Remembering the Life of Kyle Poteat Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 5440 To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide financial assistance to eligible entities to provide and coordinate the provision of post-trau- matic stress disorder prevention services for veterans through the award of grants to such entities, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECEMBER 16, 2019 Mr. MEADOWS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide finan- cial assistance to eligible entities to provide and coordi- nate the provision of post-traumatic stress disorder pre- vention services for veterans through the award of grants to such entities, 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 ‘‘Remembering the Life 4 of Kyle Poteat Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Dec 27, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5440.IH H5440 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 5440 IH SEC. 2. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO CERTAIN ENTITIES TO 1 PROVIDE AND COORDINATE THE PROVISION 2 OF POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER PRE- 3 VENTION SERVICES FOR VETERANS. 4 (a) DISTRIBUTION OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The 5 Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall provide financial as- 6 sistance to eligible entities approved under this section 7 through the award of grants to such entities to provide 8 and coordinate the provision of post-traumatic stress dis- 9 order prevention services to veterans. 10 (b) AWARD OF GRANTS.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award a 12 grant to each eligible entity for which the Secretary 13 has approved an application under subsection (e) to 14 provide or coordinate the provision of post-traumatic 15 stress disorder prevention services under this sec- 16 tion. 17 (2) GRANT AMOUNTS, INTERVALS OF PAY- 18 MENTS, AND MATCHING FUNDS.—In accordance with 19 the services being provided under a grant under this 20 section and the duration of those services, the Sec- 21 retary may establish— 22 (A) a maximum amount to be awarded 23 under the grant; 24 (B) intervals of payment for the adminis- 25 tration of the grant; and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Dec 27, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5440.IH H5440 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 5440 IH (C) a requirement for the recipient of the 1 grant to provide matching funds in a specified 2 percentage. 3 (c) DISTRIBUTION OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE AND 4 PREFERENCE.— 5 (1) DISTRIBUTION.— 6 (A) GEOGRAPHIC.—The Secretary shall 7 ensure that, to the extent practicable and in 8 compliance with subparagraph (B), financial as- 9 sistance under this section is equitably distrib- 10 uted across geographic regions, including rural 11 communities and Tribal land. 12 (B) AREAS WITH NEED.—The Secretary 13 shall ensure that, to the extent practicable, fi- 14 nancial assistance under this section is distrib- 15 uted— 16 (i) to provide services in areas of the 17 United States that have experienced high 18 rates of, or a high burden of, veteran post- 19 traumatic stress disorder; and 20 (ii) to eligible entities that can assist 21 veterans at risk of or who have post-trau- 22 matic stress disorder. 23 (2) PREFERENCE.—The Secretary shall give 24 preference in the provision of financial assistance 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Dec 27, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5440.IH H5440 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 5440 IH under this section to eligible entities providing or co- 1 ordinating, or who have demonstrated the ability to 2 provide or coordinate, post-traumatic stress disorder 3 prevention services. 4 (d) REQUIREMENTS FOR RECEIPT OF FINANCIAL AS- 5 SISTANCE.— 6 (1) NOTIFICATION THAT SERVICES ARE FROM 7 THE DEPARTMENT.—Each entity receiving financial 8 assistance under this section to provide post-trau- 9 matic stress disorder prevention services to veterans 10 shall notify the recipients of such services that such 11 services are being paid for, in whole or in part, by 12 the Department. 13 (2) REPORTS.—The Secretary— 14 (A) shall require each entity receiving fi- 15 nancial assistance under this section to submit 16 to the Secretary an annual report that describes 17 the projects carried out with such financial as- 18 sistance during the year covered by the report; 19 (B) shall specify to each such entity the 20 evaluation criteria and data and information to 21 be submitted in such report; and 22 (C) may require such entity to submit to 23 the Secretary such additional reports as the 24 Secretary considers appropriate. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Dec 27, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5440.IH H5440 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 5440 IH (e) APPLICATION FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity seeking fi- 2 nancial assistance under this section shall submit to 3 the Secretary an application therefor in such form, 4 in such manner, and containing such commitments 5 and information as the Secretary considers nec- 6 essary to carry out this section. 7 (2) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—Each applica- 8 tion submitted by an eligible entity under paragraph 9 (1) shall contain the following: 10 (A) A description of the post-traumatic 11 stress disorder prevention services proposed to 12 be provided by the eligible entity and the identi- 13 fied need for those services. 14 (B) A detailed plan describing how the eli- 15 gible entity proposes to coordinate and deliver 16 post-traumatic stress disorder prevention serv- 17 ices to veterans, including— 18 (i) an identification of the community 19 partners with which the eligible entity pro- 20 poses to work in delivering such services; 21 (ii) a description of the arrangements 22 currently in place between the eligible enti- 23 ty and such partners; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Dec 27, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5440.IH H5440 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 5440 IH (iii) an identification of how long such 1 arrangements have been in place. 2 (C) A description of the types of veterans 3 at risk of post-traumatic stress disorder pro- 4 posed to be provided post-traumatic stress dis- 5 order prevention services. 6 (D) An estimate of the number of veterans 7 at risk of post-traumatic stress disorder pro- 8 posed to be provided post-traumatic stress dis- 9 order prevention services and the basis for such 10 estimate, including the percentage of those vet- 11 erans who are not currently receiving care fur- 12 nished by the Department. 13 (E) Evidence of the experience of the eligi- 14 ble entity (and the proposed partners of the en- 15 tity) in providing post-traumatic stress disorder 16 prevention services to veterans. 17 (F) A description of the managerial and 18 technological capacity of the eligible entity— 19 (i) to coordinate the provision of post- 20 traumatic stress disorder prevention serv- 21 ices with the provision of other services; 22 (ii) to assess continuously the needs of 23 veterans at risk of post-traumatic stress 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Dec 27, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5440.IH H5440 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 5440 IH disorder for post-traumatic stress disorder 1 prevention services; 2 (iii) to coordinate the provision of 3 post-traumatic stress disorder prevention 4 services with the services of the Depart- 5 ment for which the beneficiaries are eligi- 6 ble; 7 (iv) to tailor post-traumatic stress dis- 8 order prevention services to the needs of 9 veterans and veteran families; 10 (v) to continuously seek new sources 11 of assistance to ensure the continuity of 12 post-traumatic stress disorder prevention 13 services for veterans and veteran families 14 for as long as the veteran is determined to 15 be at risk of post-traumatic stress dis- 16 order; and 17 (vi) to measure, over a period of time, 18 the improved mental resiliency and mental 19 outlook of the veteran served. 20 (G) Such additional application criteria as 21 the Secretary considers appropriate. 22 (f) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 24 training and technical assistance to eligible entities 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Dec 27, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5440.IH H5440 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 5440 IH in receipt of financial assistance under this section 1 regarding— 2 (A) the data required to be collected and 3 shared with the Department; 4 (B) the means of data collection and shar- 5 ing; 6 (C) familiarization with and appropriate 7 use of any tool to be used to measure the effec- 8 tiveness of the use of the financial assistance 9 provided; and 10 (D) the requirements for reporting under 11 subsection (d) on services provided via such fi- 12 nancial assistance. 13 (2) PROVISION OF TRAINING AND TECHNICAL 14 ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may provide the train- 15 ing and technical assistance described in paragraph 16 (1) directly or through grants or contracts with ap- 17 propriate public or nonprofit entities. 18 (g) ADMINISTRATION OF GRANT PROGRAM.— 19 (1) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Secretary, in 20 consultation with entities specified in paragraph (3), 21 shall establish criteria for the selection of eligible en- 22 tities that have submitted applications under sub- 23 section (e). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Dec 27, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5440.IH H5440 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 5440 IH (2) DEVELOPMENT OF MEASURES AND 1 METRICS.—The Secretary shall develop, in consulta- 2 tion with entities specified in paragraph (3), the fol- 3 lowing: 4 (A) A framework for collecting and sharing 5 information about entities in receipt of financial 6 assistance under this section for purposes of 7 improving the discovery of services available for 8 veterans at risk of post-traumatic stress dis- 9 order, set forth by service type, locality, and eli- 10 gibility criteria. 11 (B) The measures to be used by each enti- 12 ty in receipt of financial assistance under this 13 section to determine the effectiveness of the 14 programming being provided by such entity in 15 improving mental resiliency and mental outlook 16 of veterans at risk of post-traumatic stress dis- 17 order. 18 (C) Metrics for measuring the effectiveness 19 of the provision of financial assistance under 20 this section. 21 (3) COORDINATION.—In developing a plan for 22 the design and implementation of the provision of fi- 23 nancial assistance under this section, including cri- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Dec 27, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5440.IH H5440 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 5440 IH teria for the award of grants, the Secretary shall 1 consult with the following: 2 (A) Veterans service organizations. 3 (B) National organizations representing 4 potential community partners of eligible entities 5 in providing supportive services to address the 6 needs of veterans at risk of post-traumatic 7 stress disorder, including national organizations 8 that— 9 (i) advocate for the needs of individ- 10 uals with or at risk of behavioral health 11 conditions; 12 (ii) represent mayors; 13 (iii) represent religious or faith lead- 14 ers; 15 (iv) represent first responders; or 16 (v) represent chiefs of police and sher- 17 iffs. 18 (C) Organizations with which the Depart- 19 ment has a current memoranda of agreement or 20 understanding related to mental health or post- 21 traumatic stress disorder. 22 (D) State departments of veterans affairs. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Dec 27, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5440.IH H5440 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 5440 IH (E) National organizations representing 1 members of the reserve components of the 2 Armed Forces. 3 (F) Vet Centers. 4 (G) Organizations with experience in cre- 5 ating measurement tools for purposes of deter- 6 mining programmatic effectiveness. 7 (H) Such other organizations as the Sec- 8 retary considers appropriate. 9 (4) REPORT ON GRANT CRITERIA.—Before noti- 10 fying eligible entities of the availability of funding 11 under this section, the Secretary shall submit to 12 Congress a report containing— 13 (A) criteria for the award of a grant under 14 this section; 15 (B) the tool to be used by the Department 16 to measure the effectiveness of the use of finan- 17 cial assistance provided under this section; and 18 (C) a framework for the sharing of infor- 19 mation about entities in receipt of financial as- 20 sistance under this section. 21 (h) INFORMATION ON POTENTIAL BENEFICIARIES.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make 23 available to recipients of financial assistance under 24 this section certain information regarding potential 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Dec 27, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5440.IH H5440 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 5440 IH beneficiaries of services for which such financial as- 1 sistance is provided. 2 (2) INFORMATION INCLUDED.—The information 3 made available under paragraph (1) with respect to 4 potential beneficiaries may include the following: 5 (A) Confirmation of the status of a poten- 6 tial beneficiary as a veteran. 7 (B) Confirmation of whether a potential 8 beneficiary is currently receiving care furnished 9 by the Department or has recently received 10 such care. 11 (i) DURATION.—The authority of the Secretary to 12 provide financial assistance under this section shall termi- 13 nate on the date that is three years after the date on which 14 the first grant is awarded under this section. 15 (j) REPORTING.— 16 (1) INTERIM REPORT.— 17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 18 months after the date on which the first grant 19 is awarded under this section, the Secretary 20 shall submit to the appropriate committees of 21 Congress a report on the provision of financial 22 assistance under this section. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Dec 27, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5440.IH H5440 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •HR 5440 IH (B) ELEMENTS..—The report submitted 1 under subparagraph (A) shall include the fol- 2 lowing: 3 (i) An assessment of the effectiveness 4 of the provision of financial assistance 5 under this section, including the effective- 6 ness of community partners in conducting 7 outreach to veterans at risk of post-trau- 8 matic stress disorder. 9 (ii) A list of grant recipients and their 10 partner [Text truncated for display. 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