II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2842 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a Caregiver Corps 

program. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 17 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 16), 2014 

Mr. CASEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a 

Caregiver Corps program. 

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 ‘‘Caregiver Corps Act 

5 of 2014’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find8 ings: 

9 (1) As of 2013, more than 43,000,000 Ameri10 cans are age 65 or older. More than 75 percent of 


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1 such individuals live with chronic conditions which 

2 require assistance that helps them to live in a home3 or community-based setting. In 2012, almost 

4 38,000,000 Americans of all ages reported having 

5 one or more disabilities. 

6 (2) As of 2012, there were over 800,000 home 

7 health aides assisting older adults in their homes 

8 with activities of daily living and some light house9 keeping tasks such as changing linens and preparing 

10 food. Direct care workers are critical as families and 

11 friends strive to provide quality care for individuals 

12 in the community. 

13 (3) Estimates suggest that there are 

14 52,000,000 to 65,000,000 informal caregivers help15 ing to provide care to adults with disabilities and ill16 nesses. These caregivers help with a range of tasks 

17 but more time is spent on tasks such as shopping, 

18 food preparation, housekeeping, and laundry, and 

19 less time is spent on activities of daily living such as 

20 feeding, dressing, grooming, walking, bathing, and 

21 assistance toileting. 

22 (4) Over 60 percent of all informal caregivers 

23 work either full- or part-time. Even with the growing 

24 number of direct care workers available, there is a 

25 shortage in the number of people available to help 


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1 support individuals who need extra assistance to re2 main in the community. 

3 (5) Only 12 percent of informal caregivers re4 port having used a respite service. Respite is a 

5 means of giving the caregiver a break from their 

6 caregiving duties. Respite comes in many forms and 

7 may include having the individual attend an adult 

8 day program outside the home or having a friendly 

9 visitor serve as a companion and provide light assist10 ance while the caregiver takes a break. 

11 (6) Respite volunteer programs exist in many 

12 communities. There is a range of ways that these 

13 programs offer incentives to the volunteers. Some 

14 programs use a time-banking or service-exchange ap15 proach as an incentive to engage volunteers, while 

16 other programs access funds from private and public 

17 sources to offer modest stipends to volunteers. 

18 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to estab19 lish a Caregiver Corps program to foster the creation of 

20 community-based Corps programs that provide for volun21 teer community service opportunities to address the short22 age of assistance available for older adults and individuals 

23 with disabilities. 


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1 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF CAREGIVER CORPS PROGRAM. 

2 Part P of title III of the Public Health Service Act 

3 (42 U.S.C. 280g et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 399V–6. CAREGIVER CORPS. 

6 ‘‘(a) CONTRACT FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF CARE7 GIVER CORPS PROGRAM.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall enter 

9 into a contract with a nonprofit entity for the devel10 opment of an online toolkit and guidance providing 

11 for the establishment and implementation of Care12 giver Corps (referred to in this section as ‘Corps’) 

13 volunteer programs in local communities. 

14 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The toolkit and guid15 ance developed under paragraph (1) shall be based 

16 on best practice methods from existing private and 

17 public sector volunteer programs and include— 

18 ‘‘(A) guidance on the recruitment, screen19 ing, and training of Corps volunteers; 

20 ‘‘(B) guidance on recommended processes 

21 for administering and evaluating the perform22 ance of local Corps programs; 

23 ‘‘(C) guidance on options for securing 

24 start-up and operational funding for local Corps 

25 programs; 


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1 ‘‘(D) sources for obtaining ongoing tech2 nical assistance; and 

3 ‘‘(E) guidance on how communities can 

4 promote larger community involvement and cul5 tivate partnerships and connections between 

6 local Corps programs. 

7 ‘‘(3) GRANTS.—The Secretary may award 

8 grants to public and private nonprofit entities for 

9 the operation of local Corps programs under sub10 section (b) in accordance with this section. 

11 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS OF CAREGIVER CORPS PRO12 GRAMS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) LOCAL CAREGIVER CORPS PROGRAMS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to be a 

15 local Corps program for purposes of this sec16 tion, an entity shall be— 

17 ‘‘(i) an area agency on aging; 

18 ‘‘(ii) a time-banking or volunteer or19 ganizing agency; 

20 ‘‘(iii) a college or university; 

21 ‘‘(iv) a State, county, or local govern22 ment; or 

23 ‘‘(v) any other entity determined to be 

24 appropriate by the Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(B) DUTIES AND ACTIVITIES.—A local 

2 Corps program shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) conduct screening and criminal 

4 history background checks of Corps volun5 teers; 

6 ‘‘(ii) provide in-person orientation and 

7 training for Corps volunteers; 

8 ‘‘(iii) develop and monitor volunteer 

9 assignments, which shall include selecting 

10 the adults to be served by Corps volun11 teers, matching volunteers to assignments, 

12 and supervising the volunteers; 

13 ‘‘(iv) assist in the provision of appro14 priate volunteer recognition; 

15 ‘‘(v) maintain records and prepare re16 ports as required by the Secretary; and 

17 ‘‘(vi) carry out any other activities de18 termined appropriate by the Secretary. 

19 ‘‘(2) CAREGIVER CORPS VOLUNTEERS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBILITY.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to 

22 serve as a volunteer for a local Corps pro23 gram, an individual shall— 


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1 ‘‘(I) be at least 18 years of age 

2 and willing to accept supervision as 

3 required by the local Corps program; 

4 ‘‘(II) consent to a criminal back5 ground check; and 

6 ‘‘(III) meet such other require7 ments as the local Corps program 

8 shall require. 

9 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—Eligibility to be a 

10 volunteer for a local Corps program shall 

11 not be restricted on the basis of education, 

12 employment experience, citizenship, race, 

13 color, creed, belief, gender, sexual orienta14 tion, national origin, disability, or political 

15 affiliation. 

16 ‘‘(B) TERMS OF SERVICE.— 

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An individual may 

18 serve as a full- or part-time volunteer for 

19 an initial period of not to exceed 2 years. 

20 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—An individual who 

21 serves as a volunteer for a local Corps pro22 gram shall not be considered to be an em23 ployee of the local Corps program for pur24 poses of the application of any Federal or 

25 State employment-related law. 


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1 ‘‘(C) FUNCTIONS.— 

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A Corps volunteer 

3 shall— 

4 ‘‘(I) provide assistance to an 

5 older individual or an individual with 

6 disabilities who needs additional serv7 ices to remain in the community; 

8 ‘‘(II) provide assistance to give 

9 an informal caregiver respite from his 

10 or her caregiving duties; 

11 ‘‘(III) serve as a companion to 

12 older individuals and individuals with 

13 disabilities; 

14 ‘‘(IV) provide assistance for 

15 which such volunteer is qualified, as 

16 determined by the local Corps pro17 gram; and 

18 ‘‘(V) not provide personal care or 

19 administer prescription medications. 

20 ‘‘(ii) INDIVIDUALS TO BE SERVED.— 

21 To be eligible to obtain Corps volunteer 

22 services, an individual shall be an adult 

23 aged 65 or older, or an individual eligible 

24 for Social Security Disability Insurance, 

25 who is in need of assistance to achieve and 


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1 maintain their highest level of independent 

2 living. 

3 ‘‘(iii) REQUIRED SERVICE TO INDIVID4 UALS.—The activities of a Corps volunteer 

5 shall involve person-to-person relationships 

6 with the individuals being served and shall 

7 not include the provision of any service to 

8 the local Corps program involved. 

9 ‘‘(3) DIRECT BENEFITS.—A local Corps pro10 gram— 

11 ‘‘(A) shall provide for appropriate recogni12 tion of Corps volunteers; and 

13 ‘‘(B) may, at the discretion of the local 

14 Corps program, provide compensation to a 

15 Corps volunteer, in the manner determined ap16 propriate by the local Corps program, which 

17 may include stipends, tuition incentives or aca18 demic credit, or the banking of volunteer hours 

19 for use against future needs for assistance. 

20 ‘‘(4) REPORTING.—Not less than annually, a 

21 local Corps program shall submit to the Secretary a 

22 report that contains, with respect to the year for 

23 which the report is prepared— 

24 ‘‘(A) aggregate data on the number of 

25 Corps volunteers trained, the number of Corps 


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1 volunteers providing service, the number of 

2 hours of service provided, and the number of in3 dividuals being served; and 

4 ‘‘(B) data to inform the Secretary and 

5 local communities of any system and consumer 

6 outcome impacts of the local Corps program. 

7 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

8 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, 

9 such sums as may be necessary.’’. 

Æ 


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