    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 132, 115th Congress, 2nd Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    Public Law 115-119
    115th Congress

    An Act

    To provide for the establishment and maintenance of a Family Caregiving
    Strategy, 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 ``Recognize, Assist, Include, Support,
    and Engage Family Caregivers Act of 2017'' or the ``RAISE Family
    Caregivers Act''.
    SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
    (1) Advisory council.--The term ``Advisory Council'' means
    the Family Caregiving Advisory Council convened under section 4.
    (2) Family caregiver.--The term ``family caregiver'' means
    an adult family member or other individual who has a significant
    relationship with, and who provides a broad range of assistance
    to, an individual with a chronic or other health condition,
    disability, or functional limitation.
    (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
    of Health and Human Services.
    (4) Strategy.--The term ``Strategy'' means the Family
    Caregiving Strategy set forth under section 3.
    SEC. 3. FAMILY CAREGIVING STRATEGY.

    (a) <>  In
    General.--The Secretary, in consultation with the heads of other
    appropriate Federal agencies, shall develop jointly with the Advisory
    Council and submit to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
    Pensions and the Special Committee on Aging of the Senate, the Committee
    on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives, and the
    State agencies responsible for carrying out family caregiver programs,
    and make publicly available on the internet website of the Department of
    Health and Human Services, a Family Caregiving Strategy.

    (b) Contents.--The Strategy shall identify recommended actions that
    Federal (under existing Federal programs), State, and local governments,
    communities, health care providers, long-term services and supports
    providers, and others are taking, or may take, to recognize and support
    family caregivers in a manner that reflects their diverse needs,
    including with respect to the following:
    (1) Promoting greater adoption of person- and family-
    centered care in all health and long-term services and supports
    settings, with the person receiving services and supports and

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    the family caregiver (as appropriate) at the center of care
    teams.
    (2) Assessment and service planning (including care
    transitions and coordination) involving family caregivers and
    care recipients.
    (3) Information, education and training supports, referral,
    and care coordination, including with respect to hospice care,
    palliative care, and advance planning services.
    (4) Respite options.
    (5) Financial security and workplace issues.
    (6) Delivering services based on the performance, mission,
    and purpose of a program while eliminating redundancies.

    (c) Duties of the Secretary.--The Secretary, in carrying out
    subsection (a), shall oversee the following:
    (1) Collecting and making publicly available information
    submitted by the Advisory Council under section 4(d) to the
    Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the
    Special Committee on Aging of the Senate, the Committee on
    Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives, and
    the State agencies responsible for carrying out family caregiver
    programs, including evidence-based or promising practices and
    innovative models (both domestic and foreign) regarding the
    provision of care by family caregivers or support for family
    caregivers.
    (2) Coordinating and assessing existing Federal Government
    programs and activities to recognize and support family
    caregivers while ensuring maximum effectiveness and avoiding
    unnecessary duplication.
    (3) Providing technical assistance, as appropriate, such as
    disseminating identified best practices and information sharing
    based on reports provided under section 4(d), to State or local
    efforts to support family caregivers.

    (d) <>  Initial Strategy; Updates.--The
    Secretary shall--
    (1) <>  not later than 18 months after the
    date of enactment of this Act, develop, publish, and submit to
    the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the
    Special Committee on Aging of the Senate, the Committee on
    Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives, and
    the State agencies responsible for carrying out family caregiver
    programs, an initial Strategy incorporating the items addressed
    in the Advisory Council's initial report under section 4(d) and
    other relevant information, including best practices, for
    recognizing and supporting family caregivers; and
    (2) biennially update, republish, and submit to the
    Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the
    Special Committee on Aging of the Senate, the Committee on
    Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives, and
    the State agencies responsible for carrying out family caregiver
    programs the Strategy, taking into account the most recent
    annual report submitted under section 4(d)(1)--
    (A) to reflect new developments, challenges,
    opportunities, and solutions; and
    (B) to review progress based on recommendations for
    recognizing and supporting family caregivers in the
    Strategy and, based on the results of such review,
    recommend priority actions for improving the
    implementation of such recommendations, as appropriate.

    [[Page 25]]

    (e) <>  Process for Public Input.--The
    Secretary shall establish a process for public input to inform the
    development of, and updates to, the Strategy, including a process for
    the public to submit recommendations to the Advisory Council and an
    opportunity for public comment on the proposed Strategy.

    (f) No Preemption.--Nothing in this Act preempts any authority of a
    State or local government to recognize or support family caregivers.
    (g) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed to
    permit the Secretary (through regulation, guidance, grant criteria, or
    otherwise) to--
    (1) mandate, direct, or control the allocation of State or
    local resources;
    (2) mandate the use of any of the best practices identified
    in the reports required under this Act; or
    (3) otherwise expand the authority of the Secretary beyond
    that expressly provided to the Secretary in this Act.
    SEC. 4. FAMILY CAREGIVING ADVISORY COUNCIL.

    (a) <>  Convening.--The Secretary shall
    convene a Family Caregiving Advisory Council to advise and provide
    recommendations, including identified best practices, to the Secretary
    on recognizing and supporting family caregivers.

    (b) Membership.--
    (1) In general.--The members of the Advisory Council shall
    consist of--
    (A) the appointed members under paragraph (2); and
    (B) the Federal members under paragraph (3).
    (2) Appointed members.--In addition to the Federal members
    under paragraph (3), the Secretary shall appoint not more than
    15 voting members of the Advisory Council who are not
    representatives of Federal departments or agencies and who shall
    include at least 1 representative of each of the following:
    (A) Family caregivers.
    (B) Older adults with long-term services and
    supports needs.
    (C) Individuals with disabilities.
    (D) Health care and social service providers.
    (E) Long-term services and supports providers.
    (F) Employers.
    (G) Paraprofessional workers.
    (H) State and local officials.
    (I) Accreditation bodies.
    (J) Veterans.
    (K) As appropriate, other experts and advocacy
    organizations engaged in family caregiving.
    (3) Federal members.--The Federal members of the Advisory
    Council, who shall be nonvoting members, shall consist of the
    following:
    (A) The Administrator of the Centers for Medicare &
    Medicaid Services (or the Administrator's designee).
    (B) The Administrator of the Administration for
    Community Living (or the Administrator's designee who
    has experience in both aging and disability).
    (C) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs (or the
    Secretary's designee).

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    (D) The heads of other Federal departments or
    agencies (or their designees), including relevant
    departments or agencies that oversee labor and
    workforce, economic, government financial policies,
    community service, and other impacted populations, as
    appointed by the Secretary or the Chair of the Advisory
    Council.
    (4) Diverse representation.--The Secretary shall ensure that
    the membership of the Advisory Council reflects the diversity of
    family caregivers and individuals receiving services and
    supports.

    (c) <>  Meetings.--The
    Advisory Council shall meet quarterly during the 1-year period beginning
    on the date of enactment of this Act and at least three times during
    each year thereafter. Meetings of the Advisory Council shall be open to
    the public.

    (d) Advisory Council Annual Reports.--
    (1) <>  In
    general.--Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment
    of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Advisory Council shall
    submit to the Secretary, the Committee on Health, Education,
    Labor, and Pensions and the Special Committee on Aging of the
    Senate, the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the
    House of Representatives, and the State agencies responsible for
    carrying out family caregiver programs, and make publicly
    available on the internet website of the Department of Health
    and Human Services, a report concerning the development,
    maintenance, and updating of the Strategy, including a
    description of the outcomes of the recommendations and any
    priorities included in the initial report pursuant to paragraph
    (2), as appropriate.
    (2) Initial report.--The Advisory Council's initial report
    under paragraph (1) shall include--
    (A) <>  an inventory and
    assessment of all federally funded efforts to recognize
    and support family caregivers and the outcomes of such
    efforts, including analyses of the extent to which
    federally funded efforts are reaching family caregivers
    and gaps in such efforts;
    (B) <>  recommendations--
    (i) to improve and better coordinate Federal
    programs and activities to recognize and support
    family caregivers, as well as opportunities to
    improve the coordination of such Federal programs
    and activities with State programs; and
    (ii) to effectively deliver services based on
    the performance, mission, and purpose of a program
    while eliminating redundancies, avoiding
    unnecessary duplication and overlap, and ensuring
    the needs of family caregivers are met;
    (C) the identification of challenges faced by family
    caregivers, including financial, health, and other
    challenges, and existing approaches to address such
    challenges; and
    (D) <>  an evaluation of how
    family caregiving impacts the Medicare program, the
    Medicaid program, and other Federal programs.

    (e) Nonapplicability of FACA.--The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5
    U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Advisory Council.

    [[Page 27]]

    SEC. 5. FUNDING.

    No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out
    this Act. This Act shall be carried out using funds otherwise
    authorized.
    SEC. 6. SUNSET PROVISION.

    The authority and obligations established by this Act shall
    terminate on the date that is 3 years after the date of enactment of
    this Act.

    Approved January 22, 2018.

    LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 3759 (S. 1028):
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    CONGRESSIONAL RECORD:
    Vol. 163 (2017):
    Dec. 18, considered and passed
    House.
    Vol. 164 (2018):
    Jan. 8, considered and passed
    Senate.