1.This Act may be cited as
the National Guard and Reserve Mental
Health Access Act of 2008
.
2.Implementation
of Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program for members of the National Guard and
Reserve
(a)Deadline for
implementationThe Secretary
of Defense shall establish the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program for members
of the National Guard and Reserve and their families required by section 582 of
the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Public Law
110–181; 122 Stat. 122; 10 U.S.C. 10101 note) by not later than 180 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b)Report on
implementation of program
(1)Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness shall
submit to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on
Armed Services of the House of Representatives a report on the implementation
of the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program.
(2)The
report required by paragraph (1) shall include the following:
(A)A description and
assessment of the implementation of the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program as
of the date of the report.
(B)Such
recommendations as the Under Secretary considers appropriate for legislative or
administration action to improve the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration
Program.
(C)A description of
any additional resources required to assure the full implementation of the
Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program.
3.Joint
Psychological Health Program
(a)
(1)The Secretary of Defense shall, acting through the Chief
of the National Guard Bureau, carry out a program for the purposes as
follows:
(A)To improve access
to psychological health care and services for members of the National Guard and
their families.
(B)To improve
coordination among the components of the Department of Defense in the provision
of psychological health care to members of the National Guard during their
transition from active duty in the Armed Forces to civilian life.
(C)To coordinate and
oversee efforts of the Department of Defense to assist members of the National
Guard with mental illness and members of the National Guard with Traumatic
Brain Injury (TBI) post-deployment.
(2)The program under this section shall be known as the
Joint Psychological Health Program
(in this section referred to
as the Program
).
(b)Directors of
Psychological Health
(1)In carrying out the Program, the Chief of the National
Guard Bureau shall assign within the National Guard Bureau two individuals to
positions as follows:
(A)Director of
Psychological Health of the Army National Guard of the United States.
(B)Director of
Psychological Health of the Air National Guard of the United States.
(2)Each
individual assigned to a position under paragraph (1) shall have such
qualifications and expertise as the Chief of the National Guard Bureau
considers appropriate for such position.
(3)A
Director of Psychological Health under paragraph (1) shall carry out such
duties with respect to the component of the National Guard concerned as are
provided by law or by the Chief of the National Guard Bureau.
(c)
(1)State networks
of psychological health professionalsThe Program shall consist
of a network of psychological health professionals in each State and Territory,
the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in order to carry
out programs and activities for the purposes of the Program.
(2)
(A)Each network of psychological health professionals
established pursuant to paragraph (1) for a State or Territory, the District of
Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall be overseen and coordinated
for the purposes of the Program by a Director who shall be selected by the
Chief of the National Guard Bureau from among individuals who meet such
psychology licensure or certification requirements as the Chief of the National
Guard Bureau considers appropriate.
(B)An individual selected to serve as a Director under
paragraph (1) shall serve as a Director pursuant to a contract entered into by
such individual for purposes of the Program.
(C)Each
Director under this paragraph shall have the duties as follows:
(i)To
coordinate and oversee programs and activities under the Program in the
jurisdiction concerned.
(ii)To
work with applicable Federal, State, and community agencies to develop and
implement a comprehensive plan for responding to the psychological needs of
members of the National Guard and their families for the purposes of the
Program.
(iii)To develop,
coordinate, and oversee programs and activities to inform members of the
National Guard and their families on how to access behavioral health
services.
(iv)To
develop, coordinate, and oversee programs and activities of education and
training for leadership of the National Guard on matters relating to the
psychological health of members of the National Guard.
(v)To
develop, coordinate, and oversee programs and activities to assist members of
the National Guard and their families in building psychological fitness and
resilience while dispelling the stigma associated with seeking and obtaining
mental health services.
(vi)To
develop, coordinate, and oversee programs and activities to coordinate
psychological care for members of the National Guard during their transition
from Warrior Transitions Units (WTUs) to their local communities.
(vii)To improve
access of members of the National Guard and their families to psychological
care through coordination with appropriate State agencies and community-based
behavioral health services providers.
(viii)To develop and
implement assessments of the resource needs of community-based behavior health
service providers in order to provide members of the National Guard and their
families with the behavioral health services they require.
(ix)To
coordinate with other psychological health components of and for the reserve
components of the Armed Forces.
(x)To
coordinate and oversee implementation of other Department of Defense
initiatives to ensure that members of the National Guard and their families are
aware of and informed about the psychological health initiatives of the
Department of Defense.
(xi)To
participate in national and regional work groups developing programs and
activities to address the psychological needs of members of the National Guard
and their families.
(xii)To conduct
outreach to and education for families of members of the National Guard on
recognition of mental health problems, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD) and other mental health problems, in members of the National
Guard.
(3)National Guard
Psychological Health Council
(A)The Chief of the National Guard Bureau shall establish
for the purposes of the Program a council to be known as the National
Guard Psychological Health Council
.
(B)The
members of the National Guard Psychological Health Council shall be the
Directors of Psychological Health assigned under subsection (b) and the
Directors of Psychological Health under paragraph (2).
(C)The
National Guard Psychological Health Council may carry out its duties on a
national or regional basis as considered appropriate by the Council.
(D)The
National Guard Psychological Health Council shall have the following
duties:
(i)To
oversee and coordinate the development of the Program and any programs and
activities to be carried out under the Program.
(ii)To
ensure consistency nationally in the programs and activities to be carried out
under the Program.
(iii)To act as
advisors to the Chief of the National Guard Bureau for all matters relating to
the psychological needs of members of the National Guard and their
families.
(iv)To
ensure the dissemination of best practices in behavioral health care services
to providers of behavioral health care services to members of the National
Guard and their families.
(v)To
develop uniform standards for measuring success in the provision of behavioral
health care services to members of the National Guard and their
families.
(4)
(A)The National Guard Bureau and the Department of Defense
shall work collaboratively in implementing and carrying out the Program.
(B)In carrying out programs and activities under the
Program, the Directors of Psychological Health assigned under subsection (b)
and the Directors of Psychological Health under paragraph (2) shall work with
the following:
(i)The
Department of Veterans Affairs.
(ii)The Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the Department of Health and
Human Services.
(iii)Appropriate
State agencies, including State mental health agencies and State veterans
agencies.
(d)In this section, the term Territory has the
meaning given that term in section 101(1) of title 32, United States
Code.
(e)Authorization
of appropriationsThere is hereby authorized to be appropriated
for the Department of Defense for fiscal year 2009 for operation and
maintenance, $8,035,000, which shall be available for the Joint Psychological
Health Program under this section in that fiscal year.
4.Pilot programs
on pre-deployment and post-deployment telemental health services for members of
the National Guard and Reserve
(a)
(1)The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs shall jointly carry out one or more pilot programs on the provision of
mental health services to members of the National Guard and Reserve, both
before and after deployment, through telemental health technologies in order to
assess the feasability and advisability of utilizing of such technologies for
the provision of mental health services to members of the National Guard and
Reserve both before and after deployment.
(2)Discharge with
respect to national guardEach pilot program carried out under
this section with respect to members of the National Guard shall be carried out
in consultation with the Chief of the National Guard Bureau.
(3)The
Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall carry out the
pilot programs in coordination with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration of the Department of Health and Human Services and such
other departments and agencies of the Federal Government as the Secretaries
consider appropriate to assure quality in the provision of mental health
services to members of the National Guard and Reserve under the pilot
programs.
(b)
(1)
(A)The pilot programs under this section shall be carried
out in such location or locations as the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary
of Veterans Affairs shall jointly select.
(B)Emphasis on
services to members in rural areasIn selecting locations for
pilot programs, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
shall afford an emphasis to locations in which services under the pilot
programs are provided to members of the National Guard and Reserve residing in
a rural area.
(2)Utilization of
evidence-based practicesEach pilot program under this section
shall utilize telemental health technologies that have proven effective in the
provision of mental health services to members of the Armed Forces.
(c)
(1)Not later than one year after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
shall jointly submit to Congress a report on the pilot programs carried out
under this section.
(2)The
report under paragraph (1) shall including a description of each pilot program
carried out under this section, including—
(A)the types of
mental health services provided;
(B)the types of
telemental health technologies utilized in providing such services;
(C)the number of
members of the National Guard and Reserve provided such services; and
(D)the outcomes for
members of the National Guard and Reserve in receiving such services.
(d)Authorization
of appropriationsThere is hereby authorized to be appropriated
for the Department of Defense for fiscal year 2009 for operation and
maintenance, $2,005,000, to carry out pilot programs under this section in such
fiscal year.
5.Anti-stigma
campaign regarding mental health services among members of the National Guard
and Reserve returning from deployment and their families
(a)
(1)The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs shall jointly carry out a program of outreach intended to reduce the
stigma among members of the National Guard and Reserve returning from
deployment, and their families, associated with seeking and obtaining mental
health services.
(2)Discharge with
respect to national guardThe campaign carried out under this
section with respect to members of the National Guard shall be carried out in
consultation with the Chief of the National Guard Bureau.
(3)The
Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall carry out the
campaign in coordination with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration of the Department of Health and Human Services.
(b)In
carrying out the campaign required by this section, the Secretary of Defense
and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall carry out such programs and
activities (including the award of contracts, grants, and cooperative
agreements with appropriate entities) as the Secretaries consider appropriate
to reduce the stigma among members of the National Guard and Reserve returning
from deployment, and their families, associated with seeking and obtaining
mental health services.
(c)Authorization
of appropriationsThere is hereby authorized to be appropriated
for fiscal year 2009, $2,000,000, to carry out this section.