Title: Supporting Family Caregivers Act of 2019
Policy area: Social Welfare

Summary:
Supporting Family Caregivers Act of 2019
This bill directs the Administration on Aging to provide technical assistance related to, and report specified information on, caregiver assessments, which gather information related to a caregiver's specific needs, barriers, and existing supports. State programs on aging may use these assessments to inform the services provided to support caregivers.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3782 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3782

 To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to support family caregivers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 16, 2019

  Mr. Levin of Michigan (for himself and Ms. Stefanik) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
                                 Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to support family caregivers.

    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 ``Supporting Family Caregivers Act of 
2019''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL FAMILY CAREGIVER SUPPORT PROGRAM.

    (a) Definitions.--Section 372(a) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 
(42 U.S.C. 3030s(a)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) as 
        paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), respectively, and
            (2) by inserting before paragraph (2), as so redesignated, 
        the following:
            ``(1) Caregiver assessment.--The term `caregiver 
        assessment' means a systematic process of gathering information 
        about the situation of a caregiver who voluntarily participates 
        in such process to identify the caregiver's specific needs, 
        barriers, and existing supports as identified by the caregiver 
        that--
                    ``(A) provides the opportunity for the recognized 
                caregiver to participate in such process;
                    ``(B) requires direct contact with the caregiver 
                and is used to appropriately target and tailor support 
                services to the caregiver's unique needs; and
                    ``(C) includes reassessment of such specific needs, 
                barriers, and existing supports conducted at 
                appropriate intervals, including to accommodate a 
                significant change in the caregiving situation.''.
    (b) Program Authorized.--Section 373 of the Older Americans Act of 
1965 (42 U.S.C. 3030s-1) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding paragraph 
        (1), by inserting ``which may be informed through the use of 
        caregiver assessments,'' after ``provided'',
            (2) in the first sentence of subsection (e)(3) by inserting 
        ``, including caregiver assessments used in the State,'' after 
        ``mechanisms'', and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(h) Technical Assistance for Caregiver Assessments.--Not later 
than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Supporting Family 
Caregivers Act of 2019, the Assistant Secretary, in consultation with 
caregivers, older individuals, individuals with a disability who 
receive care from an older relative caregiver, the aging network, and 
other experts and stakeholders, and, as appropriate, potentially 
informed by the strategy developed under the RAISE Family Caregivers 
Act, shall provide technical assistance to promote and implement the 
use of caregiver assessments. Such technical assistance shall include 
sharing available tools and templates, comprehensive assessment 
protocols, and best practices concerning--
            ``(1) conducting caregiver assessments and reassessments;
            ``(2) implementing such assessments that are consistent 
        across a planning and service area; and
            ``(3) implementing caregiver support service plans, 
        including referrals to and coordination of activities with 
        relevant State and local services.
    ``(i) Report on Caregiver Assessments.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the date of 
        enactment of the Supporting Family Caregivers Act of 2019, the 
        Assistant Secretary shall issue a report on the use of 
        caregiver assessments by area agencies on aging, entities 
        contracting with such agencies, and Tribal organizations. Such 
        report shall include--
                    ``(A) an analysis of the current use of caregiver 
                assessments, including a repository of caregiver 
                assessment tools or templates and comprehensive 
                assessment protocols, as of the date of the report;
                    ``(B) an analysis of the potential impact of 
                caregiver assessments on--
                            ``(i) family caregivers and older relative 
                        caregivers; and
                            ``(ii) the individuals to whom the 
                        caregivers described in clause (i) provide 
                        care;
                    ``(C) an analysis of the potential impact of using 
                caregiver assessments on the aging network;
                    ``(D) an analysis of how caregiver assessments are 
                being used to identify the specific needs, barriers, 
                and existing supports of family caregivers and older 
                relative caregivers;
                    ``(E) recommendations for furthering the use of 
                caregiver assessments, including in rural or 
                underserved areas; and
                    ``(F) recommendations for assisting State agencies 
                and area agencies on aging, particularly in rural or 
                underserved areas, in implementing the use of caregiver 
                assessments.
            ``(2) Submission.--Not later than 6 months after the 
        issuance of the report under paragraph (1), the Assistant 
        Secretary shall submit the report to the appropriate 
        legislative committees of the Senate and the House of 
        Representatives and to the Special Committee on Aging of the 
        Senate.''.
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