119-s701

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 701 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 701

 To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish the Veteran 
 Family Resource Program, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 February 25, 2025

 Mrs. Murray (for herself, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Murkowski, 
 Mr. Sanders, Mr. Booker, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Kaine, and Mr. 
Welch) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 
 to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish the Veteran 
 Family Resource 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 ``Helping Heroes Act''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF VETERAN FAMILY RESOURCE PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--

    (1) In general.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall, 
 acting through the Under Secretary for Health and the Office of 
 Patient Care Services and Care Management and Social Work 
 Services of the Veterans Health Administration, establish a 
 program--
        (A) to enhance the resilience, health, and well-
 being of veterans by addressing social determinants of 
 health challenges experienced in their family units 
 through person-centered clinical integrations, 
 connections to benefits furnished by the Department of 
 Veterans Affairs, and community resource engagement; 
 and
        (B) to ensure veterans and their families have 
 access to a continuum of services and resources needed 
 to support wellness within their family units as they 
 define the family units.

    (2) Designation.--The program established pursuant to 
 paragraph

    (1) shall be known as the ``Veteran Family Resource 
 Program'' (in this section referred to as the ``Program'').

    (b) Family Coordinators and Staffing.--

    (1) In general.--The Secretary shall carry out the Program 
 by, not later than the date that is five years after the date 
 of the enactment of this Act--
        (A) appointing at least one family coordinator in 
 each Veterans Integrated Service Network; and
        (B) ensuring adequate staffing and resources to 
 ensure family coordinators are able to carry out their 
 functions and duties under the Program.

    (2) Functions.--The functions of a family coordinator under 
 paragraph

    (1) are as follows:
        (A) To serve at medical centers of the Department 
 as point persons who understand and have a good working 
 knowledge of--
            (i) all resources that families, 
 caregivers, and survivors may be eligible for 
 under provisions of law administered by the 
 Secretary; and
            (ii) community resources available to such 
 families, caregivers, and survivors when they 
 have needs that are not met by the resources 
 described in clause
            (i) .
        (B) To help veterans, their families, their 
 caregivers, and their survivors access and navigate the 
 public and private resources described in subparagraph
        (A) .

    (3) Duties.--Each family coordinator appointed under 
 paragraph

    (1) shall, to the extent practicable--
        (A) assess the needs of veterans and the family 
 members of veterans using evidence-based strategies;
        (B) build positive relationships with veterans and 
 such family members;
            (C) refer veterans and such family members to 
 local, State, Federal, and non-Department resources to 
 support the overall health, well-being, and treatment 
 goals of such veterans; and
            (D) develop and maintain a list of--
            (i) supportive services offered by the 
 Department; and
            (ii) supportive services offered by non-
 Department providers;
            (c) Goals and Metrics.--

    (1) Goals.--The goals of the Program shall be as follows:
        (A) To connect veterans to family resources to 
 increase their well-being and resiliency.
        (B) To develop internal partnerships to improve 
 health care furnished by the Department.
            (C) To capture and maintain data to enhance 
 understanding of process improvement opportunities and 
 impact.
            (D) To function as a community liaison to bolster 
 existing partnerships and conduct due diligence to form 
 new partnerships.

    (2) Metrics.--The Secretary shall establish metrics for 
 assessment of the Program, including metrics relating to the 
 following:
        (A) Department referrals into the Program.
        (B) Non-Department referrals into the Program.
            (C) Health factors.
            (D) Veteran and staff satisfaction.
            (d) Expansion of Program.--The Secretary may expand the Program to 
additional medical centers of the Department or otherwise expand the 
Program to carry out the purposes specified in subsection

    (a)

    (1) as the 
Secretary determines appropriate.

    (e) Report to Congress.--

    (1) In general.--Not later than two years after the 
 commencement of the Program, the Secretary shall submit to the 
 appropriate committees of Congress a report on the progress of 
 the Program.

    (2) Contents.--The report required by paragraph

    (1) shall 
 include--
        (A) the number of veterans and children who 
 received supportive services under the Program;
        (B) the demographic data of veterans and family 
 members in receipt of supportive services under the 
 Program, including--
            (i) the relationship to the veteran;
            (ii) age;
            (iii) race;
            (iv) ethnicity;
            (v) gender;
            (vi) disability; and
            (vii) English proficiency and whether a 
 language other than English is spoken at home;
            (C) a summary of the supportive services carried 
 out under the Program and the costs to the Department 
 of such supportive services; and
            (D) an assessment, measured by a survey of 
 participants, of whether, and how, participation in the 
 Program--
            (i) resulted in positive outcomes for 
 veterans and children; and
            (ii) contributed to the overall health, 
 well-being, and treatment goals of the veteran.

    (3) Appropriate committees of congress defined.--In this 
 subsection, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' 
 means--
        (A) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the 
 Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans 
 Affairs, and Related Agencies of the Committee on 
 Appropriations of the Senate; and
        (B) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the 
 Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans 
 Affairs, and Related Agencies of the Committee on 
 Appropriations of the House of Representatives.

    (f) Supportive Services Defined.--In this section, the term 
``supportive services'' means services that address the social, 
emotional, and mental health, career-readiness, and other needs of 
children, including--

    (1) wellness services, including mental, emotional, 
 behavioral, and physical health;

    (2) peer-support programs for children; and

    (3) any other services or activities the Secretary 
 considers appropriate to support the needs of children.

SEC. 3. SURVEY OF DISABLED VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and not less frequently than once every five 
years thereafter as the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines 
appropriate, the Secretary shall conduct a survey of disabled veterans 
and their families to identify and better understand the needs of such 
disabled veterans and their families.

    (b) Content.--The survey required under subsection

    (a) shall 
include questions with respect to--

    (1) the types and quality of support disabled veterans 
 receive for their children; and

    (2) the unmet needs of such children.

SEC. 4. NONDISCRIMINATION.

 The following provisions of law shall apply to any program or 
activity that receives funds provided under this Act:

    (1) Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 
 1681 et seq.).

    (2) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 
 2000d et seq.).

    (3) Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 
 U.S.C. 794).

    (4) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
 12101 et seq.).

    (5) The Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C. 6101 et 
 seq.).

    (6) Any other Federal law prohibiting discrimination under 
 an applicable program or activity receiving Federal financial 
 assistance.
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