Vet Center Improvement Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3575 To improve Vet Centers of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 28, 2021 Mr. CICILLINE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To improve Vet Centers of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Vet Center Improve- 4 ment Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) VET CENTER.—The term ‘‘Vet Center’’ has 8 the meaning given that term in section 1712A(h) of 9 title 38, United States Code. 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:36 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3575.IH H3575 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3575 IH (2) VETERANS SERVICE ORGANIZATION.—The 1 term ‘‘veterans service organization’’ means an orga- 2 nization recognized by the Secretary of Veterans Af- 3 fairs for the representation of veterans under section 4 5902 of title 38, United States Code. 5 SEC. 3. PRODUCTIVITY EXPECTATIONS FOR READJUST- 6 MENT COUNSELORS OF VET CENTERS. 7 (a) EVALUATION OF PRODUCTIVITY EXPECTA- 8 TIONS.—Not later than one year after the date of the en- 9 actment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 10 shall evaluate productivity expectations for readjustment 11 counselors of Vet Centers, including by obtaining system- 12 atic feedback from counselors on such expectations, in- 13 cluding with respect to following: 14 (1) Any potential effects of productivity expec- 15 tations, whether positive or negative, on client care. 16 (2) Distances readjustment counselors may 17 travel to appointments, especially with respect to 18 serving rural veterans. 19 (3) The possibility that some veterans may not 20 want to use nor benefit from telehealth or group 21 counseling. 22 (4) Availability and access of veteran popu- 23 lations to broadband and telehealth. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:36 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3575.IH H3575 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3575 IH (5) Any effect of productivity expectations on 1 readjustment counselors, including with respect to 2 recruitment, retention, and welfare. 3 (6) Whether productivity expectations provide 4 incentives or pressure to inaccurately report client 5 visits. 6 (7) Whether directors and readjustment coun- 7 selors of Vet Centers need additional training or 8 guidance on how productivity expectations are cal- 9 culated. 10 (8) Such other criteria as the Secretary con- 11 siders appropriate. 12 (b) SYSTEMATIC FEEDBACK.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 14 (A) make every effort to ensure that all re- 15 adjustment counselors of Vet Centers are given 16 the opportunity to fully provide feedback, posi- 17 tive or negative, on all items under subsection 18 (a); 19 (B) collect and safely store the feedback 20 obtained under subsection (a)— 21 (i) in an electronic database that can- 22 not be altered by any party; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:36 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3575.IH H3575 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3575 IH (ii) in an anonymized manner, in 1 order to protect the privacy of each re- 2 spondent; and 3 (iii) in a manner that allows for eval- 4 uation by third parties of the feedback, 5 such as audit of the feedback by the Gov- 6 ernment Accountability Office; and 7 (C) provide the feedback obtained under 8 subsection (a) in an anonymized manner to the 9 working group established under section 5. 10 (2) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 11 AUDIT.—Not less frequently than once each year 12 during the five-year period beginning on the date of 13 the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 14 of the United States shall audit the feedback ob- 15 tained from readjustment counselors of Vet Centers 16 under subsection (a). 17 (c) IMPLEMENTATION OF CHANGES.—Not later than 18 90 days after the date of the completion of the evaluation 19 required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall implement 20 any needed changes to the productivity expectations de- 21 scribed in such subsection in order to ensure— 22 (1) quality of care and access to care for vet- 23 erans; and 24 (2) the welfare of readjustment counselors. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:36 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3575.IH H3575 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3575 IH (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 180 days 1 after the date of the completion of the evaluation required 2 by subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to Congress 3 a report on— 4 (1) the findings of the evaluation; and 5 (2) any planned or implemented changes de- 6 scribed in subsection (c). 7 (e) PLAN FOR REASSESSMENT AND IMPLEMENTA- 8 TION.— 9 (1) PLAN.—Not later than one year after the 10 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 11 shall develop and implement a plan for— 12 (A) reassessing productivity expectations 13 for readjustment counselors of Vet Centers, in 14 consultation with such counselors; and 15 (B) implementing any needed changes to 16 such expectations, as the Secretary determines 17 appropriate. 18 (2) REASSESSMENTS.—Under the plan required 19 by paragraph (1), the Secretary shall conduct a re- 20 assessment described in such paragraph not less fre- 21 quently than once each year. 22 SEC. 4. STAFFING MODEL FOR VET CENTERS. 23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 24 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:36 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3575.IH H3575 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3575 IH erans Affairs shall develop and implement a staffing model 1 for Vet Centers that incorporates key practices in the de- 2 sign of such staffing model. 3 (b) ELEMENTS.—In developing the staffing model 4 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 5 (1) involve key stakeholders, including readjust- 6 ment counselors, outreach specialists, and directors 7 of Vet Centers; 8 (2) incorporate key work activities and the fre- 9 quency and time required to conduct such activities; 10 (3) ensure the data used in the model is high 11 quality to provide assurance that staffing estimates 12 are reliable; and 13 (4) incorporate— 14 (A) risk factors, including case complexity; 15 (B) geography; 16 (C) availability, advisability, and willing- 17 ness of veterans to use telehealth or group 18 counseling; and 19 (D) such other factors as the Secretary 20 considers appropriate. 21 (c) PLAN FOR ASSESSMENTS AND UPDATES.—Not 22 later than one year after the date of the enactment of this 23 Act, the Secretary shall develop a plan for— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:36 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3575.IH H3575 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3575 IH (1) assessing and updating the staffing model 1 developed and implemented under subsection (a) not 2 less frequently than once every four years; and 3 (2) implementing any needed changes to such 4 model, as the Secretary determines appropriate. 5 SEC. 5. WORKING GROUP OF READJUSTMENT COUN- 6 SELORS, OUTREACH SPECIALISTS, AND DI- 7 RECTORS OF VET CENTERS. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—In conducting the evaluation of 9 productivity expectations under section 3(a) and devel- 10 oping the staffing model for Vet Centers under section 11 4(a), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall establish a 12 working group to assess— 13 (1) the efficacy, impact, and composition of per- 14 formance metrics for such expectations with respect 15 to— 16 (A) quality of care and access to care for 17 veterans; and 18 (B) the welfare of readjustment counselors 19 and other employees of Vet Centers; and 20 (2) key considerations for the development of 21 such staffing model, including with respect to— 22 (A) quality of care and access to care for 23 veterans and other individuals eligible for care 24 through Vet Centers; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:36 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3575.IH H3575 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3575 IH (B) recruitment, retention, and welfare of 1 employees of Vet Centers. 2 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The working group established 3 under subsection (a) shall be composed of readjustment 4 counselors, outreach specialists, and directors of Vet Cen- 5 ters. 6 (c) FEEDBACK AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—The 7 working group established under subsection (a) shall pro- 8 vide to the Secretary— 9 (1) feedback from readjustment counselors, out- 10 reach specialists, and directors of Vet Centers; and 11 (2) recommendations on how to improve— 12 (A) quality of care and access to care for 13 veterans; and 14 (B) the welfare of readjustment counselors 15 and other employees of Vet Centers. 16 SEC. 6. IMPROVEMENTS OF HIRING PRACTICES AT VET 17 CENTERS. 18 (a) STANDARDIZATION OF POSITION DESCRIP- 19 TIONS.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 21 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 22 retary of Veterans Affairs shall standardize descrip- 23 tions of position responsibilities at Vet Centers. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:36 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3575.IH H3575 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3575 IH (2) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—In each of the 1 first two annual reports submitted under section 2 7309(e) of title 38, United States Code, after the 3 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 4 shall include a description of the actions taken by 5 the Secretary to carry out paragraph (1). 6 (b) EXPANSION OF REPORTING REQUIREMENTS ON 7 READJUSTMENT COUNSELING TO INCLUDE ACTIONS TO 8 REDUCE STAFFING VACANCIES AND TIME TO HIRE.— 9 Section 7309(e)(2) of title 38, United States Code, is 10 amended by adding at the end the following new subpara- 11 graph: 12 ‘‘(D) A description of actions taken by the Sec- 13 retary to reduce— 14 ‘‘(i) vacancies in counselor positions in the 15 Readjustment Counseling Service; and 16 ‘‘(ii) the time it takes to hire such coun- 17 selors.’’. 18 SEC. 7. REPORT BY GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OF- 19 FICE ON VET CENTER INFRASTRUCTURE AND 20 FUTURE INVESTMENTS. 21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 22 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 23 of the United States shall submit to Congress a report 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:50 Jul 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3575.IH H3575 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3575 IH on physical infrastructure and future investments with re- 1 spect to Vet Centers. 2 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required by subsection 3 (a) shall include the following: 4 (1) An assessment of— 5 (A) the condition of the physical infra- 6 structure of all assets of Vet Centers, whether 7 owned or leased by the Department of Veterans 8 Affairs; and 9 (B) the short-, medium-, and long-term 10 plans of the Department to maintain and up- 11 grade the physical infrastructure of Vet Centers 12 to address the operational needs of Vet Centers 13 as of the date of the submittal of the report and 14 future needs. 15 (2) An assessment of management and stra- 16 tegic planning for the physical infrastructure of Vet 17 Centers, including whether the Department should 18 buy or lease existing or additional locations in areas 19 with stable or growing populations of veterans. 20 (3) An assessment of whether, as of the date of 21 the submittal of the report, Vet Center buildings, 22 mobile Vet Centers, community access points, and 23 similar infrastructure are sufficient to care for vet- 24 erans or if such infrastructure is negatively affecting 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:36 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3575.IH H3575 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3575 IH care due to limited space for veterans and Vet Cen- 1 ter personnel or other factors. 2 (4) An assessment of the areas with the great- 3 est need for investments in— 4 (A) improved physical infrastructure, in- 5 cluding upgraded Vet Centers; or 6 (B) additional physical infrastructure for 7 Vet Centers, including new Vet Centers owned 8 or leased by the Department. 9 (5) A description of the authorities and re- 10 sources that may be required for the Secretary to 11 make such investments. 12 (6) A review of all annual reports submitted 13 under 7309(e) of title 38, United States Code, be- 14 fore the date of the submittal of the report under 15 subsection (a). 16 SEC. 8. PILOT PROGRAM TO COMBAT FOOD INSECURITY 17 AMONG VETERANS AND FAMILY MEMBERS 18 OF VETERANS. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 20 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet- 21 erans Affairs shall establish a pilot program to award 22 grants to eligible entities to support partnerships that ad- 23 dress food insecurity among veterans and family members 24 of veterans who receive services through Vet Centers or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:36 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3575.IH H3575 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3575 IH other facilities of the Department as determined by the 1 Secretary. 2 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—For purposes of the pilot 3 program, an eligible entity is— 4 (1) a nonprofit organization; 5 (2) a veterans service organization; 6 (3) a public agency; 7 (4) a community-based organization; or 8 (5) an institution of higher education. 9 (c) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity seeking a grant 10 under the pilot program shall submit to the Secretary an 11 application therefor at such time, in such manner, and 12 containing such information as the Secretary may require. 13 (d) SELECTION.—The Secretary shall select eligible 14 entities that submit applications under subsection (c) for 15 the award of grants under the pilot program using a com- 16 petitive process that takes into account the following: 17 (1) Capacity of the applicant entity to serve 18 veterans and family members of veterans. 19 (2) Demonstrated need of the population the 20 applicant entity would serve. 21 (3) Demonstrated need of the applicant entity 22 for assistance from the grant. 23 (4) Such other criteria as the Secretary con- 24 siders appropriate. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:36 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3575.IH H3575 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 3575 IH (e) DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary shall ensure, to 1 the extent practicable, an equitable geographic distribu- 2 ti [Text truncated for display. 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