II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 622 

To improve services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs for 

veteran families, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 2, 2023 

Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. REED, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. KAINE, and Ms. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To improve services provided by the Department of Veterans 

Affairs for veteran families, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Helping Heroes Act 

5 of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

9 means the Department of Veterans Affairs. 


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1 (2) DISABLED VETERAN.—The term ‘‘disabled 

2 veteran’’ has the meaning given that term in section 

3 4211 of title 38, United States Code. 

4 (3) ELIGIBLE CHILD.—The term ‘‘eligible 

5 child’’, with respect to an eligible veteran, means an 

6 individual who— 

7 (A) is a ward, child (including stepchild), 

8 grandchild, or sibling (including stepsibling or 

9 halfsibling) of the eligible veteran; and 

10 (B) is less than 18 years of age. 

11 (4) ELIGIBLE VETERAN.—The term ‘‘eligible 

12 veteran’’ means a disabled veteran who has a serv13 ice-connected disability rated at 70 percent or more. 

14 (5) FAMILY COORDINATOR.—The term ‘‘Family 

15 Coordinator’’ means an individual placed at a med16 ical center of the Department pursuant to section 3. 

17 (6) FAMILY SUPPORT PROGRAM.—The term 

18 ‘‘Family Support Program’’ means the program es19 tablished under section 4. 

20 (7) NON-DEPARTMENT PROVIDER.—The term 

21 ‘‘non-Department provider’’ means a public or non22 profit entity that is not an entity of the Department. 

23 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

24 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 


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1 (9) SUPPORTIVE SERVICES.—The term ‘‘sup2 portive services’’ means services that address the so3 cial, emotional, and mental health, career-readiness, 

4 and other needs of eligible children, including— 

5 (A) wellness services, including mental, 

6 emotional, behavioral, and physical health and 

7 nutritional counseling and assistance; 

8 (B) peer-support programs for children; 

9 (C) assistance completing college admission 

10 and financial aid applications, including the 

11 Free Application for Federal Student Aid de12 scribed in section 483(a) of the Higher Edu13 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1090), and accessing vet14 erans’ education benefits as defined under sec15 tion 480(c)(2) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1087vv) 

16 that eligible children may be eligible to receive; 

17 (D) assistance with accessing workforce 

18 development programs, including programs pro19 viding the activities authorized under section 

20 129 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor21 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3164), and programs of 

22 vocational rehabilitation services, including pro23 grams authorized under title I of the Rehabili24 tation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 720 et seq.); 

25 (E) sports and recreation; 


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1 (F) after-school care and summer learning 

2 opportunities; 

3 (G) dependent care, including home and 

4 community-based services; 

5 (H) other resources for low-income fami6 lies; 

7 (I) assistance transitioning from active 

8 duty in the Armed Forces to veteran status; 

9 and 

10 (J) any other services or activities the Sec11 retary considers appropriate to support the 

12 needs of eligible children. 

13 SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS FOR FAMILY COORDINATORS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than three years after 

15 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

16 shall— 

17 (1) place at each medical center of the Depart18 ment not fewer than one Family Coordinator; and 

19 (2) ensure adequate staffing and resources at 

20 each such medical center to ensure Family Coordina21 tors are able to carry out their duties. 

22 (b) FAMILY COORDINATORS.— 

23 (1) EMPLOYMENT.—Each Family Coordinator 

24 placed at a medical center of the Department under 

25 subsection (a) shall be employed full-time by the DeVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Mar 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S622.IS S622

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1 partment as a Family Coordinator and shall have no 

2 other duties in addition to the duties of a Family 

3 Coordinator. 

4 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—To qualify to be a 

6 Family Coordinator under subsection (a), an in7 dividual shall— 

8 (i) be a social worker licensed, reg9 istered, or certified in accordance with the 

10 requirements of any State; and 

11 (ii) have a graduate degree in social 

12 work or a related field. 

13 (B) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive 

14 the qualifications required by subparagraph (A) 

15 to permit individuals in other professions to 

16 serve as Family Coordinators. 

17 (3) DUTIES.—Each Family Coordinator shall— 

18 (A) assess the needs of the families of vet19 erans using evidence-based strategies; 

20 (B) build positive relationships with such 

21 families; 

22 (C) refer veterans to local, State, and Fed23 eral resources that support veterans and their 

24 families; 

25 (D) develop and maintain a list of— 


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1 (i) supportive services offered by the 

2 medical center at which the Family Coordi3 nator is placed; and 

4 (ii) supportive services offered at re5 duced or no cost by non-Department pro6 viders located in the catchment area of 

7 such medical center; and 

8 (E) develop and maintain on an internet 

9 website a list of family resources that shall be 

10 made available for all veterans in the catchment 

11 area of such medical center who are enrolled in 

12 the patient enrollment system of the Depart13 ment established and operated under section 

14 1705(a) of title 38, United States Code. 

15 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF FAMILY SUPPORT PROGRAM. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 

17 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es18 tablish a program to be known as the Family Support Pro19 gram to provide and coordinate the provision of supportive 

20 services to eligible veterans and eligible children. 

21 (b) IMPLEMENTATION OF FAMILY SUPPORT PRO22 GRAM.—To carry out the Family Support Program, the 

23 Secretary shall— 

24 (1) provide supportive services through medical 

25 centers of the Department; 


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1 (2) collaborate with relevant Federal agencies 

2 to provide supportive services; 

3 (3) provide funding to non-Department pro4 viders pursuant to subsection (c); and 

5 (4) engage in any other activities the Secretary 

6 considers appropriate. 

7 (c) FUNDING TO NON-DEPARTMENT PROVIDERS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter 

9 into contracts and award grants to provide funding 

10 to eligible non-Department providers to participate 

11 in the Family Support Program. 

12 (2) ELIGIBILITY.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall es14 tablish and make publicly available the criteria 

15 for a non-Department provider to be eligible to 

16 participate in the Family Support Program. 

17 (B) CRITERIA.—The criteria required by 

18 subparagraph (A) shall include requirements for 

19 a non-Department provider— 

20 (i) to provide a description of— 

21 (I) each supportive service pro22 posed to be provided to eligible chil23 dren; and 


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1 (II) the demonstrated record of 

2 the non-Department provider in pro3 viding such supportive service; 

4 (ii) to demonstrate the ability to serve 

5 families of veterans in a manner that is 

6 trauma-informed and culturally and lin7 guistically appropriate; and 

8 (iii) to agree to oversight by the Sec9 retary regarding— 

10 (I) the use of funds provided by 

11 the Department under this subsection; 

12 and 

13 (II) the quality of supportive 

14 services provided. 

15 (3) NOTICE.—The Secretary shall promptly 

16 provide to eligible non-Department providers selected 

17 by the Secretary to participate in the Family Sup18 port Program notice of the award of funds under 

19 this subsection to ensure such providers have suffi20 cient time to prepare to provide supportive services 

21 under the Family Support Program. 

22 (4) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Funds provided 

23 under this subsection shall be used to provide sup24 portive services. 


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1 (5) TRAINING.—For each non-Department pro2 vider selected by the Secretary to participant in the 

3 Family Support Program, the Secretary shall offer 

4 training and technical assistance regarding the plan5 ning, development, and provision of supportive serv6 ices under the Family Support Program. 

7 (d) COORDINATION WITH OTHER DEPARTMENT OF

8 VETERANS AFFAIRS PROGRAMS.—The Secretary shall 

9 share best practices with and facilitate referrals of eligible 

10 veterans and their families, as appropriate, from the Fam11 ily Support Program to other programs of the Depart12 ment, such as the program of support services for care13 givers of veterans under section 1720G(b) of title 38, 

14 United States Code. 

15 (e) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

16 (1) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than one year 

17 after the date of the commencement of the Family 

18 Support Program, and annually thereafter, each 

19 non-Department provider in receipt of funds under 

20 the Family Support Program shall submit to the 

21 Secretary a report describing the supportive services 

22 carried out with such funds during the year covered 

23 by such report. 

24 (2) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 


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1 (A) REPORT ON ADDITIONAL RE2 SOURCES.—Not later than 90 days after the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

4 shall submit to Congress a report on the poten5 tial need for additional resources for family 

6 members of eligible veterans other than eligible 

7 children. 

8 (B) REPORT ON PROGRESS.— 

9 (i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one 

10 year after the commencement of the Fam11 ily Support Program, the Secretary shall 

12 submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Af13 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on 

14 Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep15 resentatives a report on the progress of the 

16 Family Support Program. 

17 (ii) CONTENTS.—The report required 

18 by clause (i) shall include— 

19 (I) the number of eligible vet20 erans and eligible children who re21 ceived supportive services under the 

22 Family Support Program; 

23 (II) the demographic data of eli24 gible veterans and family members, 

25 including— 


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1 (aa) the relationship to the 

2 eligible veteran; 

3 (bb) age; 

4 (cc) race; 

5 (dd) ethnicity; 

6 (ee) gender identity; 

7 (ff) sexual orientation; 

8 (gg) disability; and 

9 (hh) English proficiency and 

10 whether a language other than 

11 English is spoken at home; 

12 (III) a summary of the sup13 portive services carried out under the 

14 Family Support Program and the 

15 costs to the Department of such sup16 portive services; and 

17 (IV) an assessment, measured by 

18 a survey of participants, of whether 

19 participation in the Family Support 

20 Program resulted in positive outcomes 

21 for eligible veterans and eligible chil22 dren. 

23 SEC. 5. OUTREACH ON AVAILABILITY OF SERVICES. 

24 The Secretary shall conduct an outreach program to 

25 ensure eligible veterans who are enrolled in the patient enVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Mar 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S622.IS S622

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1 rollment system of the Department established and oper2 ated under section 1705(a) of title 38, United States 

3 Code, employees of the Department, and potential State, 

4 local, and Federal entities are informed of the Family 

5 Support Program and the availability of Family Coordina6 tors. 

7 SEC. 6. TRANSITION ASSISTANCE. 

8 Not later than one year after the date of the enact9 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall include information 

10 regarding supportive services available for members of the 

11 Armed Forces who are being separated from active duty 

12 and their families, including mental health and other serv13 ices for children, in the transition assistance curriculum 

14 offered by the Department. 

15 SEC. 7. SURVEY. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 

17 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter 

18 for five years, the Secretary shall conduct a survey of dis19 abled veterans and their families to identify and better un20 derstand the needs of such disabled veterans and their 

21 families. 

22 (b) CONTENT.—The survey required under sub23 section (a) shall include questions with respect to— 


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1 (1) the types and quality of support disabled 

2 veterans receive from the children of such disabled 

3 veterans; and 

4 (2) the unmet needs of such children. 

5 SEC. 8. NONDISCRIMINATION. 

6 Programs or activities receiving funds under this Act 

7 may not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national 

8 origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, 

9 disability status, or age. 

10 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

11 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec12 retary such funds as may be necessary to carry out this 

13 Act. 

Æ 


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