[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2898 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2898

To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide support services for 
    family caregivers of disabled veterans, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 16, 2009

Mrs. Halvorson introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide support services for 
    family caregivers of disabled veterans, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Wounded Warrior Caregiver Assistance 
Act''.

SEC. 2. SUPPORT SERVICES FOR FAMILY CAREGIVERS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 17 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 1786. Support services for family caregivers
    ``(a) Training.--The Secretary shall make available interactive 
training sessions for family caregivers and individuals who provide 
such caregivers support under this chapter or through the aging network 
(including respite care providers, nursing care providers, and 
counselors). Such training shall--
            ``(1) be made available both in person and on an Internet 
        website;
            ``(2) incorporate telehealth technologies to the extent 
        practicable; and
            ``(3) teach techniques, strategies, and skills for caring 
        for a disabled veteran, including, at a minimum, effective 
        methods of--
                    ``(A) caring for a veteran--
                            ``(i) with post-traumatic stress disorder 
                        or a traumatic brain injury; and
                            ``(ii) who was deployed in support of 
                        Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi 
                        Freedom; and
                    ``(B) recording details regarding the health of the 
                veteran.
    ``(b) Access to Support Services.--The Secretary shall provide 
family caregivers with information concerning public, private, and non-
profit agencies that offer support to such caregivers. In providing 
such information, the Secretary shall--
            ``(1) collaborate with the Assistant Secretary for Aging of 
        the Department of Health and Human Services in order to provide 
        family caregivers access to Aging and Disability Resource 
        Centers under the Administration on Aging of the Department of 
        Health and Human Services; and
            ``(2) contract with a private entity to provide family 
        caregivers with an Internet-based service that contains--
                    ``(A) a directory of services available at the 
                county level;
                    ``(B) message boards and other similar tools that 
                provide family caregivers with the ability to interact 
                with each other and disabled veterans for the purpose 
                of fostering peer support and creating support 
                networks; and
                    ``(C) comprehensive information explaining health-
                related topics and issues relevant to the needs of 
                disabled veterans and family caregivers.
    ``(c) Information and Outreach.--The Secretary shall conduct 
outreach to inform disabled veterans and the families of such veterans 
of the services under this section. Such outreach shall include the 
following:
            ``(1) Public service announcements.
            ``(2) Brochures and pamphlets.
            ``(3) Full use of Internet-based outreach methods, 
        including--
                    ``(A) participating on social networking websites;
                    ``(B) methods designed specifically for rural 
                families; and
                    ``(C) establishing a web page on the Internet 
                website of the Department that--
                            ``(i) is dedicated to caregiver support; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) contains interactive elements, 
                        including providing information based on the 
                        location of the person using the web page.
    ``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) The term `aging network' has the meaning given that 
        term in section 102(5) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 
        U.S.C. 3002(5)).
            ``(2) The term `caregiver services' means noninstitutional 
        extended care (as used in section 1701(6) of this title), 
        including homemaker and home health aid services.
            ``(3) The term `family caregiver' means an individual who--
                    ``(A) is a member of the family (including parents, 
                spouses, children, siblings, step-family members, and 
                extended family members) of a disabled veteran;
                    ``(B) provides caregiver services to such veteran 
                for such disability; and
                    ``(C) may or may not reside with such veteran.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 17 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following new item:

``1786. Support services for family caregivers.''.

SEC. 3. COUNSELING AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR FAMILY CAREGIVERS.

    (a) In General.--Section 1782 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in the section heading, by striking ``immediate''; and
            (2) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``; or'' and 
                inserting a semicolon;
                    (B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph 
                (3); and
                    (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following 
                new paragraph (2):
            ``(2) a family caregiver as defined in section 1786 of this 
        title; or''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 17 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking the 
item relating to section 1782 and inserting the following new item:

``1782. Counseling, training, and mental health services for family 
                            members.''.

SEC. 4. RESPITE CARE TO ASSIST FAMILY CAREGIVERS.

    Section 1720B of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``title.'' and inserting 
        ``title or who receives care from a family caregiver as defined 
        in section 1786 of this title.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(d) In furnishing respite care services under this section, the 
Secretary shall ensure that such services--
            ``(1) fulfill the needs of the veteran receiving care; and
            ``(2) are appropriate for the veteran (including by taking 
        the age of the veteran into account when selecting the respite 
        care provided to such veteran).''.
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