Veterans’ Culturally Competent Care Act
Bill: H.R.4627 | Sponsor: Rep. Blunt Rochester, Lisa (D-DE)
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

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.

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.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans' Culturally Competent Care 
Act''.

SEC. 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.
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