A of title 38, United States
Code), the Department of Labor, military support programs, and community mental
health clinics; and
(iii)the mechanisms for referring such members
for services described in clause (ii) and for other medical and mental health
screening and care when appropriate.
(C)Education on the range and types of
potential physical and mental health effects of deployment and post-deployment
adjustment on family members of members of the National Guard and Reserve
described in subsection (a), including education on—
(i)the detection of warning signs on such
effects on family members of members of the National Guard and Reserves;
(ii)the medical, mental health, and employment
services available to such family members, including materials on such services
as described in subparagraph (B)(ii); and
(iii)mechanisms for referring such family
members for services described in clause (ii) and for medical and mental health
screening and care when appropriate.
(D)Education on mechanisms, strategies, and
resources for accommodating and employing wounded or injured members of the
National Guard and Reserves in work settings.
(2)The Center shall
make resources, services, and assistance available under this subsection
through such mechanisms as the head of the Center considers appropriate,
including the Internet, video conferencing, telephone services, workshops,
trainings, presentations, group forums, and other mechanisms.
(d)Personnel and
other resourcesThe Secretary
of Defense shall assign to the Center such personnel, funding, and other
resources as are required to ensure the effective discharge by the Center of
the functions under subsection (b).
(e)
(1)Not later than one
year after the establishment of the Center, and annually thereafter, the head
of the Center, in consultation with the Department of Defense Task Force on
Mental Health (while in effect), shall submit to the Secretary of Defense a
written report on the progress and outcomes of the Center during the one-year
period ending on the date of such report.
(2)Not later than 60
days after receipt of a report under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall
transmit such report to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the
House of Representatives, together with—
(A)such comments on such report, and such
assessment of the effectiveness of the Center, as the Secretary considers
appropriate; and
(B)such recommendations on means of improving
the effectiveness of the Center as the Secretary considers appropriate.
(3)The Secretary shall
take appropriate actions to make each report under paragraph (2) available to
the public, including through the Internet website of the Center.
(f)In this section:
(1)Employment
assistance organizationThe
term employment assistance organization
means an organization or
entity, whether public or private, that provides assistance to individuals in
finding or retaining employment, including organizations and entities under
military career support programs.
(2)Department of
defense task force on mental healthThe term Department of Defense Task
Force on Mental Health means the Department of Defense Task Force on
Mental Health established under section 723 of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006, as amended by section 2 of this
Act.
(g)Authorization
of appropriationsThere is
authorized to be appropriated to the Department of Defense to carry out this
section amounts as follows:
(1)For fiscal year 2007, $5,000,000.
(2)For each of fiscal years 2008 through 2011,
such sums as may be necessary.
4.Grants on assistance
in community-based settings for members of the National Guard and Reserve and
their families after deployment in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation
Enduring Freedom
(a)The Secretary of
Defense may award grants to eligible entities to carry out demonstration
projects to assess the feasibility and advisability of utilizing
community-based settings for the provision of assistance to members of the
National Guard and Reserve who serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation
Enduring Freedom, and their families, after the return of such members from
deployment in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom, as the
case may be, including—
(1)services to improve the reuniting of such
members of the National Guard and Reserve and their families;
(2)education to increase awareness of the
physical and mental health difficulties that members of the National Guard and
Reserve can and may experience on their return from such deployment, including
education on—
(A)Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and
traumatic brain injury (TBI); and
(B)mechanisms for the referral of such members
of the National Guard and Reserve for medical and mental health screening and
care when necessary; and
(3)education to increase awareness of the
physical and mental health difficulties that family members of such members of
the National Guard and Reserve can and may experience on the return of such
members from such deployment, including education on—
(A)depression, anxiety, and relationship
problems; and
(B)mechanisms for medical and mental health
screening and care when appropriate.
(b)An entity eligible
for the award of a grant under this section is any public or private non-profit
organization, such as a community mental health clinic, family support
organization, military support organization, law enforcement agency, community
college, or public school.
(c)An eligible entity seeking a grant under
this section shall submit to the Secretary of Defense an application therefor
in such manner, and containing such information, as the Secretary may require
for purposes of this section, including a description of how such entity will
work with the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, State
health agencies, other appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies, family
support organizations, and other community organization in undertaking
activities described in subsection (a).
(d)Annual reports
by grant recipientsAn entity
awarded a grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary of Defense on
an annual basis a report on the activities undertaken by such entity during the
preceding year utilizing amounts under the grant. Each report shall include
such information as the Secretary shall specify for purposes of this
subsection.
(e)Annual reports
to congress
(1)Not later than one
year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the
Secretary of Defense shall submit to Congress a report on activities undertaken
under the grants awarded under this section. The report shall include
recommendations for legislative, programmatic, or administrative action to
improve or enhance activities under the grants awarded under this
section.
(2)The Secretary shall
take appropriate actions to make each report under this subsection available to
the public.
5.Longitudinal study on
traumatic brain injury incurred by members of the Armed Forces in Operation
Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom
(a)The Secretary of
Defense shall, in consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, provide
for a longitudinal study on the effects of traumatic brain injury incurred by
members of the Armed Forces in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring
Freedom. The duration of the longitudinal study shall be 15 years.
(b)Selection of
entity for conduct of studyThe Secretary of Defense shall, in
consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, select an entity to
conduct the study required by subsection (a) from among private organizations
or entities qualified to conduct the study.
(c)The study required by subsection (a) shall
address the following:
(1)The long-term effects of traumatic brain
injury on the overall readiness of the Armed Forces.
(2)Mechanisms for improving body armor and
helmets in order to protect members of the Armed Forces from sustaining
traumatic brain injuries.
(3)The long-term physical and mental health
consequences of traumatic brain injuries incurred by members of the Armed
Forces during service in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring
Freedom.
(4)The health care, mental health care, and
rehabilitation needs of such members for such injuries after the completion of
inpatient treatment through the Department of Defense, the Department of
Veterans Affairs, or both.
(5)The type and availability of long-term care
rehabilitation programs and services within and outside the Department of
Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs for such members for such
injuries, including community-based programs and services and in-home programs
and services.
(d)
(1)Periodic and
final reportsAfter the
third, seventh, eleventh, and fifteenth years of the study required by
subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense shall, in consultation with the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs, submit to the appropriate elements of the
Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs, and to Congress,
a comprehensive report on the results of the study during the preceding years.
Each report shall include the following:
(A)Current information on the cumulative
outcomes of the study.
(B)In the case of a report to elements of the
Department of Defense—
(i)such recommendations as the Secretary of
Defense considers appropriate for programmatic and administrative action to
improve body armor and helmets to protect members of the Armed Forces from
sustaining traumatic brain injuries; and
(ii)such other recommendations as the Secretary
considers appropriate based on the outcomes of the study.
(C)In the case of a report to elements of the
Department of Veterans Affairs—
(i)such recommendations as the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs considers appropriate for programmatic and administrative
action to improve long-term care and rehabilitative programs and services for
members of the Armed Forces with traumatic brain injury; and
(ii)such other recommendations as the Secretary
considers appropriate based on the outcomes of the study.
(D)In the case of a report to Congress—
(i)such recommendations as the Secretary of
Defense considers appropriate for legislative action to improve body armor and
helmets to protect members of the Armed Forces from sustaining traumatic brain
injuries;
(ii)such recommendations as the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs considers appropriate for legislative action to improve
long-term care and rehabilitative programs and services for members of the
Armed Forces with traumatic brain injury; and
(iii)such other recommendations as the Secretary
of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs jointly consider appropriate
based on the outcomes of the study.
(2)The Secretary of
Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall jointly take appropriate
actions to make each report under this subsection available to the
public.
(e)Authorization
of appropriationsThere is
authorized to be appropriated to the Department of Defense to carry out this
section amounts as follows:
(1)For fiscal year 2007, $5,000,000.
(2)For each of fiscal years 2008 through 2013,
such sums as may be necessary.
6.Training curricula for
family caregivers on care and assistance for members and former members of the
Armed Forces with traumatic brain injury incurred in Operation Iraqi Freedom
and Operation Enduring Freedom
(a)Traumatic brain
injury family caregiver panel
(1)The Secretary of Defense shall, in
consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, establish within the
Department of Defense a panel to develop coordinated, uniform, and consistent
training curricula to be used in training family members in the provision of
care and assistance to members and former members of the Armed Forces for
traumatic brain injuries incurred during service in the Armed Forces in
Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom.
(2)The panel established
under paragraph (1) shall be known as the Traumatic Brain Injury Family
Caregiver Panel
.
(3)The Traumatic Brain Injury Family Caregiver
Panel established under paragraph (1) shall consist of 15 members appointed by
the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs, equally represented from among—
(A)physicians, nurses, rehabilitation
therapists, and other individuals with an expertise in caring for and assisting
individuals with traumatic brain injury, including those who specialize in
caring for and assisting individuals with traumatic brain injury incurred in
war;
(B)representatives of family caregivers or
family caregiver associations;
(C)Department of Defense and Department of
Veterans Affairs health and medical personnel with expertise in traumatic brain
injury, and Department of Defense personnel and readiness representatives with
expertise in traumatic brain injury;
(D)representatives of military service
organizations who specialize in matters relating to disabled veterans;
(E)representatives of veterans service
organizations who specialize in matters relating to disabled veterans;
(F)psychologists or other individuals with
expertise in the mental health treatment and care of individuals with traumatic
brain injury;
(G)experts in the development of training
curricula;
(H)researchers and academicians who study
traumatic brain injury; and
(I)any other individuals the Secretary
considers appropriate.
(4)The Traumatic Brain Injury Family Caregiver
Panel shall meet not less than monthly.
(b)
(1)The Traumatic Brain
Injury Family Caregiver Panel shall develop training curricula to be utilized
during the provision of training to family members of members and former
members of the Armed Forces described in subsection (a) on techniques,
strategies, and skills for care and assistance for such members and former
members with the traumatic brain injuries described in that subsection.
(2)The curricula
shall—
(A)be based on empirical research and
validated techniques; and
(B)shall provide for training that permits
recipients to tailor caregiving to the unique circumstances of the member or
former member of the Armed Forces receiving care.
(3)In developing
the curricula, the Traumatic Brain Injury Family Caregiver Panel shall—
(A)specify appropriate training commensurate
with the severity of traumatic brain injury; and
(B)identify appropriate care and assistance to
be provided for the degree of severity of traumatic brain injury for caregivers
of various levels of skill and capability.
(4)Use of existing
materialsIn developing the
curricula, the Traumatic Brain Injury Family Caregiver Panel shall utilize and
enhance any existing training curricular, materials, and resources applicable
to such curricula as the Panel considers appropriate.
(5)In developing the curricula, the Traumatic
Brain Injury Family Caregiver Panel shall consult with the Army Reserve Forces
Policy Committee, as appropriate.
(6)The Traumatic
Brain Injury Family Caregiver Panel shall develop the curricula not later than
one year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(c)Dissemination
of curricula
(1)The Secretary of
Defense shall, in consultation with the Traumatic Brain Injury Family Caregiver
Panel, develop mechanisms for the dissemination of the curricula developed
under subsection (b) to health care professionals referred to in paragraph (2)
who treat or otherwise work with members and former members of the Armed Forces
with traumatic brain injury incurred in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation
Enduring Freedom. In developing such mechanisms, the Secretary may utilize and
enhance existing mechanisms, including the Military Severely Injured
Center.
(2)Health care
professionalsThe health care
professionals referred to in this paragraph are the following:
(A)Personnel at military medical treatment
facilities.
(B)Personnel at the polytrauma centers of the
Department of Veterans Affairs.
(C)Personnel and care managers at the Military
Severely Injured Center.
(D)Such other health care professionals of the
Department of Defense as the Secretary considers appropriate.
(E)Such other health care professionals of the
Department of Veterans Affairs as the Secretary of Defense, in consultation
with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, considers appropriate.
(3)The mechanisms developed under paragraph
(1) shall include the provision of refresher training in the curricula
developed under subsection (a) for the health care professional referred to in
paragraph (2) not less often than once every six months.
(4)Provision of
training to family caregivers
(A)Health care
professionals referred to in paragraph (2) who are trained in the curricula
developed under subsection (b) shall provide training to family members of
members and former members of the Armed Forces who incur traumatic brain
injuries during service in the Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring
Freedom in the care and assistance to be provided for such injuries.
(B)Training under this
paragraph shall, to the extent practicable, be provided to family members while
the member or former member concerned is undergoing treatment at a facility of
the Department of Defense or Department of Veterans Affairs, as applicable, in
order to ensure that such family members receive practice on the provision of
such care and assistance under the guidance of qualified health
professionals.
(C)Training provided
under this paragraph to family members of a particular member or former member
shall be tailored to the particular care needs of such member or former member
and the particular caregiving needs of such family members.
(5)The Secretary shall
develop mechanisms to ensure quality in the provision of training under this
section to health care professionals referred to in paragraph (2) and in the
provision of such training under paragraph (4) by such health care
professionals.
(6)Not later than one year after the
development of the curricula required by subsection (b), and annually
thereafter, the Traumatic Brain Injury Family Caregiver Training Panel shall
submit to the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and
to Congress, a report on the following:
(A)The actions undertaken under this
subsection.
(B)The results of the tracking of outcomes
based on training developed and provided under this section.
(C)Recommendations for the improvement of
training developed and provided under this section.
(d)Authorization
of appropriationsThere is
authorized to be appropriated to the Department of Defense to carry out this
section amounts as follows:
(1)For fiscal year 2007, $5,000,000.
(2)For each of fiscal years 2008 through 2011,
such sums as may be necessary.