Veterans’ Culturally Competent Care Act

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish standards and requirements for non-Department mental health care providers participating in the Department of Veterans Affairs Community Care program, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Veterans’ Culturally Competent Care Act 2. Standards and requirements for non-Department mental health care providers participating in Department of Veterans Affairs Community Care program (a) In general The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall establish standards and requirements for the provision of mental health care by non-Department of Veterans Affairs health care providers under the Community Care program of the Department under section 1703 of title 38, United States Code. Such standards shall be the same as the standards and requirements applicable to Department employees who provide such mental health care. (b) Training requirement Not later than the date that is 180 days after the date on which a provider of mental health care becomes an approved provider under the Community Care program of the Department under section 1703 of title 38, United States Code, the Secretary shall require the provider to complete— (1) the basic course described in subsection (c)(1); and (2) each of the four clinical domain courses described in subsection (c)(2). (c) Courses described (1) Basic course The course described in this paragraph is— (A) a free, four-module course, made available online, that is developed by the Department of Veterans Affairs about military culture and core competencies for health care professionals; or (B) a successor course or other course the Secretary determines is comparable to the course described in subparagraph (A). (2) Clinical domain courses The courses described in this paragraph are free courses, made available online, in each of the following clinical domains: (A) Evaluation and management of suicide. (B) Post-traumatic stress disorder. (C) Traumatic brain injury. (D) Military sexual trauma. (3) Continuing education Each course described in this subsection shall be designed to meet continuing education requirements for mental health care providers. (d) Additional training (1) Identification of training areas Not later than two years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall identify at least three clinical domains for which the need for care among veterans is high and shall develop training courses in those clinical domains. (2) Requirement Not later than 60 days after the training courses developed pursuant to paragraph (1) are made available, the Secretary shall require all non-Department mental health care providers approved under the Community Care program of the Department under section 1703 of title 38, United States Code, to complete the courses. (e) Annual report The Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives an annual report on the requirements of this section. Each such report shall include, for the year covered by the report, the number of non-Department mental health care providers who have completed the requirements under this section.

Summary: Veterans' Culturally Competent Care Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish standards and requirements for the provision of mental health care by non-VA providers in the Veterans Community Care Program (VCCP). The established standards must be the same as the standards applicable to VA employees who provide mental health care. The VA must require non-VA mental health care providers to complete training courses on military culture, core competencies for health care professionals, suicide evaluation and management, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, and military sexual trauma after the provider becomes approved under the VCCP. The VA must also (1) identify additional training areas for which to develop courses, and (2) require the non-VA providers to complete such courses.