116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 840 
AN ACT 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Sec-
retary of Veterans Affairs to provide child care assistance 
to veterans receiving certain medical services provided 
by the Department of Veterans Affairs. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans’ Access to 
Child Care Act’’. 
SEC. 2. CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE FOR VETERANS RECEIV-
ING MENTAL HEALTH CARE AND OTHER IN-
TENSIVE HEALTH CARE SERVICES PROVIDED 
BY THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF-
FAIRS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 17 of 
title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following new section: 
‘‘§ 1730D. Child care assistance for veterans receiving 
mental health care and other intensive 
health care services 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (c), the 
Secretary shall provide child care assistance to an eligible 
veteran for any period that the veteran— 
‘‘(1) receives covered health care services at a 
facility of the Department, such as a community- 
based outpatient clinic; and 
‘‘(2) is required to travel to and return from 
such facility for the receipt of such health care serv-
ices. 
‘‘(b) CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE.—(1) Subject to sub-
section (c), child care assistance provided under this sec-
tion may include any of the following:
‘‘(B) The average cost of child care assist-
ance. 
‘‘(C) The extent to which the Department 
has a backlog of unprocessed claims for child 
care assistance. 
‘‘(D) The number of Department employ-
ees who worked on the processing of claims for 
child care assistance. 
‘‘(E) The average amount of time required 
by such an employee to process such a claim. 
‘‘(F) The number of improper or duplica-
tive payments of child care assistance made. 
‘‘(G) The recommendations of the Sec-
retary for improving the processing of claims 
for child care assistance. 
‘‘(2) CATEGORIES
OF
CHILD
CARE
ASSIST-
ANCE.—The categories of child care assistance speci-
fied in this paragraph are each of the following: 
‘‘(A) Direct stipends. 
‘‘(B) Payments made directly to a child 
care agencies. 
‘‘(C) Stipends provided through a voucher 
program.
‘‘(e) OUTREACH.—The Secretary shall perform out-
reach to inform eligible veterans of the child care assist-
ance available under this section. 
‘‘(f) REQUIREMENTS; RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—(1) 
In accordance with paragraph (2), a child care center, 
child care agency, or any other child care provider de-
scribed in subsection (b) may not provide child care under 
this section if the center, agency, or provider employs an 
individual who has been convicted of a sex crime, an of-
fense involving a child victim, a violent crime, a drug fel-
ony, or other offense the Secretary determines appro-
priate. 
‘‘(2) Nothing in paragraph (1) shall supersede, nul-
lify, or diminish any Federal or State law (including any 
local law or ordinance), contract, agreement, policy, plan, 
practice, or other matter that establishes standards and 
requirements for employees of child care centers, child 
care agencies, or other child care providers described in 
subsection (b) that are more restrictive than the require-
ments specified in paragraph (1). 
‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘eligible veteran’ means a vet-
eran who— 
‘‘(A) is a primary caretaker of a child or 
children; and
‘‘(B) is— 
‘‘(i) receiving covered health care serv-
ices from the Department; or 
‘‘(ii) in need of covered health care 
services, and but for lack of child care 
services, would receive such covered health 
care services from the Department. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘covered health care services’ 
means— 
‘‘(A) regular mental health care services, 
including telemental health services furnished 
by the Department, including health care serv-
ices provided as part of readjustment coun-
seling; 
‘‘(B) intensive mental health care services, 
including telemental health services furnished 
by the Department, including counseling and 
care and services under section 1720D of this 
title; 
‘‘(C) health care services related to sub-
stance or drug abuse counseling; 
‘‘(D) intensive health care services related 
to physical therapy for a service-connected dis-
ability;
‘‘(E) emergency mental health care serv-
ices; or 
‘‘(F) such other intensive health care serv-
ices that the Secretary determines that provi-
sion of assistance to the veteran to obtain child 
care would improve access to such health care 
services by the veteran. 
‘‘(3) The term ‘facility of the Department’ in-
cludes any Vet Center. 
‘‘(4) The term ‘Vet Center’ has the meaning 
given that term in section 1712A of this title.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 1730C the following new 
item: 
‘‘1730D. Child care assistance for veterans receiving mental health care and 
other intensive health care services.’’. 
(c) FEASIBILITY STUDY ON CHILD CARE FOR VET-
ERANS RECEIVING CARE IN NON-DEPARTMENT FACILI-
TIES.— 
(1) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Vet-
erans Affairs shall conduct a feasibility study to de-
termine how the Department of Veterans Affairs 
could provide child care assistance for veterans who 
receive covered health care services (as such term is 
defined in section 1730D(c)(2) of title 38, United
States Code, as added by subsection (a)) from the 
Department at non-Department facilities. 
(2) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 
one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on 
Veterans Affairs of the Senate and House of Rep-
resentatives a report containing the results of the 
study required to be conducted under paragraph (1). 
(d) PUBLIC NOTICE.—After the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary shall make publicly available on a De-
partment website notice of the child care assistance benefit 
under section 1730D of title 38, United States Code, as 
added by subsection (a). Such notice shall be easily acces-
sible and visible and shall include a description of the ex-
panded and cost-free child care assistance for veterans, eli-
gibility requirements, and any additional information the 
Secretary determines necessary. 
(e) REPORT
TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 18 
months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to Congress a 
report on the effectiveness and accessibility of the child 
care assistance provided under section 1710D of title 38, 
United States Code, as added by this section, for eligible 
individuals who reside in rural and highly rural areas.
(f) AUTHORITY TO CONSULT WITH SECRETARY OF 
DEFENSE.—In implementing section 1730D of title 38, 
United States Code, as added by subsection (a), the Sec-
retary of Veterans Affairs may consult with the Secretary 
of Defense. 
SEC. 3. STUDY ON EFFECTS OF CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE. 
(a) STUDY REQUIRED.—Not later than one year 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs shall conduct a study of the effects 
of the child care assistance provided under section 2 on 
access to covered health care services, as that term is de-
fined in that section, and on compliance with treatment 
protocols. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet-
erans Affairs shall submit a report to Congress regarding 
the study required under subsection (a). 
SEC. 4. REPORT REQUIRED. 
(a) ANNUAL REPORT.—Beginning in the first fiscal 
year following the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs shall submit, as part of the annual 
budget request document for the Department of Veterans 
Affairs, a report regarding eligible veterans who received 
child care assistance under section 2 during the imme-
diately preceding fiscal year. Each such report shall in-
clude the following: 
(1) The number of such eligible veterans in 
each region of the Veterans Health Administration. 
(2) If feasible, the number of such eligible vet-
erans per facility of the Department. 
(3) The amount of funding for such assistance 
made available by the Secretary— 
(A) for each region of the Veterans Health 
Administration; and 
(B) for each type of assistance specified in 
subsection (b) of such section. 
(4) Findings regarding— 
(A) challenges in providing such assist-
ance; 
(B) child care not covered by such assist-
ance; and 
(C) recommendations to improve such as-
sistance. 
(b) BIENNIAL SUPPLEMENT.—Not less than once 
every two years, the report under subsection (a) shall in-
clude a supplement regarding the following: 
(1) Other challenges regarding child care serv-
ices that prevent veterans from receiving covered 
health care services under section 2.
(2) Plans of the Secretary to address challenges 
identified under paragraph (1). 
(3) An assessment of the extent to which lack 
of education by the Department or awareness by vet-
erans of the assistance under section 2 contributes 
to a lack of use of such assistance. 
Passed the House of Representatives February 8, 
2019. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 840 
AN ACT 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct 
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide child 
care assistance to veterans receiving certain med-
ical services provided by the Department of Vet-
erans Affairs.