‘‘§ 1720G. Support services for caregivers and family 
caregivers 
‘‘(a) EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS.—(1) The Secretary 
shall make available educational sessions for caregivers, 
family caregivers, and individuals described in paragraph 
(2). Such educational sessions shall— 
‘‘(A) be made available both in person and 
on an Internet website; 
‘‘(B) incorporate available technology, in-
cluding telehealth technology to the extent prac-
ticable; and 
‘‘(C) teach techniques, strategies, and 
skills for caring for a disabled veteran, includ-
ing, at a minimum, a veteran who— 
‘‘(i) was deployed in support of Oper-
ation Enduring Freedom or Operation 
Iraqi Freedom; and 
‘‘(ii) has post-traumatic stress dis-
order, a traumatic brain injury, or other 
severe injury or illness. 
‘‘(2) Individuals described in this paragraph are indi-
viduals who provide caregivers and family caregivers with 
support under this chapter or through an aging network 
(as that term is defined in section 102(5) of the Older 
Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3002(5)), including— 
‘‘(A) respite care providers; 
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‘‘(B) nursing care providers; and 
‘‘(C) counselors. 
‘‘(b) ACCESS TO SUPPORT SERVICES.—The Secretary 
shall provide caregivers and family caregivers with infor-
mation concerning public, private, and non-profit agencies 
that offer support to caregivers. In providing such infor-
mation, the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(1) collaborate with the Assistant Secretary 
for Aging of the Department of Health and Human 
Services in order to provide caregivers and family 
caregivers access to aging and disability resource 
centers under the Administration on Aging of the 
Department of Health and Human Services; and 
‘‘(2) include on an Internet website that is dedi-
cated to caregivers and family caregivers— 
‘‘(A) a directory of services available for 
caregivers and family caregivers at the county 
level; and 
‘‘(B) tools that provide caregivers and fam-
ily caregivers with the ability to interact with 
each other for the purpose of fostering peer 
support and creating support networks. 
‘‘(c) INFORMATION AND OUTREACH.—The Secretary 
shall conduct outreach to inform disabled veterans and the 
families of such veterans of the medical care, educational 
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sessions, and services available under this chapter for 
caregivers and family caregivers. Such outreach shall in-
clude, at a minimum, the following: 
‘‘(1) Public service announcements. 
‘‘(2) Brochures and pamphlets. 
‘‘(3) Full use of Internet-based outreach meth-
ods, including such methods designed specifically for 
veterans and the families of such veterans who re-
side in rural areas.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions at the beginning of chapter 17 of title 38, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting after 
the item related to section 1720F the following new 
item: 
‘‘1720G. Support services for caregivers and family caregivers.’’. 
(c) PLAN.—Not later than 180 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 
to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
of the Senate a plan for carrying out section 1720G of 
title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (b) 
of this section. 
(d) REPORTS.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date on which the plan is submitted under subsection (c), 
and annually thereafter for the following five years, the 
Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Af-
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fairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate a report describing the 
implementation of the plan. 
SEC. 3. COUNSELING AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR 
CAREGIVERS AND FAMILY CAREGIVERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1782 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(1) in the section heading, by adding at the end 
the following: ‘‘, caregivers, and family care-
givers’’; and 
(2) in subsection (c)— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘; or’’ 
and inserting a semicolon; 
(B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 
paragraph (3); and 
(C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 
following new paragraph (2): 
‘‘(2) a caregiver or family caregiver of a vet-
eran; or’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of chapter 17 of title 38, United States 
Code, is amended by striking the item relating to section 
1782 and inserting the following new item: 
‘‘1782. Counseling, training, and mental health services for immediate family 
members, caregivers, and family caregivers.’’. 
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SEC. 4. RESPITE CARE TO ASSIST FAMILY CAREGIVERS. 
Section 1720B of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘title.’’ and in-
serting ‘‘title or who receives care from a family 
caregiver.’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(d) In furnishing respite care services under this 
section, the Secretary shall ensure that such services— 
‘‘(1) fulfill the needs of the veteran receiving 
care (including 24-hour in-home respite care); and 
‘‘(2) are appropriate for the veteran with re-
spect to the age of the veteran.’’. 
SEC. 5. MEDICAL CARE FOR FAMILY CAREGIVERS. 
Section 1781 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(B) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘and’’ 
at the end; and 
(C) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 
following new paragraph: 
‘‘(4) in accordance with subsection (e), a family 
caregiver,’’; 
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(2) in the third sentence of subsection (b), by 
striking ‘‘dependent or survivor’’ and inserting ‘‘de-
pendent, survivor, or family caregiver’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(e)(1) The Secretary shall provide medical care to 
a family caregiver under this section if the Secretary de-
termines that the family caregiver is not entitled to care 
or services under a health-plan contract as defined under 
section 1725(f)(2) of this title (determined, in the case 
of a health-plan contract as defined in subsection (f)(2)(B) 
or (f)(2)(C) of such section, without regard to any require-
ment or limitation relating to eligibility for care or services 
from any department or agency of the United States). 
‘‘(2) In this subsection, a family caregiver is an indi-
vidual who— 
‘‘(A) provides caregiver services to a veteran 
who— 
‘‘(i) was deployed in support of Operation 
Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Free-
dom; and 
‘‘(ii) for purposes of this subsection, is de-
termined by the Secretary— 
‘‘(I) to have a service-connected dis-
ability or illness that is severe; 
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(1) by striking ‘‘When’’ and inserting the fol-
lowing: ‘‘(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
when’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraphs: 
‘‘(2) Without regard to whether a covered veteran en-
titled to mileage under this section requires an attendant 
in order to perform such travel, an attendant of such cov-
ered veteran may be allowed expenses of travel (including 
lodging and subsistence) upon the same basis as such vet-
eran during— 
‘‘(A) the period of time in which such veteran 
is traveling to and from a treatment facility; and 
‘‘(B) the duration of the treatment episode for 
such veteran. 
‘‘(3) The Secretary may prescribe regulations to 
carry out this subsection. Such regulations may include 
provisions— 
‘‘(A) to limit the number of attendants that 
may receive expenses of travel under paragraph (2) 
for a single treatment episode of a covered veteran; 
and 
‘‘(B) to require such attendants to use certain 
travel services. 
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‘‘(4) In this subsection, the term ‘covered veteran’ 
means a veteran who— 
‘‘(A) was deployed in support of Operation En-
during Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom; and 
‘‘(B) for purposes of this subsection, is deter-
mined by the Secretary— 
‘‘(i) to have a service-connected disability 
or illness that is severe; 
‘‘(ii) to be in need of caregiver services, 
such that without such services, the veteran 
would require hospitalization, nursing home 
care, or other residential institutional care; and 
‘‘(iii) based on an examination by a physi-
cian employed by the Department (or, in areas 
where no such physician is available, by a phy-
sician carrying out such function under a con-
tract or fee arrangement), to be unable to carry 
out the activities (including instrumental activi-
ties) of daily living.’’. 
SEC. 7. SURVEY ON CAREGIVERS AND FAMILY CARE-
GIVERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and not less than once 
in each three-year period thereafter, the Secretary of Vet-
erans Affairs shall design and conduct a survey of care-
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givers and family caregivers. In carrying out the survey, 
the Secretary shall collect the following information: 
(1) The number of caregivers. 
(2) The number of family caregivers. 
(3) The number of veterans receiving caregiver 
services from caregivers and family caregivers, in-
cluding the era in which each veteran served in the 
Armed Forces. 
(4) The range of caregiver services provided by 
caregivers and family caregivers, including— 
(A) the average schedule of such services; 
and 
(B) the average amount of time a caregiver 
and family caregiver has spent providing such 
services. 
(5) The average age of a caregiver and family 
caregiver. 
(6) The health care coverage of caregivers and 
family caregivers, including the sources of such cov-
erage. 
(7) The employment status of caregivers and 
family caregivers. 
(8) Incidents of significant life changes related 
to being a caregiver or family caregiver, including 
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unemployment and disenrollment from a course of 
education. 
(9) Other information the Secretary considers 
appropriate. 
(b) SURVEY SAMPLE.—In carrying out the survey re-
quired by subsection (a), the Secretary shall ensure that— 
(1) a statistically representative sample of care-
givers and family caregivers is included in the sur-
vey; and 
(2) such sample covers veterans in each Vet-
erans Integrated Service Network. 
(c) FINDINGS.—The Secretary shall consider the 
findings of the survey when carrying out programs related 
to caregivers and family caregivers. 
(d) REPORTS.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date on which each survey is completed, the Secretary 
shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Veterans’ 
Affairs of the Senate a report on caregivers and family 
caregivers. Each such report shall include— 
(1) the findings of the survey required by sub-
section (a); 
(2) a summary of the services made available to 
caregivers and family caregivers by the Secretary; 
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(3) the number of caregivers and family care-
givers who receive such services; 
(4) the cost to the Department of Veterans Af-
fairs of providing each such service; and 
(5) other information the Secretary considers 
appropriate. 
(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) The term ‘‘caregiver’’ means an individual 
who— 
(A) provides caregiver services to a veteran 
who is enrolled in the health care system estab-
lished under section 1705(a) of title 38, United 
States Code; and 
(B) with respect to such veteran, meets the 
definition of the term ‘‘caregiver’’ under section 
1701(11) of such title, as added by section 2(a) 
of this Act. 
(2) The term ‘‘family caregiver’’ means an indi-
vidual who— 
(A) provides caregiver services to a veteran 
who is enrolled in the health care system estab-
lished under section 1705(a) of title 38, United 
States Code; and 
(B) with respect to such veteran, meets the 
definition of the term ‘‘family caregiver’’ under 
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section 1701(12) of such title, as added by sec-
tion 2(a) of this Act. 
Æ 
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