I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2898 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide support services for 
family caregivers of disabled veterans, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 16, 2009 
Mrs. HALVORSON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide support 
services for family caregivers of disabled veterans, and 
for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Wounded Warrior 
Caregiver Assistance Act’’. 
SEC. 2. SUPPORT SERVICES FOR FAMILY CAREGIVERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 17 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new section: 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
00:50 Jun 18, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2898.IH
H2898
tjames on PRODPC75 with BILLS
‘‘§ 1786. Support services for family caregivers 
‘‘(a) TRAINING.—The Secretary shall make available 
interactive training sessions for family caregivers and indi-
viduals who provide such caregivers support under this 
chapter or through the aging network (including respite 
care providers, nursing care providers, and counselors). 
Such training shall— 
‘‘(1) be made available both in person and on 
an Internet website; 
‘‘(2) incorporate telehealth technologies to the 
extent practicable; and 
‘‘(3) teach techniques, strategies, and skills for 
caring for a disabled veteran, including, at a min-
imum, effective methods of— 
‘‘(A) caring for a veteran— 
‘‘(i) with post-traumatic stress dis-
order or a traumatic brain injury; and 
‘‘(ii) who was deployed in support of 
Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation 
Iraqi Freedom; and 
‘‘(B) recording details regarding the health 
of the veteran. 
‘‘(b) ACCESS TO SUPPORT SERVICES.—The Secretary 
shall provide family caregivers with information con-
cerning public, private, and non-profit agencies that offer 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
00:50 Jun 18, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2898.IH
H2898
tjames on PRODPC75 with BILLS
support to such 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 family caregivers access 
to Aging and Disability Resource Centers under the 
Administration on Aging of the Department of 
Health and Human Services; and 
‘‘(2) contract with a private entity to provide 
family caregivers with an Internet-based service that 
contains— 
‘‘(A) a directory of services available at the 
county level; 
‘‘(B) message boards and other similar 
tools that provide family caregivers with the 
ability to interact with each other and disabled 
veterans for the purpose of fostering peer sup-
port and creating support networks; and 
‘‘(C) comprehensive information explaining 
health-related topics and issues relevant to the 
needs of disabled veterans and family care-
givers. 
‘‘(c) INFORMATION AND OUTREACH.—The Secretary 
shall conduct outreach to inform disabled veterans and the 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
00:50 Jun 18, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2898.IH
H2898
tjames on PRODPC75 with BILLS
families of such veterans of the services under this section. 
Such outreach shall include the following: 
‘‘(1) Public service announcements. 
‘‘(2) Brochures and pamphlets. 
‘‘(3) Full use of Internet-based outreach meth-
ods, including— 
‘‘(A) participating on social networking 
websites; 
‘‘(B) methods designed specifically for 
rural families; and 
‘‘(C) establishing a web page on the Inter-
net website of the Department that— 
‘‘(i) is dedicated to caregiver support; 
and 
‘‘(ii) contains interactive elements, in-
cluding providing information based on the 
location of the person using the web page. 
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘aging network’ has the meaning 
given that term in section 102(5) of the Older Amer-
icans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3002(5)). 
‘‘(2) The term ‘caregiver services’ means non-
institutional extended care (as used in section 
1701(6) of this title), including homemaker and 
home health aid services. 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
00:50 Jun 18, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2898.IH
H2898
tjames on PRODPC75 with BILLS
‘‘(3) The term ‘family caregiver’ means an indi-
vidual who— 
‘‘(A) is a member of the family (including 
parents, spouses, children, siblings, step-family 
members, and extended family members) of a 
disabled veteran; 
‘‘(B) provides caregiver services to such 
veteran for such disability; and 
‘‘(C) may or may not reside with such vet-
eran.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of chapter 17 of title 38, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
item: 
‘‘1786. Support services for family caregivers.’’. 
SEC. 3. COUNSELING AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR 
FAMILY CAREGIVERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1782 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘IMME-
DIATE’’; 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 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
00:50 Jun 18, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2898.IH
H2898
tjames on PRODPC75 with BILLS
(C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 
following new paragraph (2): 
‘‘(2) a family caregiver as defined in section 
1786 of this title; 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 family members.’’. 
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 as defined in section 1786 of this title.’’; 
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; and 
‘‘(2) are appropriate for the veteran (including 
by taking the age of the veteran into account when 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
00:50 Jun 18, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2898.IH
H2898
tjames on PRODPC75 with BILLS
selecting the respite care provided to such vet-
eran).’’. 
Æ 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
00:50 Jun 18, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H2898.IH
H2898
tjames on PRODPC75 with BILLS