Title: To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the access to child care for certain veterans receiving health care at a facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), beginning January 1, 2018, to provide assistance to qualified veterans to obtain child care so that such veterans can receive health care services at a VA health care facility during the time such a veteran requires travel to and return from such facility.
A "qualified veteran" is defined as a veteran who is the primary caretaker of a child and is: (1) receiving from the VA regular mental health care services, intensive mental health care services, or other intensive health care services such that the VA determines that providing assistance to the veteran to obtain child care would improve the veteran's access to such services, or (2) in need of regular or intensive mental health care services from the VA and, but for lack of child care services, would receive such health care services from the VA.


The VA shall carry out this bill using funds made available to the VA facility that provides the health care services for which the child care assistance is provided.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3368 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3368

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the access to child 
 care for certain veterans receiving health care at a facility of the 
                    Department of Veterans Affairs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 24, 2017

 Mr. Higgins of New York (for himself and Ms. Brownley of California) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the access to child 
 care for certain veterans receiving health care at a facility 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. ASSISTANCE FOR CHILD CARE FOR CERTAIN VETERANS RECEIVING 
              HEALTH CARE.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter III of chapter 17 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 1730B. Assistance for child care
    ``(a) Authority.--Beginning January 1, 2018, subject to subsection 
(b), the Secretary shall provide assistance to qualified veterans 
described in subsection (c) to obtain child care so that such veterans 
can receive health care services described in subsection (c).
    ``(b) Limitation on Period of Payments.--The Secretary may only 
provide assistance under subsection (a) to a qualified veteran for 
receipt of child care during the period that the qualified veteran--
            ``(1) receives the types of health care services described 
        in subsection (c) at a facility of the Department; and
            ``(2) requires travel to and return from such facility for 
        the receipt of such health care services.
    ``(c) Qualified Veterans.--For purposes of this section, a 
qualified veteran is a veteran who is--
            ``(1) the primary caretaker of a child; and
            ``(2)(A) receiving from the Department--
                    ``(i) regular mental health care services;
                    ``(ii) intensive mental health care services; or
                    ``(iii) such other intensive health care services 
                that the Secretary determines that provision of 
                assistance to the veteran to obtain child care would 
                improve access to such health care services by the 
                veteran; or
            ``(B) in need of regular or intensive mental health care 
        services from the Department, and but for lack of child care 
        services, would receive such health care services from the 
        Department.
    ``(d) Forms of Child Care Assistance.--(1) Child care assistance 
under this section may include the following:
            ``(A) Stipends for the payment of child care offered by 
        licensed child care centers (either directly or through a 
        voucher program) which shall be, to the extent practicable, 
        modeled after the Department of Veterans Affairs Child Care 
        Subsidy Program established pursuant to section 590(g) of title 
        40.
            ``(B) Direct provision of child care at an on-site facility 
        of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
            ``(C) Payments to private child care agencies.
            ``(D) Collaboration with facilities or programs of other 
        Federal departments or agencies.
            ``(E) Such other forms of assistance as the Secretary 
        considers appropriate.
    ``(2) In the case that child care assistance under this section is 
provided as a stipend under paragraph (1)(A), such stipend shall cover 
the full cost of such child care.
    ``(e) Funds.--The Secretary shall carry out this section using 
funds made available to the facility of the Department that provides 
the health care services for which assistance under subsection (a) is 
provided. The Secretary shall ensure that each administrator of such a 
facility has discretion to carry out such assistance in a manner that 
is appropriate for the facility and in accordance with this section.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
1730A the following new item:

``1730B. Assistance for child care.''.
    (c) Conforming Repeal.--Effective January 1, 2018, section 205 of 
the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010 (38 
U.S.C. 1710 note) is repealed.
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