II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1017 

To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 in order to address the needs 

of caregivers, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 3, 2019 

Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Mr. KAINE) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 in order to 

address the needs of caregivers, 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 ‘‘Supporting America’s 

5 Caregivers and Families Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF CAREGIVERS. 

7 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR FAM8 ILY CAREGIVER SUPPORT.—Section 303(e) of the Older 

9 Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3023(e)) is amended 

10 by striking ‘‘$154,336,482’’ and all that follows through 


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1 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘$360,000,000 for 

2 each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024’’. 

3 (b) IMPROVING CAREGIVER ASSESSMENT.— 

4 (1) INCREASING USE OF CAREGIVER ASSESS5 MENT TOOLS.—Section 202 of the Older Americans 

6 Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3012) is amended by adding 

7 at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(h) By not later than January 1, 2021, the Assist9 ant Secretary shall— 

10 ‘‘(1) in consultation with caregivers, older indi11 viduals, the aging network, and other experts and 

12 stakeholders, develop and implement a strategy to 

13 increase the use of comprehensive caregiver assess14 ment tools that— 

15 ‘‘(A) are standardized across a planning 

16 and service area; 

17 ‘‘(B) assess the specific problems, needs, 

18 strengths, and resources of caregivers— 

19 ‘‘(i) as identified by a recognized care20 giver, as appropriate, through voluntary 

21 participation; 

22 ‘‘(ii) through direct contact with the 

23 caregiver, which may include in-person, 

24 phone, or online contact; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) at appropriate intervals, includ2 ing to accommodate significant changes in 

3 the caregiving situation; 

4 ‘‘(C) determine whether a caregiver would 

5 benefit from support services; and 

6 ‘‘(D) lead to providing targeted caregiver 

7 support services to best benefit caregivers, 

8 where appropriate and available based upon 

9 identified unmet needs, including through refer10 rals; 

11 ‘‘(2) conduct a study on the best practices and 

12 potential considerations regarding mandatory use of 

13 comprehensive caregiver assessment tools standard14 ized across a planning and service area by an area 

15 agency on aging, which shall examine— 

16 ‘‘(A) the current use of caregiver assess17 ments, as of the date of the study; 

18 ‘‘(B) the efficacy and feasibility of manda19 tory use of comprehensive caregiver assessment 

20 tools standardized across a planning and service 

21 area, including the value to caregivers and the 

22 older individuals to whom they provide care; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(C) the potential impact on the aging net25 work of using such assessments; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) prepare and submit to Congress a report 

2 regarding the study under paragraph (2) that pro3 vides recommendations for the appropriate use of 

4 comprehensive caregiver assessments standardized 

5 across a planning and service area by an area agen6 cy on aging, and a proposed budget, based on the 

7 Assistant Secretary’s professional judgment, for ap8 propriately implementing the recommendations.’’. 

9 (2) ASSESSING NEEDS OF CAREGIVERS.—Sec10 tion 373(e)(3) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 

11 (42 U.S.C. 3030s–1(e)(3)) is amended by inserting 

12 ‘‘assess the needs of family caregivers or older rel13 ative caregivers and’’ before ‘‘provide’’. 

14 (3) FAMILY CAREGIVER RESOURCE CENTER

15 AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Section 202(b) of 

16 the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 

17 3012(b)) is amended— 

18 (A) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

19 after the semicolon; 

20 (B) by redesignating paragraph (11) as 

21 paragraph (12); and 

22 (C) by inserting after paragraph (10) the 

23 following: 


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1 ‘‘(11) establish and operate the National Fam2 ily Caregiver Resource and Technical Assistance 

3 Center, which will— 

4 ‘‘(A) by grant or contract with a public or 

5 private nonprofit entity, provide information 

6 and assistance to State agencies, area agencies 

7 on aging, and community-based service pro8 viders funded under this Act, including— 

9 ‘‘(i) through technical assistance, re10 search, training, program analysis, and 

11 data collection; 

12 ‘‘(ii) activities described in section 

13 411(a)(11); and 

14 ‘‘(iii) dissemination of best practices, 

15 including best practices for conducting as16 sessments of caregiver needs using com17 prehensive assessment tools standardized 

18 across a planning and service area; and 

19 ‘‘(B) directly or through grant or contract, 

20 provide information, education, and assistance 

21 to family caregivers in a manner that is acces22 sible and understandable to the family care23 givers.’’. 

24 (c) BUSINESS ACUMEN PROVISIONS.— 


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1 (1) ASSISTANCE RELATING TO GROWING AND

2 SUSTAINING CAPACITY.—Section 202(b)(9) of the 

3 Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 

4 3012(b)(9)) is amended— 

5 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

6 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

7 (B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

8 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; and 

9 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(C) business acumen, capacity building, 

11 organizational development, innovation, and 

12 other methods of growing and sustaining the 

13 capacity of the aging network to serve older 

14 adults and caregivers most effectively;’’. 

15 (2) CLARIFYING PARTNERSHIPS FOR AREA

16 AGENCIES ON AGING.—Section 306 of the Older 

17 Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3026) is amend18 ed by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(g) Nothing in this Act shall restrict an area agency 

20 on aging from providing services not provided or author21 ized under this Act, including through— 

22 ‘‘(1) contracts with health care payers; 

23 ‘‘(2) consumer private pay programs; or 

24 ‘‘(3) other arrangements with entities or indi25 viduals that increase the availability of home and 


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1 community-based services and supports in the plan2 ning and service area supported by the area agency 

3 on aging.’’. 

Æ 


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