Vet CENTERS for Mental Health Act of 2023

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to improve mental health care for veterans through the establishment of a minimum requirement for the number of Vet Centers per State. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Veterans Census-Enabled National Treatment Equitable Resource Supplement for Mental Health Act of 2023 Vet CENTERS for Mental Health Act of 2023 2. Minimum requirement for number of Vet Centers per State (a) In general The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that, by not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act, the number of covered Vet Centers located in each State is at least the minimum required number described in subsection (b) with respect to that State. (b) Minimum required number The minimum required number described in this subsection is the following: (1) With respect to each State that is one of the several States not located in the contiguous United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States that is not one of the several States, the greater of the following: (A) One covered Vet Center per State. (B) The total number of covered Vet Centers that were located in the State on January 1, 2020. (2) With respect to each of the several States located in the contiguous United States and not referred to in paragraph (1), the greater of the following: (A) One covered Vet Center per every 30,000 square miles of land area in the State. (B) One covered Vet Center per every 55,000 veterans located in the State (calculated by using the number of veterans in the State as determined by the Director of the United States Census Bureau for the most recent census). (c) Establishment of additional Vet Centers (1) In general In carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary shall establish such additional covered Vet Centers in each State as may be necessary to meet the minimum required number described in subsection (b) with respect to the State. (2) Existing facilities In establishing additional covered Vet Centers pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary may establish such covered Vet Centers at facilities made available to the Secretary by the head of a State, local government, or federally recognized Indian tribe to carry out this section, regardless of whether such facility is made available at a cost to the Secretary. (3) Vet Center outstations If the establishment of more than one additional covered Vet Center in a State is necessary to meet the minimum required number described in subsection (b) with respect to the State, the Secretary— (A) shall establish at least one additional covered Vet Center to meet such number; and (B) for each remaining covered Vet Center necessary to meet such number, may establish a covered Vet Center outstation in lieu of a covered Vet Center. (d) Definitions In this Act: (1) The term covered Vet Center (2) The term covered Vet Center outstation (A) provides similar child care services as the child care services provided at a Vet Center; and (B) is scheduled to be open in accordance with the minimum hours and days specified in paragraph (1). (3) The term State

Summary: Veterans Census-Enabled National Treatment Equitable Resource Supplement for Mental Health Act of 2023 or the Vet CENTERS for Mental Health Act of 2023 This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to ensure that there is a minimum number of Vet Centers located in each state. Vet Centers are community-based counseling centers that provide social and psychological services to eligible veterans, service members, and their families. The minimum number of Vet Centers required in each state is generally based on the state's geographic size or the number of veterans located in the state. The VA must establish additional Vet Centers as necessary to meet the minimum required number for each state. The VA may establish the additional Vet Centers at facilities made available by a state, local government, or recognized Indian tribe. If a state needs more than one additional Vet Center to meet its minimum requirement, the VA must establish at least one additional Vet Center and may establish Vet Center outstations to cover the difference.