I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 936

To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve programs for homeless

veterans, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 8, 2001

Mr. EVANS (for himself, Mr. FILNER, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota, Ms. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. REYES,

Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. SHOWS, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico,

Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. LUCAS of Kentucky, Mr.

ETHERIDGE, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr.

HINOJOSA, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. BONIOR, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mr. LIPINSKI,

Mr. WEINER, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. STUPAK, Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon, Mr.

FROST, Mr. TIERNEY, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Mr. KING, Mr. OBERSTAR,

Mr. BISHOP, Mr. DAVIS of Florida, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr.

LANGEVIN, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. MURTHA, Mrs. MCCARTHY

of New York, Mr. HALL of Ohio, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. COYNE, Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi, Mr. BLAGOJEVICH, Mr. EDWARDS, Ms. BALDWIN,

Mr. CRAMER, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. GORDON, Mr. ALLEN, Mrs. KELLY, Mr.

PALLONE, Mr. FRANK, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. PASCRELL, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr.

FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. BORSKI, Mr. PHELPS, Mrs. CLAYTON, Mr. HINCHEY, Ms. RIVERS, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. LUCAS of Oklahoma, Mr.

LAMPSON, Mr. STRICKLAND, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. UPTON, Mr. SANDLIN, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. QUINN, Mr. BECERRA,

Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. WU, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr.

KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Ms. WATERS,

Mr. CLYBURN, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr.

FLETCHER, Mr. SNYDER, Mr. RANGEL, and Mr. CAPUANO) introduced

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
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A BILL

To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve programs

for homeless veterans, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Heather French Henry Homeless Veterans Assistance

6 Act’’.

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

8 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings; definitions.

Sec. 3. National goal to end homelessness among veterans.

Sec. 4. Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans.

Sec. 5. Annual meeting requirement for Interagency Council on Homeless.

Sec. 6. Evaluation of homeless programs.

Sec. 7. Changes in veterans equitable resource allocation methodology.

Sec. 8. Per diem payments for furnishing services to homeless veterans.

Sec. 9. Grant program for homeless veterans with special needs.

Sec. 10. Coordination of outreach services for veterans at risk of homelessness.

Sec. 11. Treatment trials in integrated mental health services delivery.

Sec. 12. Dental care.

Sec. 13. Programmatic expansions.

Sec. 14. Various authorities.

Sec. 15. Life safety code for grant and per diem providers.

Sec. 16. Transitional assistance grants pilot program.

Sec. 17. Assistance for grant applications.

Sec. 18. Home loan program for manufactured housing.

Sec. 19. Extension of homeless veterans reintegration program.

Sec. 20. Use of real property.

9 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; DEFINITIONS.

10 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find11 ings:

12 (1) On the field of battle, the members of the

13 Armed Forces who defend the Nation are honor-
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1 bound to leave no one behind and, likewise, the Na2 tion is honor-bound to leave no veteran behind.

3 (2) The Department of Veterans Affairs report

4 known as the Community Homeless Assessment,

5 Local Education, and Networking Groups for Vet6 erans (CHALENG) assessment, issued in May

7 2000, reports that during 1999 there were an esti8 mated 344,983 homeless veterans, an increase of 34

9 percent above the 1998 estimate of 256,872 home10 less veterans.

11 (3) Male veterans are more likely to be home12 less than their nonveteran peers. Although veterans

13 constitute only 13 percent of the general male popu14 lation, 23 percent of the homeless male population

15 are veterans.

16 (4) Homelessness among veterans is persistent

17 despite unprecedented economic growth and job cre18 ation and general prosperity.

19 (5) While there are many effective programs

20 that assist homeless veterans to again become pro21 ductive and self-sufficient members of society, cur22 rent resources provided to such programs and other

23 activities that assist homeless veterans are inad24 equate to provide all needed essential services, as25 sistance, and support to homeless veterans.
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1 (6) If current programs to assist homeless vet2 erans are fully maintained but not expanded, vet3 erans will experience as many as a billion nights of

4 homelessness during the next decade.

5 (7) The CHALENG assessment referred to in

6 paragraph (2) reports—

7 (A) that Department of Veterans Affairs

8 and community providers were responsible for

9 establishing almost 500 beds for homeless vet10 erans during 2000, including emergency, transi11 tional, and permanent beds; and

12 (B) that there is a need for about 45,724

13 additional beds to meet current needs of home14 less veterans.

15 (8) As of February 28, 2001, the Congressional

16 Budget Office forecasts a Federal budget surplus of

17 $313,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2002 and budget

18 surpluses totaling more than $5,610,000,000,000

19 over the next 10 years.

20 (9) At least $750,000,000 will be required to

21 establish the 45,724 additional new beds now needed

22 by homeless veterans, according to an informal De23 partment of Veterans Affairs cost estimate.

24 (10) Even if the Department of Veterans Af25 fairs and its partners created 2,000 additional beds
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1 per year for homeless veterans (roughly quadrupling

2 the number of such beds they currently plan to open

3 annually), it would still take more than two decades

4 to provide the necessary additional beds to meet the

5 current needs of homeless veterans.

6 (11) Nearly four decades ago, the Nation estab7 lished a goal of sending a man to the moon and re8 turning him safely to earth within a decade and ac9 complished that goal, and the Nation can do no less

10 to end homelessness among the Nation’s veterans.

11 (b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this Act:

12 (1) The term ‘‘homeless veteran’’ means a vet13 eran who—

14 (A) lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate

15 nighttime residence; or

16 (B) has a primary nighttime residence that

17 is—

18 (i) a supervised publicly or privately

19 operated shelter designed to provide tem20 porary living accommodations (including

21 welfare hotels, congregate shelters, grant

22 per diem shelters and transitional housing

23 for the mentally ill);
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1 (ii) an institution that provides a tem2 porary residence for individuals intended to

3 be institutionalized; or

4 (iii) a public or private place not de5 signed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular

6 sleeping accommodation for human beings.

7 (2) The term ‘‘grant and per diem provider’’

8 means an entity in receipt of a grant under section

9 3 or 4 of the Homeless Veterans Comprehensive

10 Service Programs Act of 1992 (38 U.S.C. 7721

11 note).

12 SEC. 3. NATIONAL GOAL TO END HOMELESSNESS AMONG

13 VETERANS.

14 (a) NATIONAL GOAL.—Congress hereby declares it to

15 be a national goal to end homelessness among veterans

16 within a decade.

17 (b) COOPERATIVE EFFORTS ENCOURAGED.—Con18 gress hereby encourages all departments and agencies of

19 Federal, State, and local governments, quasi-governmental

20 organizations, private and public sector entities, including

21 community-based organizations, and individuals to work

22 cooperatively to end homelessness among veterans within

23 a decade.
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1 SEC. 4. ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON HOMELESS VETERANS.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 5 of title 38, United

3 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing new section:

5 ‘‘§ 546. Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans

6 ‘‘(a)(1) There is established in the Department the

7 Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans (hereinafter in

8 this section referred to as the ‘Committee’).

9 ‘‘(2) The Committee shall consist of not more than

10 15 members appointed by the Secretary from among the

11 following:

12 ‘‘(A) Veterans service organizations.

13 ‘‘(B) Advocates of homeless veterans and other

14 homeless individuals.

15 ‘‘(C) Community-based providers of services to

16 homeless individuals.

17 ‘‘(D) Previously homeless veterans.

18 ‘‘(E) State veterans affairs officials.

19 ‘‘(F) Experts in the treatment of individuals

20 with mental illness.

21 ‘‘(G) Experts in the treatment of substance use

22 disorders.

23 ‘‘(H) Experts in the development of permanent

24 housing alternatives for lower income populations.

25 ‘‘(I) Experts in vocational rehabilitation.
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1 ‘‘(J) Such other organizations or groups as the

2 Secretary considers appropriate.

3 ‘‘(3) The Committee shall include, as ex officio

4 members—

5 ‘‘(A) the Secretary of Labor (or a representa6 tive of the Secretary selected after consultation with

7 the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Em8 ployment);

9 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of Defense (or a representa10 tive of the Secretary);

11 ‘‘(C) the Secretary of Health and Human Serv12 ices (or a representative of the Secretary); and

13 ‘‘(D) the Secretary of Housing and Urban De14 velopment (or a representative of the Secretary).

15 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall determine the terms of serv16 ice and pay and allowances of the members of the Com17 mittee, except that a term of service may not exceed three

18 years. The Secretary may reappoint any member for addi19 tional terms of service.

20 ‘‘(b)(1) The Secretary shall, on a regular basis, con21 sult with and seek the advice of the Committee with re22 spect to the provision by the Department of benefits and

23 services to homeless veterans.

24 ‘‘(2)(A) In providing advice to the Secretary under

25 this subsection, the Committee shall—
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1 ‘‘(i) assemble and review information relating to

2 the needs of homeless veterans;

3 ‘‘(ii) provide an on-going assessment of the ef4 fectiveness of the policies, organizational structures,

5 and services of the Department in assisting homeless

6 veterans; and

7 ‘‘(iii) provide on-going advice on the most ap8 propriate means of providing assistance to homeless

9 veterans.

10 ‘‘(3) The Committee shall—

11 ‘‘(A) review the continuum of services provided

12 by the Department directly or by contract in order

13 to define cross-cutting issues and to improve coordi14 nation of all services with the Department that are

15 involved in addressing the special needs of homeless

16 veterans;

17 ‘‘(B) identify (through the annual assessments

18 under section 1774 of this title and other available

19 resources) gaps in programs of the Department in

20 serving homeless veterans, including identification of

21 geographic areas with unmet needs, and provide rec22 ommendations to address those program gaps;

23 ‘‘(C) identify gaps in existing information sys24 tems on homeless veterans, both within and outside
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1 of the Department, and provide recommendations

2 about redressing problems in data collection;

3 ‘‘(D) identify barriers under existing laws and

4 policies to effective coordination by the Department

5 with other Federal agencies and with State and local

6 agencies addressing homeless populations;

7 ‘‘(E) identify opportunities for increased liaison

8 by the Department with nongovernmental organiza9 tions and individual groups addressing homeless

10 populations;

11 ‘‘(F) with appropriate officials of the Depart12 ment designated by the Secretary, participate with

13 the Interagency Council on the Homeless under title

14 II of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act

15 (42 U.S.C. 11311 et seq.);

16 ‘‘(G) recommend appropriate funding levels for

17 specialized programs for homeless veterans provided

18 or funded by the Department;

19 ‘‘(H) recommend appropriate placement options

20 for veterans who, because of advanced age, frailty,

21 or severe mental illness, may not be appropriate can22 didates for vocational rehabilitation or independent

23 living; and

24 ‘‘(I) perform such other functions as the Sec25 retary may direct.
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1 ‘‘(c)(1) Not later than March 31 of each year, the

2 Committee shall submit to the Secretary a report on the

3 programs and activities of the Department that relate to

4 homeless veterans. Each such report shall include—

5 ‘‘(A) an assessment of the needs of homeless

6 veterans;

7 ‘‘(B) a review of the programs and activities of

8 the Department designed to meet such needs;

9 ‘‘(C) a review of the activities of the Committee;

10 and

11 ‘‘(D) such recommendations (including rec12 ommendations for administrative and legislative ac13 tion) as the Committee considers appropriate.

14 ‘‘(2) Not later than 90 days after the receipt of a

15 report under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall transmit

16 to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and

17 House of Representatives a copy of the report, together

18 with any comments and recommendations concerning the

19 report that the Secretary considers appropriate.

20 ‘‘(3) The Committee may also submit to the Sec21 retary such other reports and recommendations as the

22 Committee considers appropriate.

23 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall submit with each annual re24 port submitted to the Congress pursuant to section 529

25 of this title a summary of all reports and recommendations
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1 of the Committee submitted to the Secretary since the pre2 vious annual report of the Secretary submitted pursuant

3 to that section.

4 ‘‘(d)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the pro5 visions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C.

6 App.) shall apply to the activities of the Committee under

7 this section.

8 ‘‘(2) Section 14 of such Act shall not apply to the

9 Committee.’’.

10 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

11 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding

12 at the end the following new item:

‘‘546. Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans.’’.

13 SEC. 5. MEETINGS OF INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON HOME14 LESS.

15 Section 202(c) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless As16 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11312(c)) is amended to read as

17 follows:

18 ‘‘(c) MEETINGS.—The Council shall meet at the call

19 of its Chairperson or a majority of its members, but not

20 less often than annually.’’.

21 SEC. 6. EVALUATION OF HOMELESS PROGRAMS.

22 (a) EVALUATION CENTERS.—The Secretary of Vet23 erans Affairs shall support the continuation within the De24 partment of Veterans Affairs of at least one center for

25 evaluation to monitor the structure, process, and outcome
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1 of programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs that

2 address homeless veterans.

3 (b) ANNUAL REPORT ON HEALTH CARE.—The Sec4 retary shall submit to Congress an annual report on pro5 grams of the Department of Veterans Affairs addressing

6 health care needs of homeless veterans. The Secretary

7 shall include in each such report the following:

8 (1) Information about expenditures, costs, and

9 workload under the Department of Veterans Affairs

10 program known as the Health Care for Homeless

11 Veterans program (HCHV).

12 (2) Information about the veterans contacted

13 through that program.

14 (3) Information about processes under that pro15 gram.

16 (4) Information about program treatment out17 comes under that program.

18 (5) Information about supported housing pro19 grams.

20 (6) Information about the Department’s grant

21 and per diem provider program.

22 (7) Other information the Secretary considers

23 relevant in assessing the program.

24 (c) ANNUAL PROGRAM ASSESSMENT.—Section

25 1774(b) of title 38, United States Code, is amended—
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1 (1) by inserting ‘‘annual’’ in paragraph (1)

2 after ‘‘to make an’’; and

3 (2) by adding at the end the following new

4 paragraph:

5 ‘‘(6) The Secretary shall review each annual assess6 ment under this subsection and shall consolidate the find7 ings and conclusions of those assessments into an annual

8 report to be submitted to Congress.’’.

9 SEC. 7. CHANGES IN VETERANS EQUITABLE RESOURCE AL10 LOCATION METHODOLOGY.

11 (a) ALLOCATION CATEGORIES.—The Secretary of

12 Veterans Affairs shall assign veterans receiving the fol13 lowing services to the resource allocation category des14 ignated as ‘‘complex care’’ within the Veterans Equitable

15 Resource Allocation system:

16 (1) Care provided to veterans enrolled in the

17 Department of Veterans Affairs program for Mental

18 Health Intensive Community Case Management.

19 (2) Continuous care in homeless chronically

20 mentally ill veterans programs.

21 (3) Continuous care within specialized pro22 grams provided to veterans who have been diagnosed

23 with both serious chronic mental illness and sub24 stance use disorders.
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1 (4) Continuous therapy combined with sheltered

2 housing provided to veterans in specialized treat3 ment for substance use disorders.

4 (5) Specialized therapies provided to veterans

5 with post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD), includ6 ing the following:

7 (A) Specialized outpatient PTSD pro8 grams.

9 (B) PTSD clinical teams.

10 (C) Women veterans stress disorder treat11 ment teams.

12 (D) Substance abuse disorder PTSD

13 teams.

14 (b) TREATMENT OF FUNDS FOR NEW PROGRAMS

15 FOR HOMELESS VETERANS.—The Secretary shall ensure

16 that funds for any new program for homeless veterans car17 ried out through a Department health care facility are des18 ignated for the first three years of operation of that pro19 gram as a special purpose program for which funds are

20 not allocated through the Veterans Equitable Resource Al21 location system.

22 SEC. 8. PER DIEM PAYMENTS FOR FURNISHING SERVICES

23 TO HOMELESS VETERANS.

24 (a) INCREASE IN RATE OF PER DIEM PAYMENTS.—

25 Section 4 of the Homeless Veterans Comprehensive Serv-
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1 ice Programs Act of 1992 (38 U.S.C. 7721 note) is

2 amended by striking ‘‘at such rates’’ and all that follows

3 through ‘‘homeless veterans—’’ and inserting the fol4 lowing: ‘‘at the same rates as the rates authorized for

5 State homes for domiciliary care provided under section

6 1741 of title 38, United States Code, for services fur7 nished to homeless veterans—’’.

8 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

9 subsection (a) shall take effect on the first day of the first

10 fiscal year beginning after the date of the enactment of

11 this Act.

12 SEC. 9. GRANT PROGRAM FOR HOMELESS VETERANS WITH

13 SPECIAL NEEDS.

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Veterans

15 Affairs shall carry out a program to make grants to health

16 care facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs and

17 to grant and per diem providers in order to encourage de18 velopment by those facilities and providers of programs

19 targeted at meeting special needs within the population

20 of homeless veterans.

21 (b) SPECIAL NEEDS.—For purposes of this section,

22 homeless veterans with special needs include homeless vet23 erans who—

24 (1) are women;

25 (2) are 50 years of age or older;
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1 (3) are substance abusers;

2 (4) are persons with post-traumatic stress dis3 order;

4 (5) are terminally ill;

5 (6) are chronically mentally ill; or

6 (7) have care of minor dependents or other

7 family members.

8 (c) STUDY OF OUTCOME EFFECTIVENESS.—The Sec9 retary shall conduct a study of the effectiveness of the

10 grant program in meeting the needs of homeless veterans.

11 As part of the study, the Secretary shall compare the re12 sults of programs carried out in the grant program under

13 this section in terms of veterans’ satisfaction, health sta14 tus, reduction in addiction severity, housing, and encour15 agement of productive activity with results for similar vet16 erans in programs of the Department or of grant and per

17 diem providers that are designed to meet the general needs

18 of homeless veterans.

19 (d) FUNDING.—From amounts appropriated to the

20 Department of Veterans Affairs for ‘‘Medical Care’’ for

21 each of fiscal years 2003, 2004, and 2005, the amount

22 of $5,000,000 shall be available for the purposes of the

23 program under this section. Grants under this section to

24 a health care facility of the Department or a grant and
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1 per diem provider shall be treated in the manner provided

2 in section 7(b).

3 SEC. 10. COORDINATION OF OUTREACH SERVICES FOR

4 VETERANS AT RISK OF HOMELESSNESS.

5 (a) OUTREACH PLAN.—The Secretary of Veterans

6 Affairs, acting through the Under Secretary for Health,

7 shall provide for appropriate officials of the Mental Health

8 Service and the Readjustment Counseling Service of the

9 Veterans Health Administration to initiate a coordinated

10 plan for joint outreach to veterans at risk of homelessness,

11 including particularly veterans who are being discharged

12 from institutions (including discharges from inpatient psy13 chiatric care, substance abuse treatment programs, and

14 penal institutions).

15 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The outreach plan

16 under subsection (a) shall include the following:

17 (1) Strategies to identify and collaborate with

18 external entities used by veterans who have not tra19 ditionally used Department of Veterans Affairs serv20 ices to further outreach efforts.

21 (2) Strategies to ensure that mentoring pro22 grams, recovery support groups, and other appro23 priate support networks are optimally available to

24 veterans.
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1 (3) Appropriate programs or referrals to family

2 support programs.

3 (4) Means to increase access to case manage4 ment services.

5 (5) Plans for making additional employment

6 services accessible to veterans.

7 (6) Appropriate referral sources for mental

8 health and substance abuse services.

9 (c) COOPERATIVE RELATIONSHIPS.—The plan shall

10 identify strategies for the Department to enter into formal

11 cooperative relationships with entities outside the Depart12 ment of Veterans Affairs to facilitate making services and

13 resources optimally available to veterans.

14 (d) REVIEW OF PLAN.—The Secretary shall submit

15 the plan under subsection (a) to the Advisory Committee

16 on Homeless Veterans for its review and consultation.

17 (e) SUBMISSION OF REPORT.—Not later than two

18 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec19 retary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs

20 of the Senate and House of Representatives a report on

21 the Secretary’s plan under subsection (a), including goals

22 and timelines for implementation of the plan for particular

23 facilities and service networks.

24 (f) OUTREACH PROGRAM.—(1) The Secretary of Vet25 erans Affairs shall carry out an outreach program to pro-
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1 vide information to homeless veterans and veterans at risk

2 of homelessness. The program shall include at a

3 minimum—

4 (A) provision of information about benefits

5 available to eligible veterans from the Department;

6 and

7 (B) contact information for local Department

8 facilities, including medical facilities, regional offices,

9 and veterans centers.

10 (2) In developing and carrying out the program under

11 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall, to the extent prac12 ticable, consult with appropriate public and private organi13 zations, including the Bureau of Prisons, State social serv14 ice agencies, the Department of Defense, and mental

15 health, veterans, and homeless advocates—

16 (A) for assistance in identifying and contacting

17 veterans who are homeless or at risk of homeless18 ness;

19 (B) to coordinate appropriate outreach activi20 ties with those organizations; and

21 (C) to coordinate services provided to veterans

22 with services provided by those organizations.
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1 SEC. 11. TREATMENT TRIALS IN INTEGRATED MENTAL

2 HEALTH SERVICES DELIVERY.

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Veterans

4 Affairs shall carry out two treatment trials in integrated

5 mental health services delivery. Each such trial shall be

6 carried out at a Department of Veterans Affairs medical

7 center selected by the Secretary for such purpose. The

8 trials shall each be carried out over the same one-year pe9 riod.

10 (b) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the

11 term ‘‘integrated mental health services delivery’’ means

12 a coordinated and standardized approach to evaluation for

13 enrollment, treatment, and followup with patients who

14 have both mental health disorders (to include substance

15 use disorders) and medical conditions between mental

16 health and primary health care professionals.

17 (c) SITE SELECTION CRITERIA.—In reviewing appli18 cations from Department medical centers for selection as

19 a site for a treatment trial under this section, the Sec20 retary shall consider models that use the following:

21 (1) Standardized criteria for admission and en22 rollment as participant or control;

23 (2) Focus on prevention and symptom reduc24 tion.

25 (3) Development of a comprehensive, integrated

26 treatment plan.
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1 (4) Patient assignment to team or teams.

2 (5) Management of polypharmacy.

3 (6) Use of evidence-based treatment protocols.

4 (7) Case management between visits.

5 (8) Referral and coordination of appropriate

6 Department or community-based services (including

7 housing if necessary).

8 (9) Ability to maintain and provide outcomes

9 for comparison purposes on veterans with similar di10 agnoses and characteristics who are not included in

11 the trial, but who are receiving traditional consult12 ative services in the same facility.

13 (d) COSTS.—The Secretary may use up to

14 $2,000,000 from funds available to the Secretary for Med15 ical Care for costs for each of the treatment trials. Funds

16 identified by the Secretary for the trials shall remain avail17 able until expended.

18 (e) TREATMENT MODELS TO BE TESTED.—The two

19 treatment trials shall each use one of the following models:

20 (1) Mental health primary care teams.

21 (2) Patient assignment to a mental health pri22 mary care team that is linked with the patient’s

23 medical primary care team.

24 (f) STUDY OF EFFECTIVENESS.—The Secretary shall

25 compare treatment outcomes of the different treatment
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1 trials for chronically mentally ill veterans who are provided

2 treatment through integrated mental health programs

3 with treatment outcomes, including such outcomes as vet4 erans’ satisfaction, health status, treatment compliance,

5 patient functionality, reduction in addiction severity as

6 well as service utilization and treatment costs with results

7 for similar chronically mentally ill veterans provided treat8 ment through traditionally consultative relationships.

9 (g) RESULTS.—Not later than 30 months after selec10 tion of the two centers under this section, each selected

11 center shall complete measures of treatment outcomes

12 under subsection (f), as well as measures for matched con13 trols.

14 (h) MANDATORY AUDIT OF RESULTS.—The Depart15 ment of Veterans Affairs Medical Inspector General shall

16 review medical records of participants and controls for

17 both trials to ensure that results are accurate.

18 (i) REPORT AND DISSEMINATION OF RESULTS.—Not

19 later than two years after the date of the enactment of

20 this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report

21 setting forth the results of that comparison and such rec22 ommendations as the Secretary may have. Based upon the

23 Secretary’s conclusions, the Secretary shall disseminate

24 the best practices for treatment of mentally ill veterans
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1 in such manner as the Secretary determines appropriate

2 on a nationwide basis.

3 SEC. 12. DENTAL CARE.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section

5 1712(a)(1)(H) of title 38, United States Code, outpatient

6 dental services and treatment of a dental condition or dis7 ability of a veteran described in subsection (b) shall be

8 considered to be medically necessary if—

9 (1) the dental services and treatment are nec10 essary for the veteran to successfully gain or regain

11 employment;

12 (2) the dental services and treatment are nec13 essary to alleviate pain; or

14 (3) the dental services and treatment are nec15 essary for treatment of moderate, severe, or severe

16 and complicated gingival and periodontal pathology.

17 (b) ELIGIBLE VETERANS.—Subsection (a) applies to

18 a veteran who is—

19 (1) enrolled for care under section 1705(a) of

20 title 38, United States Code; and

21 (2) who is receiving care (directly or by con22 tract) in any of the following settings:

23 (A) A domiciliary under section 1710 of

24 such title.
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1 (B) A therapeutic residence under section

2 1772 of such title.

3 (C) Community residential care coordi4 nated by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs

5 under section 1730 of such title.

6 (D) A setting for which the Secretary pro7 vides funds for a grant and per diem provider.

8 (E) Any program described in section 7 of

9 this Act.

10 SEC. 13. PROGRAMMATIC EXPANSIONS.

11 (a) ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES.—The

12 Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall develop standards to

13 ensure that mental health services are available to vet14 erans in a manner similar to the manner in which primary

15 care is available to veterans who require services by ensur16 ing that each primary care health care facility of the De17 partment has a mental health treatment capacity.

18 (b) TRANSITIONAL HOUSING.—Effective October 1,

19 2001, section 12 of the Homeless Veterans Comprehensive

20 Service Programs Act of 1992 (38 U.S.C. 7721 note) is

21 amended to read as follows:

22 ‘‘SEC. 12. FUNDING.

23 ‘‘(a) AMOUNTS FOR GRANT AND PER DIEM PRO24 GRAMS.—From amounts appropriated for ‘‘Medical Care’’

25 for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall expend not less
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1 than $55,000,000 (as adjusted from time to time under

2 subsection (b)) to carry out the transitional housing grant

3 and per diem provider programs under sections 3 and 4

4 of this Act.

5 ‘‘(b) PERIODIC INCREASES.—The amount in effect

6 under subsection (a) shall be increased for any fiscal year

7 by the overall percentage increase in the Medical Care ac8 count for that fiscal year from the preceding fiscal year.’’.

9 (c) COMPREHENSIVE HOMELESS SERVICES PRO10 GRAM.—(1) The Secretary shall provide for the establish11 ment of centers for the provision of comprehensive services

12 to homeless veterans under section 2(b) of the Homeless

13 Veterans Comprehensive Service Programs Act of 1992

14 (38 U.S.C. 7721 note) in at least each of the 20 largest

15 metropolitan statistical areas.

16 (2) Section 2(b) of the Homeless Veterans Com17 prehensive Service Programs Act of 1992 (38 U.S.C. 7721

18 note) is amended by striking ‘‘no more than eight dem19 onstration’’.

20 (d) OPIOID SUBSTITUTION THERAPY.—The Sec21 retary shall ensure that opioid substitution therapy is

22 available at each Department of Veterans Affairs medical

23 center.

24 (e) PROGRAM EXPIRATION EXTENSION.—Sections

25 1771(b) and 1773(d) of title 38, United States Code, are
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1 amended by striking ‘‘December 31, 2001’’ and inserting

2 ‘‘December 31, 2006’’.

3 SEC. 14. VARIOUS AUTHORITIES.

4 (a) EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMS.—The Secretary of

5 Veterans Affairs may authorize homeless veterans receiv6 ing care through vocational rehabilitation programs to

7 participate in the compensated work therapy program.

8 (b) SUPPORTED HOUSING FOR VETERANS PARTICI9 PATING IN COMPENSATED WORK THERAPIES.—The Sec10 retary may authorize homeless veterans in the com11 pensated work therapy program to be provided housing

12 through the therapeutic residence program under section

13 1772 of title 38, United States Code, or through grant

14 and per diem providers.

15 (c) STAFFING REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary shall

16 ensure that there is assigned at each Veterans Benefits

17 Administration regional office at least one employee as18 signed specifically to oversee and coordinate homeless vet19 erans programs in that region, including the housing pro20 gram for veterans supported by the Department of Hous21 ing and Urban Development, housing programs supported

22 by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the homeless vet23 erans reintegration program of the Department of Labor,

24 the assessments required by section 1774 of title 38,

25 United States Code, the Comprehensive Homeless Pro-
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1 gram, and such other duties relating to homeless veterans

2 as may be assigned. In any such regional office with at

3 least 140 employees, there shall be at least one full-time

4 employee assigned to such functions.

5 (d) COORDINATION OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICES.—

6 (1) Section 4103A(c) of title 38, United States Code, is

7 amended by adding at the end the following new para8 graph:

9 ‘‘(11) Coordination of services provided to vet10 erans with training assistance provided to veterans

11 by entities receiving financial assistance under sec12 tion 738 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist13 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 11448).’’.

14 (2) Section 4104(b) of such title is amended—

15 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

16 (11);

17 (B) by striking the period at the end of para18 graph (12) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

19 (C) by adding at the end the following new

20 paragraph:

21 ‘‘(13) coordinate services provided to veterans

22 with training assistance for veterans provided by en23 tities receiving financial assistance under section 738

24 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42

25 U.S.C. 11448).’’.
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1 SEC. 15. LIFE SAFETY CODE FOR GRANT AND PER DIEM

2 PROVIDERS.

3 (a) NEW GRANTS.—Section 3(b)(5) of the Homeless

4 Veterans Comprehensive Service Programs Act of 1992

5 (38 U.S.C. 7721 note) is amended by striking ‘‘, but fire

6 and safety’’ and all that follows through ‘‘in carrying out

7 the grant’’ and inserting ‘‘and the fire and safety require8 ments applicable under the Life Safety Code of the Na9 tional Fire Protection Association’’.

10 (b) PREVIOUS GRANTEES.—Section 4 of such Act is

11 amended by adding at the end the following new sub12 section:

13 ‘‘(e) LIFE SAFETY CODE.—(1) Except as provided in

14 paragraph (2), a per diem payment (or in-kind assistance

15 in lieu of per diem payments) may not be provided under

16 this section to a grant recipient unless the facilities of the

17 grant recipient meet the fire and safety requirements ap18 plicable under the Life Safety Code of the National Fire

19 Protection Association.

20 ‘‘(2) During the five-year period beginning on the

21 date of the enactment of the Heather French Henry

22 Homeless Veterans Assistance Act, paragraph (1) shall

23 not apply to an entity that received a grant under section

24 3 before that date if the entity meets fire and safety re25 quirements established by the Secretary.
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1 ‘‘(3) From amounts available for purposes of this sec2 tion pursuant to section 12, not less than $5,000,000 shall

3 be used only for grants to assist entities covered by para4 graph (2) in meeting the Life Safety Code of the National

5 Fire Protection Association.’’.

6 SEC. 16. TRANSITIONAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS PILOT PRO7 GRAM.

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary

9 of Veterans Affairs shall carry out a three-year pilot pro10 gram of transitional assistance grants to eligible homeless

11 veterans. The pilot program shall be established at not less

12 than three nor more than six regional offices of the De13 partment of Veterans Affairs and shall include at least

14 one regional office located in a large urban area and at

15 least one regional office serving primarily rural veterans.

16 The maximum number of veterans who may participate

17 in the pilot program is 600.

18 (b) ELIGIBLE VETERANS.—A veteran is eligible for

19 a transitional assistance grant under this section if the

20 veteran is physically present in the geographic area of a

21 regional office which is participating in the pilot program

22 and the veteran—

23 (1) is a veteran of a period of war or, if not a

24 veteran of a period of war, meets the minimum serv-
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1 ice requirements specified in section 5303A of title

2 38, United States Code;

3 (2) is being released, or within the preceding 60

4 days was released, from an institution, including a

5 hospital, a penal institution, a homeless shelter, or

6 a facility of a grant and per diem provider;

7 (3) is a homeless veteran or was a homeless vet8 eran before institutionalization; and

9 (4) had less than marginal income for the pre10 ceding three months.

11 (c) DURATION OF GRANT ASSISTANCE.—An eligible

12 veteran may be provided a transitional assistance grant

13 under this section for no more than three months.

14 (d) EXCEPTION TO LIMITATION ON GRANT ASSIST15 ANCE.—(1) A veteran who receives transitional assistance

16 under this section and who while in receipt of such assist17 ance has a claim pending with the Secretary for service18 connected disability compensation or nonservice-connected

19 pension shall, notwithstanding subsection (c), continue to

20 be provided transitional assistance under this section after

21 the period prescribed in subsection (c) until the earlier of

22 (A) the date on which a decision on the claim is made

23 by the regional office, or (B) the end of the six-month

24 period beginning on the date of expiration of eligibility

25 under subsection (c).
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1 (2) An extension of transitional assistance under

2 paragraph (1) shall be terminated if, as determined by the

3 Secretary, the veteran, without good cause, fails to cooper4 ate in establishing the pending claim or if the gross

5 monthly income of the veteran for a month exceeds twice

6 the amount of transitional assistance benefits payable to

7 the veteran for that month. The effective date of such a

8 termination shall be the last day of the month following

9 the month in which the extension under paragraph (1) is

10 terminated under the preceding sentence.

11 (3) Claims of veterans receiving benefits under this

12 subsection shall receive expedited consideration by the re13 gional office.

14 (e) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—(1) The monthly amount

15 of a grant provided under this section to an eligible vet16 eran shall be the amount of monthly pension that would

17 be payable to that veteran under chapter 15 of title 38,

18 United States Code, if the veteran had a permanent and

19 total nonservice-connected disability.

20 (2) Once eligibility for a grant under this section has

21 been established, the amount of the grant shall be deter22 mined without regard to the veteran’s income, other than

23 as provided in subsection (d)(2).

24 (f) COORDINATION WITH OTHER BENEFITS.—If ret25 roactive benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs
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1 are payable to a veteran with respect to a month for which

2 the veteran received a transitional assistance grant under

3 this section, the amount of such retroactive benefit pay4 able for such month shall be reduced (but not below zero)

5 by the amount of the grant under this section paid for

6 that month. No reduction may be made by the Secretary

7 of Veterans Affairs from an amount otherwise due a vet8 eran for any other month to offset an amount paid under

9 this section for a previous month.

10 (g) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:

11 (1) The term ‘‘veteran’’ means a person who

12 served in the active military, naval, or air service (as

13 defined in section 101 of title 38, United States

14 Code) and who was discharged or released from any

15 such period of service under conditions other than

16 dishonorable.

17 (2) The term ‘‘marginal income’’, with respect

18 to a veteran, means income below the poverty stand19 ard (as determined by the Bureau of the Census) for

20 a family of the size of the veteran’s family.

21 SEC. 17. ASSISTANCE FOR GRANT APPLICATIONS.

22 (a) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Veterans

23 Affairs shall carry out a program to make technical assist24 ance grants to nonprofit community-based groups with ex25 perience in providing assistance to homeless veterans in
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1 order to assist such groups in applying for grants relating

2 to addressing problems of homeless veterans.

3 (b) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be appro4 priated to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs the amount

5 of $750,000 for each of fiscal years 2001 through 2005

6 to carry out the program under this section.

7 SEC. 18. HOME LOAN PROGRAM FOR MANUFACTURED

8 HOUSING.

9 Section 3712(a)(1) of title 38, United States Code,

10 is amended by adding at the end the following:

11 ‘‘With respect to a veteran who, as determined by the Sec12 retary, is homeless, the Secretary may waive any otherwise

13 applicable requirement under this chapter that a purchase

14 of a manufactured home include ownership or purchase

15 of a lot by the veteran to which the home is to be perma16 nently affixed.’’.

17 SEC. 19. EXTENSION OF HOMELESS VETERANS REINTEGRA18 TION PROGRAM.

19 Section 4111(d)(1) of title 38, United States Code,

20 is amended by striking subparagraphs (C) and (D) and

21 inserting the following:

22 ‘‘(C) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2002.

23 ‘‘(D) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2003.

24 ‘‘(E) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.

25 ‘‘(F) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2005.
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1 ‘‘(G) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2006.’’.

2 SEC. 20. USE OF REAL PROPERTY.

3 Section 8122(d) of title 38, United States Code, is

4 amended by inserting before the period at the end the fol5 lowing: ‘‘and is not suitable for use for the provision of

6 services to homeless veterans by the Department or by an7 other entity under an enhanced-use lease of such property

8 under section 8162 of this title’’.

Æ