K9s for Veterans Therapy Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2948 To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot program for work therapy using service dog training. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 21, 2019 Mr. TILLIS (for himself, Ms. SINEMA, Mrs. FISCHER, and Mrs. FEINSTEIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot program for work therapy using service dog training. 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 ‘‘K9s for Veterans Ther- 4 apy Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress makes the following findings: 7 (1) According to the analyses of veteran suicide 8 published by the Department of Veterans Affairs in 9 August 2016 and titled ‘‘Suicide Among Veterans 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:32 Nov 30, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2948.IS S2948 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2948 IS and Other Americans’’, and in June 2018, titled 1 ‘‘VA National Suicide Date Report’’— 2 (A) an average of 20 veterans died by sui- 3 cide each day in 2014; 4 (B) mental health disorders, including 5 major depression and other mood disorders, 6 have been associated with increased risk for sui- 7 cide; 8 (C) since 2001, the proportion of users of 9 health care from the Veterans Health Adminis- 10 tration with mental health conditions or sub- 11 stance use disorders has increased from ap- 12 proximately 27 percent in 2001 to more than 13 40 percent in 2014; and 14 (D) overall, suicide rates are highest 15 among patients with mental health and sub- 16 stance use disorder diagnoses who are in treat- 17 ment and lower among those who received a 18 mental health diagnosis but were not at risk 19 enough to require enhanced care from a mental 20 health provider. 21 (2) The Department of Veterans Affairs must 22 be more effective in its approach to reducing the 23 burden of veteran suicide connected to mental health 24 disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:32 Nov 30, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2948.IS S2948 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2948 IS (in this section referred to as ‘‘PTSD’’), and new, 1 rigorous scientific research provides persuasive 2 weight to the growing anecdotal evidence that serv- 3 ice dogs ameliorate the symptoms associated with 4 PTSD, and in particular, may help prevent veteran 5 suicide. 6 (3) Several organizations have proven track 7 records of training service dogs for veterans with 8 mental health diagnoses, including PTSD, and dra- 9 matically improving their quality of life, ability to re- 10 enter society, and overall health and wellness. 11 SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PILOT PRO- 12 GRAM FOR WORK THERAPY USING SERVICE 13 DOG TRAINING. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Commencing not later than 120 15 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 16 retary of Veterans Affairs shall carry out a pilot program 17 under which the Secretary shall make grants to one or 18 more appropriate non-government entities for the purpose 19 of assessing the effectiveness of addressing symptoms of 20 post-deployment mental health and post-traumatic stress 21 disorder through a therapeutic medium of veterans train- 22 ing service dogs intended for veterans with disabilities. 23 (b) DURATION OF PILOT PROGRAM.—The pilot pro- 24 gram required by subsection (a) shall be carried out dur- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:32 Nov 30, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2948.IS S2948 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2948 IS ing the five-year period beginning on the date of the com- 1 mencement of the pilot program. 2 (c) CONDITIONS ON RECEIPT OF GRANTS.—As a con- 3 dition of receiving a grant under this section, a non-gov- 4 ernment entity shall— 5 (1) submit to the Secretary certification that 6 the entity is an organization described in section 7 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and 8 is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of 9 such Code that— 10 (A) trains service dogs for veterans with 11 disabilities; and 12 (B) is accredited by, or adheres to stand- 13 ards comparable to those of, an accrediting or- 14 ganization with demonstrated experience, na- 15 tional scope, and recognized leadership and ex- 16 pertise in the training of service dogs and edu- 17 cation in the use of service dogs; 18 (2) agree to cover all costs to provide services 19 under this section in excess of the grant amount; 20 (3) agree to reaccept or replace the service dog 21 trained by the veteran, if necessary, as determined 22 by the organization and the veteran conducting the 23 training; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:32 Nov 30, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2948.IS S2948 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2948 IS (4) provide a wellness certification from a li- 1 censed veterinarian for any dog participating in the 2 pilot program; 3 (5) employ at least one person with clinical ex- 4 perience related to mental health; 5 (6) ensure that veterans participating in the 6 pilot program receive training from service dog 7 training instructors for a period of time determined 8 appropriate by the organization and the Secretary, 9 including service skills to address or alleviate symp- 10 toms unique to the needs of veterans; 11 (7) agree to provide lectures on service dog 12 training methodologies and practical hands-on train- 13 ing and grooming of service dogs; 14 (8) agree that in hiring service dog training in- 15 structors to carry out training under the pilot pro- 16 gram, the non-government entity will give a pref- 17 erence to veterans who have successfully graduated 18 from post-traumatic stress disorder or other residen- 19 tial treatment program and who have received ade- 20 quate certification in service dog training; 21 (9) agree not to use shock collars, choke collars, 22 or prong collars as training tools and to use positive 23 reinforcement training; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:32 Nov 30, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2948.IS S2948 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2948 IS (10) agree that upon the conclusion of training 1 provided using the grant funds— 2 (A) the veteran who received the training 3 will keep the dog he or she trained unless the 4 veteran and the health care provider of the vet- 5 eran decide it is not in the best interest of the 6 veteran; 7 (B) if the veteran does not adopt the dog, 8 the entity will be responsible for caring for and 9 appropriately placing the dog; 10 (C) the Department of Veterans Affairs 11 will have no additional responsibility to provide 12 for any benefits under this section; and 13 (D) the Department of Veterans Affairs 14 will have no liability with respect to the dog; 15 (11) provide follow-up support service for the 16 life of the dog, including a contact plan between the 17 veteran and the entity to allow the veteran to reach 18 out for and receive adequate help with the service 19 dog and the organization to communicate with the 20 veteran to ensure the service dog is being properly 21 cared for; and 22 (12) submit to the Secretary an application 23 containing such information, certification, and assur- 24 ances as the Secretary may require. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:32 Nov 30, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2948.IS S2948 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2948 IS (d) VETERAN ELIGIBILITY.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of this sec- 2 tion, an eligible veteran is a veteran who— 3 (A) is enrolled in the patient enrollment 4 system of the Department of Veterans Affairs 5 under section 1705 of title 38, United States 6 Code; 7 (B) has been recommended for the pilot 8 program under this section by a qualified health 9 care provider or clinical team based on the med- 10 ical judgment that the veteran may benefit 11 from participating in the pilot program; and 12 (C) agrees to successfully complete train- 13 ing provided by a non-government entity that 14 receives a grant under this section. 15 (2) RELATIONSHIP TO PARTICIPATION IN 16 OTHER PROGRAM.—Veterans may participate in the 17 pilot program under this section in conjunction with 18 the compensated work therapy program of the De- 19 partment of Veterans Affairs. 20 (3) CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENT.— 21 To remain eligible to participate in the pilot pro- 22 gram, a veteran shall see the health care provider or 23 clinical team of the Department of Veterans Affairs 24 treating the veteran for post-traumatic stress dis- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:32 Nov 30, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2948.IS S2948 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 2948 IS order not less frequently than once every 180 days 1 to determine, based on a clinical evaluation of effi- 2 cacy, whether the veteran continues to benefit from 3 the pilot program. 4 (4) CARE FOR SERVICE DOG.—If at any point 5 a veteran is no longer able or willing to care for a 6 service dog provided to the veteran under this sec- 7 tion, the entity that provided the service dog and the 8 veteran shall determine the appropriate recourse to 9 ensure the safety of both the veteran and the service 10 dog. 11 (e) COLLECTION OF DATA.—In carrying out this sec- 12 tion, the Secretary shall— 13 (1) develop metrics and other appropriate 14 means to measure, with respect to veterans partici- 15 pation in the pilot program— 16 (A) the improvement in psychosocial func- 17 tion and therapeutic compliance of such vet- 18 erans; 19 (B) changes with respect to the depend- 20 ence of such veterans on prescription narcotics 21 and psychotropic medication; and 22 (C) quality of life indicators and other ap- 23 propriate measures with respect to such vet- 24 erans; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:32 Nov 30, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2948.IS S2948 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 2948 IS (2) establish processes to document and track 1 the progress of such veterans under the pilot pro- 2 gram in terms of the benefits and improvements 3 noted as a result of the pilot program; and 4 (3) with respect to any veteran who decides to 5 keep the dog he or she has personally trained, the 6 Secretary shall continue to collect the data under 7 paragraphs (1) and (2) during the five-year period 8 following the date on which the veteran decides to 9 keep the dog. 10 (f) COMPTROLLER GENERAL BRIEFINGS AND RE- 11 PORT.— 12 (1) INITIAL BRIEFING.—Not later than one 13 year after the date of the commencement of the pilot 14 program under subsection (a), the Comptroller Gen- 15 eral of the United States shall provide to the Com- 16 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the 17 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 18 Representatives a briefing on the methodology estab- 19 lished for the pilot program. 20 (2) FOLLOW-UP BRIEFING.—Not later than two 21 years after the briefing on the methodology estab- 22 lished for the pilot program under paragraph (1), 23 the Comptroller General shall provide to the commit- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:32 Nov 30, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2948.IS S2948 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 2948 IS tees specified in paragraph (1) a briefing that in- 1 cludes— 2 (A) an assessment of the elements required 3 for the report under paragraph (3)(B); and 4 (B) if there are any such elements that 5 cannot be included in the briefing— 6 (i) an explanation as to why those ele- 7 ments cannot be included; and 8 (ii) such recommendations as the 9 Comptroller General may have to improve 10 the pilot program to ensure such elements 11 will be included in the report. 12 (3) FINAL REPORT.— 13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 14 days after the date on which the pilot program 15 terminates, the Comptroller General shall sub- 16 mit to the committees specified in paragraph 17 (1) a report on the pilot program. 18 (B) ELEMENTS.—The report required by 19 subparagraph (A) shall include an evaluation of 20 the approach and methodology used for the 21 pilot program with respect to— 22 (i) helping veterans with post-trau- 23 matic stress disorder return to civilian life; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:32 Nov 30, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2948.IS S2948 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 2948 IS (ii) relevant metrics, including reduc- 1 tion in scores under the post-traumatic 2 stress disorder check-list (PCL–5), im- 3 provement in psychosocial function, and 4 therapeutic compliance; and 5 (iii) reducing the dependence of par- 6 ticipants on prescription narcotics and psy- 7 chotropic medication. 8 (g) SERVICE DOG TRAINING INSTRUCTOR DE- 9 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘service dog training 10 instructor’’ means an instructor who provides the direct 11 training of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder 12 and other post-deployment issues in the art and science 13 of service dog training and handling. 14 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:32 Nov 30, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2948.IS S2948 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS