1.Program on provision of
readjustment and mental health care services to veterans who served in
operation Iraqi freedom and operation enduring freedom
(a)Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall establish a program to
provide—
(1)to veterans of
Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, particularly veterans
who served in such operations while in the National Guard and the
Reserves—
(A)peer outreach
services;
(B)peer support
services;
(C)readjustment
counseling and services described in section 1712A of title 38, United States
Code; and
(D)mental health
services; and
(2)to members of the
immediate family of such a veteran, during the three-year period beginning on
the date of the return of such veteran from deployment in Operation Iraqi
Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, education, support, counseling, and
mental health services to assist in—
(A)the readjustment
of such veteran to civilian life;
(B)in the case such
veteran has an injury or illness incurred during such deployment, the recovery
of such veteran; and
(C)the readjustment
of the family following the return of such veteran.
(b)Contracts With
Community Mental Health Centers and Qualified Entities for Provision of
ServicesIn carrying out the program required by subsection (a),
the Secretary shall contract with community mental health centers and other
qualified entities to provide the services required by such subsection only in
areas the Secretary determines are not adequately served by other health care
facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Such contracts shall require
each contracting community health center or entity—
(1)to the extent
practicable, to employ veterans trained under subsection (c);
(2)to the extent
practicable, to use telehealth services for the delivery of services required
by subsection (a);
(3)to participate in
the training program conducted in accordance with subsection (d);
(4)to comply with
applicable protocols of the Department of Veterans Affairs before incurring any
liability on behalf of the Department for the provision of the services
required by subsection (a);
(5)to submit annual
reports to the Secretary containing, with respect to the program required by
subsection (a) and for the last full calendar year ending before the submission
of such report—
(A)the number of the
veterans served, veterans diagnosed, and courses of treatment provided to
veterans as part of the program required by subsection (a); and
(B)demographic
information for such services, diagnoses, and courses of treatment;
(6)for each veteran
for whom a community mental health center or other qualified entity provides
mental health services under such contract, to provide the Department of
Veterans Affairs with such clinical summary information as the Secretary shall
require; and
(7)to meet such other
requirements as the Secretary shall require.
(c)Training of
Veterans for the Provision of Peer-Outreach and Peer-Support
ServicesIn carrying out the program required by subsection (a),
the Secretary shall contract with a national not-for-profit mental health
organization to carry out a national program of training for veterans described
in subsection (a) to provide the services described in subparagraphs (A) and
(B) of paragraph (1) of such subsection.
(d)Training of
Clinicians for Provision of ServicesThe Secretary shall conduct
a training program for clinicians of community mental health centers or
entities that have contracts with the Secretary under subsection (b) to ensure
that such clinicians can provide the services required by subsection (a) in a
manner that—
(1)recognizes factors
that are unique to the experience of veterans who served on active duty in
Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom (including the combat and
military training experiences of such veterans); and
(2)uses best
practices and technologies.
(e)
(1)Initial report
on plan for implementationNot later than 45 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on
Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the
House of Representatives a report containing the plans of the Secretary to
implement the program required by subsection (a).
(2)Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of
the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of
Representatives a report on the implementation of the program. Such report
shall include the following:
(A)Information on the
number of veterans who received services as part of the program and the type of
services received during the last full calendar year completed before the
submission of such report.
(B)An evaluation of
the provision of services under paragraph (2) of subsection (a) and a
recommendation as to whether the period described in such paragraph should be
extended to a five-year period.
(C)An evaluation of the provision of services
under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (a)(1), including a list of each
national not-for-profit mental health organization that provides such services
pursuant to subsection (c).
(D)An evaluation of
the training provided under subsection (d).