[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1843 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1843

   To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a pilot 
    program to improve access to supportive services and community 
            coordination for families of disabled veterans.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 16, 2015

    Mrs. Lawrence (for herself and Ms. Jackson Lee) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a pilot 
    program to improve access to supportive services and community 
            coordination for families of disabled veterans.

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

SECTION 1. PILOT PROGRAM FOR GREATER DIRECT ACCESS TO SUPPORTIVE 
              SERVICES AND COMMUNITY COORDINATION FOR DISABLED VETERANS 
              FAMILIES.

    (a) In General.--Commencing not later than 180 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) 
shall carry out a three year pilot program with community partners to 
provide intensive community care coordination and supportive services 
to disabled veteran families who lack access to VA or other direct 
wellness services.
    (b) Agreements With Community Partners.--In carrying out the pilot 
program authorized by subsection (a), the Secretary shall enter into 
partnership agreements with community partners described in subsection 
(d) using a competitive and merit-based award process for individual 
grants and for multi-service site grants to test service delivery 
efficiencies and generate best practices.
    (c) Community Care Coordination and Supportive Services.--The 
focused community care coordination and supportive services referred to 
in subsection (a) are the following:
            (1) Services provided by a community partner to improve the 
        well-being and address the needs of disabled veteran families 
        who otherwise lack access to adequate VA or other direct 
        wellness services. Such assistance and services may include the 
        following:
                    (A) Care coordination and case management services.
                    (B) Outreach services.
                    (C) Assistance in obtaining any benefits from the 
                VA which the veteran may be eligible to receive, 
                including, but not limited to, vocational and 
                rehabilitation counseling, employment and training 
                service, educational assistance, and health care 
                services.
                    (D) Assistance in obtaining and coordinating the 
                provision of other public benefits provided in federal, 
                state or local agencies or other community partners, 
                defined in subsection (d), including--
                            (i) marriage counseling;
                            (ii) services for children;
                            (iii) suicide prevention;
                            (iv) substance abuse awareness and 
                        treatment;
                            (v) mental health awareness and treatment;
                            (vi) financial counseling;
                            (vii) anger management counseling;
                            (viii) domestic violence awareness and 
                        prevention;
                            (ix) employment assistance;
                            (x) transportation services;
                            (xi) child care;
                            (xii) housing counseling;
                            (xiii) preparing and updating family care 
                        plans;
                            (xiv) development of strategies for living 
                        with a veteran with post-traumatic stress 
                        disorder or traumatic brain injury;
                            (xv) accessing emergency financial 
                        assistance through philanthropic efforts; and
                            (xvi) other services that are deemed 
                        appropriate to improve the well-being and 
                        address the unique needs of disabled veteran's 
                        families who lack access to adequate VA or 
                        other direct wellness services and supports.
                    (E) Providing direct services, described in 
                subparagraph (D), that are necessary to improve the 
                well-being and address the needs of the disabled 
                veteran families but are otherwise unavailable through 
                existing public or private programs.
    (d) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``community partner'' is a private nonprofit 
        organization.
            (2) The term ``disabled veteran'' is as defined a United 
        States citizen or United States national with an honorable 
        discharge from the United States Armed Forces; and is entitled 
        to disability compensation (or who but for the receipt of 
        military retired pay would be entitled to disability 
        compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of 
        Veterans Affairs, or was discharged or released from active 
        duty because of a service-connected disability.
            (3) The term ``family'' is defined as a dependent of the 
        disabled veteran.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Department of Veterans Affairs $2,500,000 for each 
fiscal year to carry out the pilot program authorized by this section.
    (f) Report.--Not later than 180 days before the completion of the 
pilot program, 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 results of the pilot program, 
including the number of disabled veteran families served and service 
linkages or referrals and a description and assessment of the 
effectiveness and achievements of the pilot program with respect to 
services and treatments and mitigation of risks, including 
homelessness, unemployment and suicide as well as recommended best 
practices for improving access to supportive services and coordination 
of care for disabled veteran families.
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