II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4276 

To improve services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs for 

veteran families, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 19 (legislative day, MAY 17), 2022 

Mrs. MURRAY 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 2022’’. 

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) EDUCATIONAL SERVICE AGENCY; LOCAL

5 EDUCATIONAL AGENCY; OTHER STAFF; SCHOOL

6 LEADER; SPECIALIZED INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT

7 PERSONNEL.—The terms ‘‘educational service agen8 cy’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘other staff’’, 

9 ‘‘school leader’’, and ‘‘specialized instructional sup10 port personnel’’ have the meanings given those 

11 terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec12 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

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

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

15 individual who— 

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

17 grandchild, or sibling (including stepsibling or 

18 halfsibling) of the eligible veteran; and 

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

20 (5) ELIGIBLE VETERAN.—The term ‘‘eligible 

21 veteran’’ means a disabled veteran who has a serv22 ice-connected disability rated at 70 percent or more. 

23 (6) FAMILY COORDINATOR.—The term ‘‘Family 

24 Coordinator’’ means an individual placed at a med25 ical center of the Department pursuant to section 3. 


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1 (7) FAMILY SUPPORT PROGRAM.—The term 

2 ‘‘Family Support Program’’ means the program es3 tablished under section 4. 

4 (8) NON-DEPARTMENT PROVIDER.—The term 

5 ‘‘non-Department provider’’ means a public or non6 profit entity that is not an entity of the Department. 

7 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

8 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

9 (10) SUPPORTIVE SERVICES.—The term ‘‘sup10 portive services’’ means services that address the so11 cial, emotional, and mental health, career-readiness, 

12 and other needs of eligible children, including— 

13 (A) wellness services, including mental, 

14 emotional, behavioral, and physical health and 

15 nutritional counseling and assistance; 

16 (B) peer-support programs for children; 

17 (C) assistance completing college admission 

18 and financial aid applications, including the 

19 Free Application for Federal Student Aid de20 scribed in section 483(a) of the Higher Edu21 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1090), and accessing vet22 erans’ education benefits as defined under sec23 tion 480(c)(2) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1087vv) 

24 that eligible children may be eligible to receive; 


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1 (D) assistance with accessing workforce 

2 development programs, including programs pro3 viding the activities authorized under section 

4 129 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor5 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3164), and programs of 

6 vocational rehabilitation services, including pro7 grams authorized under title I of the Rehabili8 tation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 720 et seq.); 

9 (E) sports and recreation; 

10 (F) after-school care and summer learning 

11 opportunities; 

12 (G) dependent care, including home and 

13 community-based services; 

14 (H) other resources for low-income fami15 lies; 

16 (I) assistance transitioning from active 

17 duty in the Armed Forces to veteran status; 

18 and 

19 (J) any other services or activities the Sec20 retary considers appropriate to support the 

21 needs of eligible children. 

22 (11) VETERAN-CONNECTED STUDENT.—The 

23 term ‘‘veteran-connected student’’ means a student 

24 whose parent or guardian previously served in the 


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1 Armed Forces, a Reserve component of the Armed 

2 Forces, or the National Guard. 

3 SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS FOR FAMILY COORDINATORS. 

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

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

6 shall— 

7 (1) place at each medical center of the Depart8 ment not fewer than one Family Coordinator; and 

9 (2) ensure adequate staffing and resources at 

10 each such medical center to ensure Family Coordina11 tors are able to carry out their duties. 

12 (b) FAMILY COORDINATORS.— 

13 (1) EMPLOYMENT.—Each Family Coordinator 

14 placed at a medical center of the Department under 

15 subsection (a) shall be employed full-time by the De16 partment as a Family Coordinator and shall have no 

17 other duties in addition to the duties of a Family 

18 Coordinator. 

19 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—To qualify to be a Fam20 ily Coordinator under subsection (a), an individual 

21 shall— 

22 (A) be a social worker licensed in accord23 ance with the requirements of the State in 

24 which such individual is employed; and 


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1 (B) have a graduate degree in social work 

2 or a related field. 

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

4 (A) assess the needs of the families of vet5 erans using evidence-based strategies; 

6 (B) build positive relationships with such 

7 families; 

8 (C) refer veterans to local, State, and Fed9 eral resources that support veterans and their 

10 families; 

11 (D) develop and maintain a list of— 

12 (i) supportive services offered by the 

13 medical center at which the Family Coordi14 nator is placed; and 

15 (ii) supportive services offered at re16 duced or no cost by non-Department pro17 viders located in the catchment area of 

18 such medical center; and 

19 (E) develop and maintain on an internet 

20 website a list of family resources that shall be 

21 made available for all veterans in the catchment 

22 area of such medical center who are enrolled in 

23 the patient enrollment system of the Depart24 ment established and operated under section 

25 1705(a) of title 38, United States Code. 


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1 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF FAMILY SUPPORT PROGRAM. 

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

3 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es4 tablish a program to be known as the Family Support Pro5 gram to provide and coordinate the provision of supportive 

6 services to eligible veterans and eligible children. 

7 (b) IMPLEMENTATION OF FAMILY SUPPORT PRO8 GRAM.—To carry out the Family Support Program, the 

9 Secretary shall— 

10 (1) provide supportive services through medical 

11 centers of the Department; 

12 (2) collaborate with relevant Federal agencies 

13 to provide supportive services; 

14 (3) provide financial assistance to non-Depart15 ment providers pursuant to subsection (c); and 

16 (4) engage in any other activities the Secretary 

17 considers appropriate. 

18 (c) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO NON-DEPARTMENT

19 PROVIDERS.— 

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

21 into contracts and award grants to provide financial 

22 assistance to eligible non-Department providers to 

23 participate in the Family Support Program. 

24 (2) ELIGIBILITY.— 

25 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall es26 tablish and make publicly available the criteria 


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1 for a non-Department provider to be eligible for 

2 financial assistance under this subsection. 

3 (B) CRITERIA.—The criteria required by 

4 subparagraph (A) shall include requirements for 

5 a non-Department provider— 

6 (i) to provide a description of— 

7 (I) each supportive service pro8 posed to be provided to eligible chil9 dren; and 

10 (II) the demonstrated record of 

11 the non-Department provider in pro12 viding such supportive service; 

13 (ii) to demonstrate the ability to serve 

14 families of veterans in a manner that is 

15 trauma-informed and culturally and lin16 guistically appropriate; and 

17 (iii) to agree to oversight by the Sec18 retary regarding— 

19 (I) the use of financial assistance 

20 provided by the Department under 

21 this subsection; and 

22 (II) the quality of supportive 

23 services provided. 

24 (3) NOTICE.—The Secretary shall promptly 

25 provide to eligible non-Department providers selected 


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1 by the Secretary to receive financial assistance under 

2 this subsection notice of the award of such financial 

3 assistance to ensure such providers have sufficient 

4 time to prepare to provide supportive services under 

5 the Family Support Program. 

6 (4) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Financial assist7 ance provided under this subsection shall be used to 

8 provide supportive services. 

9 (5) TRAINING TO RECIPIENTS OF FINANCIAL

10 ASSISTANCE.—For each recipient of financial assist11 ance under this subsection, the Secretary shall pro12 vide training and technical assistance regarding the 

13 planning, development, and provision of supportive 

14 services under the Family Support Program. 

15 (d) COORDINATION WITH OTHER DEPARTMENT OF

16 VETERANS AFFAIRS PROGRAMS.—The Secretary shall 

17 share best practices with and facilitate referrals of eligible 

18 veterans and their families, as appropriate, from the Fam19 ily Support Program to other programs of the Depart20 ment, such as the program of support services for care21 givers of veterans under section 1720G(b) of title 38, 

22 United States Code. 

23 (e) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

25 after the date of the commencement of the Family 


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1 Support Program, and annually thereafter, each 

2 non-Department provider in receipt of financial as3 sistance under the Family Support Program shall 

4 submit to the Secretary a report describing the sup5 portive services carried out with such financial as6 sistance during the year covered by such report. 

7 (2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

9 after the commencement of the Family Support 

10 Program, the Secretary shall submit to the 

11 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate 

12 and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

13 House of Representatives a report on the 

14 progress of the Family Support Program. 

15 (B) CONTENTS.—The report required by 

16 paragraph (1) shall include— 

17 (i) the number of eligible veterans and 

18 eligible children who received supportive 

19 services under the Family Support Pro20 gram; 

21 (ii) the demographic data of eligible 

22 veterans and eligible family members, in23 cluding— 

24 (I) the relationship to the eligible 

25 veteran; 


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1 (II) age; 

2 (III) race; 

3 (IV) ethnicity; 

4 (V) gender identity; 

5 (VI) sexual orientation; 

6 (VII) disability; and 

7 (VIII) English proficiency and 

8 whether a language other than 

9 English is spoken at home; 

10 (iii) a summary of the supportive 

11 services carried out under the Family Sup12 port Program and the costs to the Depart13 ment of such supportive services; and 

14 (iv) an assessment, measured by a 

15 survey of participants, of whether partici16 pation in the Family Support Program re17 sulted in positive outcomes for eligible vet18 erans and eligible children. 

19 SEC. 5. VETERAN-CONNECTED STUDENT GRANT PROGRAM. 

20 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF GRANTS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coordina22 tion with the Secretary of Education, shall award 

23 grants, on a competitive basis, to local educational 

24 agencies in order to better meet academic, social, 


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1 emotional, and mental health needs of veteran-con2 nected students. 

3 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—A local educational agency 

4 shall be eligible for a grant under this section if such 

5 agency partners with a nearby medical center of the 

6 Department that employs at least one Family Coor7 dinator. 

8 (3) DURATION.—A grant awarded under this 

9 section shall be for a period of not more than five 

10 years. 

11 (4) DIVERSITY OF PROJECTS.—In awarding 

12 grants under this section, the Secretary shall ensure 

13 that, to the extent practicable, grants are distributed 

14 among local educational agencies that will serve geo15 graphically diverse areas, including urban, suburban, 

16 and rural areas. 

17 (5) PRIORITIES.—In awarding grants under 

18 this section, the Secretary, in consultation with the 

19 Secretary of Education, shall give priority to appli20 cations that are submitted by local educational agen21 cies that are in the highest quartile of local edu22 cational agencies in a ranking of all qualified local 

23 educational agencies in the State, ranked in descend24 ing order by the number and percentage of children 

25 in each agency counted under section 1124(c) of the 


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1 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

2 (20 U.S.C. 6333(c)). 

3 (b) APPLICATION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—In order to receive a grant 

5 under subsection (a), a local educational agency 

6 shall submit an application to the Secretary, at such 

7 time, in such manner, and containing such informa8 tion as the Secretary may reasonably require. 

9 (2) CONTENTS.—An application submitted by 

10 an agency under paragraph (1) shall include— 

11 (A) a description of how the agency will 

12 identify veteran-connected students such as 

13 through survey instruments or data sharing 

14 agreements, in accordance with applicable Fed15 eral privacy laws; 

16 (B) a description of how the agency will 

17 collaborate with a Family Coordinator to in18 crease wrap around supports provided to vet19 eran-connected students and families of vet20 erans, including how services will be provided 

21 by such agency or a medical center of the De22 partment, as appropriate; 

23 (C) a description of how the agency will 

24 expand access to evidence-based academic sup25 ports for veteran-connected students, such as 


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1 tutoring or college and career counseling, to im2 prove the academic outcomes of such students; 

3 (D) an assurance that the agency will des4 ignate an employee of a local educational agen5 cy to serve as a liaison to families of veterans 

6 to coordinate with Family Coordinators to meet 

7 the academic, social, emotional, and mental 

8 health needs of veteran-connected students, in9 cluding through the Family Support Program; 

10 and 

11 (E) a description of a preliminary memo12 randum of understanding signed between the 

13 agency and a partnering medical center of the 

14 Department detailing the financial, pro15 grammatic, and long-term commitments of each 

16 party to meet the academic, social, emotional, 

17 and mental health needs of veteran-connected 

18 students. 

19 (c) USES OF FUNDS.—A local educational agency re20 ceiving a grant under this section shall use such grant to 

21 carry out one or more of the following: 

22 (1) Support activities to address the academic, 

23 social, emotional, and mental health needs of vet24 eran-connected students. 


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1 (2) Provide assistance to veteran-connected stu2 dents to complete college admission applications and 

3 financial aid applications, including the Free Appli4 cation for Federal Student Aid described in section 

5 483(a) of the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. 

6 1090) and to access veterans’ education benefits as 

7 defined under section 480(c)(2) of such Act (20 

8 U.S.C. 1087vv(c)(2)) such individuals may be eligi9 ble to receive. 

10 (3) Improve mental health services and sup11 ports for veteran-connected students, including 

12 meeting the needs of such individuals who have ex13 perienced adverse childhood experiences or related 

14 trauma. 

15 (4) Provide professional development for Family 

16 Coordinators and for teachers, school leaders, spe17 cialized instructional support personnel, liaisons to 

18 families of veterans, and other staff employed by 

19 local educational agencies on the unique challenges 

20 facing veteran-connected students and families of 

21 veterans. 

22 (5) Conduct outreach and communicate with 

23 families of veterans to improve the involvement of 

24 veterans who are caregivers in the academic, social, 

25 emotional, and mental health needs of their children. 


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1 (6) Hire and retain a liaison to families of vet2 erans to provide supports to veteran-connected stu3 dents and families of veterans. 

4 (7) Coordinate with Family Coordinators and 

5 support the provision of services through the Family 

6 Support Program. 

7 (d) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

8 (1) LOCAL REPORTING.—Not later than one 

9 year after a local educational agency receives a grant 

10 under this section, and annually thereafter, such 

11 agency shall submit to the Secretary a report con12 taining such information as the Secretary may re13 quire, including— 

14 (A) the number and percentage of veteran15 connected students served by the agency, 

16 disaggregated by demographic data; 

17 (B) information required under paragraph 

18 (1)(C)(ii) of section 1111(h) of the Elementary 

19 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

20 U.S.C. 6311(h)) and corresponding require21 ments under paragraph (2) of that section for 

22 all veteran-connected students served by the 

23 agency; and 

24 (C) a description of the academic, social, 

25 emotional, and mental health services provided 


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1 to veteran-connected students, including wheth2 er such services were provided by the agency or 

3 through the Family Support Program. 

4 (2) SECRETARY REPORTING.—Not later than 

5 one year after receiving a report described in para6 graph (1), the Secretary, in coordination with the 

7 Secretary of Education, shall— 

8 (A) prepare and submit to the Committee 

9 on Veterans’ Affairs and the Committee on 

10 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 

11 Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

12 and the Committee on Education and Labor of 

13 the House of Representatives a report that 

14 summarizes the report submitted under para15 graph (1); and 

16 (B) make the report submitted under para17 graph (1) publicly available on an internet 

18 website of the Department. 

19 (e) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant funds 

20 provided under this section shall be used to supplement, 

21 not supplant, other Federal or State funds available to 

22 carry out activities described in this section. 

23 (f) DISAGGREGATION OF DATA.—Disaggregation of 

24 data required under this section shall not be required 

25 when the number of students described in subsection 


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1 (d)(1)(A) is insufficient to yield statistically reliable infor2 mation or the results would reveal personally identifiable 

3 information about an individual student. 

4 SEC. 6. OUTREACH ON AVAILABILITY OF SERVICES. 

5 The Secretary shall conduct an outreach program to 

6 ensure veterans who are enrolled in the patient enrollment 

7 system of the Department established and operated under 

8 section 1705(a) of title 38, United States Code, employees 

9 of the Department, and potential State, local, and Federal 

10 partners are informed of the Family Support Program and 

11 the availability of Family Coordinators. 

12 SEC. 7. TRANSITION ASSISTANCE. 

13 Not later than one year after the date of the enact14 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall include information 

15 regarding supportive services available for members of the 

16 Armed Forces who are being separated from active duty 

17 and their families, including mental health and other serv18 ices for children, in the transition assistance curriculum 

19 offered by the Department. 

20 SEC. 8. SURVEY. 

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

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

23 for five years, the Secretary shall conduct a survey of dis24 abled veterans and their families to identify and better unVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:42 May 31, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4276.IS S4276

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1 derstand the needs of such disabled veterans and their 

2 families. 

3 (b) CONTENT.—The survey required under sub4 section (a) shall include questions with respect to— 

5 (1) the types and quality of support disabled 

6 veterans receive from the children of such disabled 

7 veterans; and 

8 (2) the unmet needs of such children. 

9 SEC. 9. NONDISCRIMINATION. 

10 Programs or activities receiving funds under this Act 

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

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

13 disability status, or age. 

14 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec16 retary such funds as may be necessary to carry out this 

17 Act. 

Æ 


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