‘‘(5) Travel expenses provided under section 
111(e) of this title. 
‘‘(b) 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, including 
telehealth technology to the extent practicable; and 
‘‘(C) teach techniques, strategies, and skills for 
caring for a disabled veteran, including, at a min-
imum, a veteran who— 
‘‘(i) was deployed in support of Operation 
Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Free-
dom; and 
‘‘(ii) has post-traumatic stress disorder, 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 defined in section 102(5) of the Older Americans Act 
of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3002(5)), including— 
‘‘(A) respite care providers;
‘‘(B) nursing care providers; and 
‘‘(C) counselors. 
‘‘(c) STIPENDS.—(1) The Secretary shall provide 
monthly stipends to eligible family caregivers described in 
paragraph (2). 
‘‘(2) An eligible family caregiver described in this 
paragraph is a family caregiver 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; 
‘‘(II) to be in need of caregiver serv-
ices, such that without such services, the 
veteran would require hospitalization, nurs-
ing home care, or other residential institu-
tional care; and 
‘‘(III) based on an examination by a 
physician employed by the Department (or, 
in areas where no such physician is avail-
able, by a physician carrying out such
function under a contract or fee arrange-
ment), to be unable to carry out the activi-
ties (including instrumental activities) of 
daily living; 
‘‘(B) with respect to such veteran, meets the 
definition of the term ‘family caregiver’ under sec-
tion 1701(12) of this title; 
‘‘(C) is designated by such veteran as the pri-
mary family caregiver for such veteran; and 
‘‘(D) is not— 
‘‘(i) employed by a home health care agen-
cy to provide such caregiver services; or 
‘‘(ii) otherwise receiving payment for such 
services. 
‘‘(3) The authority of the Secretary to provide a sti-
pend to an eligible family caregiver under this subsection 
shall expire on October 1, 2012. 
‘‘(d) ACCESS
TO SUPPORT SERVICES.—The Sec-
retary shall provide caregivers and family caregivers with 
information concerning public, private, and non-profit 
agencies that offer support to caregivers. In providing 
such information, 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. 
‘‘(e) INFORMATION AND OUTREACH.—(1) The Sec-
retary shall conduct outreach to inform disabled veterans 
and the families of such veterans of the following: 
‘‘(A) Medical care, educational sessions, sti-
pends, and other services available for caregivers 
and family caregivers under this chapter. 
‘‘(B) The ability of a family caregiver to be 
trained and certified by a home health care agency 
in order to be paid by such agency for providing 
caregiver services. 
‘‘(2) Outreach under this subsection shall include, at 
a minimum, the following: 
‘‘(A) Public service announcements.
‘‘(B) Brochures and pamphlets. 
‘‘(C) 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. 
‘‘(3) With respect to a Department employee pro-
viding case management services (as defined in section 
1720C(b)(2) of this title) to a disabled veteran, the Sec-
retary shall ensure that such employee provides a care-
giver or family caregiver of such veteran with information 
on the services described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) 
of paragraph (1).’’. 
(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-
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