I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2898 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide support services for 

family caregivers of disabled veterans, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 16, 2009 

Mrs. HALVORSON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide support 

services for family caregivers of disabled 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wounded Warrior 

5 Caregiver Assistance Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SUPPORT SERVICES FOR FAMILY CAREGIVERS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 17 of title 38, United 

8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing new section: 


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1 ‘‘§ 1786. Support services for family caregivers 

2 ‘‘(a) TRAINING.—The Secretary shall make available 

3 interactive training sessions for family caregivers and indi4 viduals who provide such caregivers support under this 

5 chapter or through the aging network (including respite 

6 care providers, nursing care providers, and counselors). 

7 Such training shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) be made available both in person and on 

9 an Internet website; 

10 ‘‘(2) incorporate telehealth technologies to the 

11 extent practicable; and 

12 ‘‘(3) teach techniques, strategies, and skills for 

13 caring for a disabled veteran, including, at a min14 imum, effective methods of— 

15 ‘‘(A) caring for a veteran— 

16 ‘‘(i) with post-traumatic stress dis17 order or a traumatic brain injury; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) who was deployed in support of 

19 Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation 

20 Iraqi Freedom; and 

21 ‘‘(B) recording details regarding the health 

22 of the veteran. 

23 ‘‘(b) ACCESS TO SUPPORT SERVICES.—The Secretary 

24 shall provide family caregivers with information con25 cerning public, private, and non-profit agencies that offer 


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1 support to such caregivers. In providing such information, 

2 the Secretary shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) collaborate with the Assistant Secretary 

4 for Aging of the Department of Health and Human 

5 Services in order to provide family caregivers access 

6 to Aging and Disability Resource Centers under the 

7 Administration on Aging of the Department of 

8 Health and Human Services; and 

9 ‘‘(2) contract with a private entity to provide 

10 family caregivers with an Internet-based service that 

11 contains— 

12 ‘‘(A) a directory of services available at the 

13 county level; 

14 ‘‘(B) message boards and other similar 

15 tools that provide family caregivers with the 

16 ability to interact with each other and disabled 

17 veterans for the purpose of fostering peer sup18 port and creating support networks; and 

19 ‘‘(C) comprehensive information explaining 

20 health-related topics and issues relevant to the 

21 needs of disabled veterans and family care22 givers. 

23 ‘‘(c) INFORMATION AND OUTREACH.—The Secretary 

24 shall conduct outreach to inform disabled veterans and the 


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1 families of such veterans of the services under this section. 

2 Such outreach shall include the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) Public service announcements. 

4 ‘‘(2) Brochures and pamphlets. 

5 ‘‘(3) Full use of Internet-based outreach meth6 ods, including— 

7 ‘‘(A) participating on social networking 

8 websites; 

9 ‘‘(B) methods designed specifically for 

10 rural families; and 

11 ‘‘(C) establishing a web page on the Inter12 net website of the Department that— 

13 ‘‘(i) is dedicated to caregiver support; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(ii) contains interactive elements, in16 cluding providing information based on the 

17 location of the person using the web page. 

18 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 ‘‘(1) The term ‘aging network’ has the meaning 

20 given that term in section 102(5) of the Older Amer21 icans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3002(5)). 

22 ‘‘(2) The term ‘caregiver services’ means non23 institutional extended care (as used in section 

24 1701(6) of this title), including homemaker and 

25 home health aid services. 


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1 ‘‘(3) The term ‘family caregiver’ means an indi2 vidual who— 

3 ‘‘(A) is a member of the family (including 

4 parents, spouses, children, siblings, step-family 

5 members, and extended family members) of a 

6 disabled veteran; 

7 ‘‘(B) provides caregiver services to such 

8 veteran for such disability; and 

9 ‘‘(C) may or may not reside with such vet10 eran.’’. 

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

12 at the beginning of chapter 17 of title 38, United States 

13 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 

14 item: 

‘‘1786. Support services for family caregivers.’’. 

15 SEC. 3. COUNSELING AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR 

16 FAMILY CAREGIVERS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1782 of title 38, United 

18 States Code, is amended— 

19 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘IMME20 DIATE’’; and 

21 (2) in subsection (c)— 

22 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘; or’’ 

23 and inserting a semicolon; 

24 (B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

25 paragraph (3); and 


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1 (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

2 following new paragraph (2): 

3 ‘‘(2) a family caregiver as defined in section 

4 1786 of this title; or’’. 

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

6 at the beginning of chapter 17 of title 38, United States 

7 Code, is amended by striking the item relating to section 

8 1782 and inserting the following new item: 

‘‘1782. Counseling, training, and mental health services for family members.’’. 

9 SEC. 4. RESPITE CARE TO ASSIST FAMILY CAREGIVERS. 

10 Section 1720B of title 38, United States Code, is 

11 amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘title.’’ and in13 serting ‘‘title or who receives care from a family 

14 caregiver as defined in section 1786 of this title.’’; 

15 and 

16 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub17 section: 

18 ‘‘(d) In furnishing respite care services under this 

19 section, the Secretary shall ensure that such services— 

20 ‘‘(1) fulfill the needs of the veteran receiving 

21 care; and 

22 ‘‘(2) are appropriate for the veteran (including 

23 by taking the age of the veteran into account when 


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1 selecting the respite care provided to such vet2 eran).’’. 

Æ 


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