Title: Protection and Advocacy for Veterans Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Protection and Advocacy for Veterans Act
This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a five-year grant program to improve the monitoring of VA mental health and substance abuse treatment programs.
The VA shall award a grant to four protection and advocacy systems under which each recipient shall investigate and monitor VA facilities care and treatment of veterans with mental illness or substance abuse issues. Criteria for selecting recipients shall include whether the state in which the protection and advocacy system operates has low mental health, performance, and access scores.
During each year in which a protection and advocacy system carries out a demonstration project, the VA shall award a joint grant to a national organization with extensive knowledge of the protection and advocacy system and a veterans service organization to: (1) coordinate training and technical assistance, and (2) provide for related data collection, reporting, and analysis.
"Protection and advocacy system" means the state-established system to protect and advocate the rights of persons with developmental disabilities.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1712 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1712

   To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a grant 
program to improve the monitoring of mental health and substance abuse 
       treatment programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 23, 2017

Mrs. Roby (for herself, Ms. Titus, Mr. Walz, and Mr. Zeldin) introduced 
 the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a grant 
program to improve the monitoring of mental health and substance abuse 
       treatment programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

    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 ``Protection and Advocacy for Veterans 
Act''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM TO IMPROVE MONITORING OF MENTAL 
              HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT PROGRAMS OF 
              DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
establish a grant program to improve the monitoring of mental health 
and substance abuse treatment programs of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs.
    (b) Grants.--
            (1) Main grant.--
                    (A) Award.--In carrying out subsection (a), the 
                Secretary shall award a grant to four protection and 
                advocacy systems under which each protection and 
                advocacy system shall carry out a demonstration project 
                to investigate and monitor the care and treatment of 
                veterans provided pursuant to chapter 17 of title 38, 
                United States Code, for mental illness or substance 
                abuse issues at medical facilities of the Department.
                    (B) Minimum amount.--Each grant awarded under 
                subparagraph (A) to a protection and advocacy system 
                shall be an amount that is not less than $105,000 
                during each year that the protection and advocacy 
                system carries out a demonstration project described in 
                such subparagraph under the grant program.
            (2) Collaboration grant.--
                    (A) Award.--During each year in which a protection 
                and advocacy system carries out a demonstration project 
                under subparagraph (A) of such paragraph, the Secretary 
                shall award a joint grant to a national organization 
                with extensive knowledge of the protection and advocacy 
                system and a veterans service organization in the 
                amount of $80,000.
                    (B) Collaboration.--Each national organization and 
                veterans service organization that is awarded a joint 
                grant under subparagraph (A) shall use the grant to 
                facilitate the collaboration between the national 
                organization and the veterans service organization to--
                            (i) coordinate training and technical 
                        assistance for the protection and advocacy 
                        systems; and
                            (ii) provide for data collection, 
                        reporting, and analysis in carrying out 
                        paragraph (1)(A).
            (3) Authority.--In carrying out a demonstration project 
        under paragraph (1)(A), a protection and advocacy system shall 
        have the authorities provided by section 105(a) of the 
        Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 10805(a)) with respect to a medical facility of the 
        Department.
    (c) Selection.--In selecting the four protection and advocacy 
system to receive grants under subsection (b)(1)(A), the Secretary 
shall consider the following criteria:
            (1) Whether the protection and advocacy system has 
        demonstrated monitoring and investigation experience, along 
        with knowledge of the issues facing veterans with disabilities.
            (2) Whether the State in which the protection and advocacy 
        system operates--
                    (A) has low aggregated scores in the domains of 
                mental health, performance, and access as rated by the 
                Strategic Analytics Improvement and Learning database 
                system (commonly referred to as ``SAIL''); and
                    (B) to the extent practicable, is representative of 
                both urban and rural States.
    (d) Reports.--The Secretary shall ensure that each protection and 
advocacy system participating in the grant program submits to the 
Secretary reports developed by the protection and advocacy system 
relating to an investigation or monitoring conducted pursuant to 
subsection (b)(1)(A). The Secretary shall designate an office of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs to receive each such report.
    (e) Duration; Termination.--
            (1) Duration.--The Secretary shall carry out the grant 
        program established under subsection (a) for a period of five 
        years.
            (2) Termination.--The Secretary may terminate a 
        demonstration project under subsection (b)(1)(A) before the 
        five-year period described in paragraph (1) if the Secretary 
        determines there is good cause for such termination. If the 
        Secretary carries out such a termination, the Secretary shall 
        award grants under subsection (b) to a new protection and 
        advocacy system.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary to carry out the grant program under 
subsection (a) $500,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 through 2022.
    (g) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``protection and advocacy system'' has the 
        meaning given the term ``eligible system'' in section 102(2) of 
        the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness 
        Act (42 U.S.C. 10802(2)).
            (2) The term ``State'' means each of the several States, 
        territories, and possessions of the United States, the District 
        of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
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