Vet Center Improvement Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 5072 To improve Vet Centers of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 19, 2020 Mr. REED (for himself and Mr. TESTER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 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 2020’’. 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 00:05 Jan 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5072.IS S5072 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 5072 IS (2) VETERANS SERVICE ORGANIZATION.—The 1 term ‘‘veterans service organization’’ means any or- 2 ganization recognized by the Secretary of Veterans 3 Affairs for the representation of veterans under sec- 4 tion 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 00:05 Jan 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5072.IS S5072 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 5072 IS (5) Any effect on readjustment counselors, in- 1 cluding with respect to recruitment, retention, and 2 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 provide feedback on the 17 items under subsection (a); 18 (B) collect and safely store the feedback 19 obtained under subsection (a)— 20 (i) in an anonymized manner, in order 21 to protect the privacy of each respondent; 22 and 23 (ii) in a manner that allows for eval- 24 uation by third parties of the feedback, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 Jan 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5072.IS S5072 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 5072 IS such as audit of the feedback by the Gov- 1 ernment Accountability Office; and 2 (C) provide the feedback obtained under 3 subsection (a) in an anonymized manner to the 4 working group established under section 5. 5 (2) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 6 AUDIT.—Not less frequently than once each year 7 during the five-year period beginning on the date of 8 the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 9 of the United States shall audit the feedback ob- 10 tained from readjustment counselors of Vet Centers 11 under subsection (a). 12 (c) IMPLEMENTATION OF CHANGES.—Not later than 13 90 days after the date of the completion of the evaluation 14 required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall implement 15 any needed changes to the productivity expectations de- 16 scribed in such subsection in order to ensure— 17 (1) quality of care and access to care for vet- 18 erans; and 19 (2) the welfare of readjustment counselors. 20 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 180 days 21 after the date of the completion of the evaluation required 22 by subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to Congress 23 a report on— 24 (1) the findings of the evaluation; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 Jan 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5072.IS S5072 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 5072 IS (2) any planned or implemented changes de- 1 scribed in subsection (c). 2 (e) PLAN FOR REASSESSMENT AND IMPLEMENTA- 3 TION.— 4 (1) PLAN.—Not later than one year after the 5 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 6 shall develop and implement a plan for— 7 (A) reassessing productivity expectations 8 for readjustment counselors of Vet Centers, in 9 consultation with such counselors; and 10 (B) implementing any needed changes to 11 such expectations, as the Secretary determines 12 appropriate. 13 (2) REASSESSMENTS.—Under the plan required 14 by paragraph (1), the Secretary shall conduct a re- 15 assessment described in such paragraph not less fre- 16 quently than once each year. 17 SEC. 4. STAFFING MODELS FOR VET CENTERS. 18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 19 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet- 20 erans Affairs shall develop and implement a staffing model 21 for Vet Centers that incorporates key practices in the de- 22 sign of staffing models. 23 (b) ELEMENTS.—In developing the staffing model 24 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 Jan 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5072.IS S5072 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 5072 IS (1) involve key stakeholders, including readjust- 1 ment counselors, outreach specialists, and directors 2 of Vet Centers; 3 (2) incorporate key work activities and the fre- 4 quency and time required to conduct such activities; 5 (3) ensure the quality of data used in the model 6 to provide assurance that staffing estimates are reli- 7 able; and 8 (4) incorporate— 9 (A) risk factors, including case complexity, 10 geography, and availability, advisability, and 11 willingness of veterans to use telehealth or 12 group counseling; and 13 (B) such other factors as the Secretary 14 considers appropriate. 15 (c) PLAN FOR ASSESSMENTS AND UPDATES.—Not 16 later than one year after the date of the enactment of this 17 Act, the Secretary shall develop a plan for— 18 (1) assessing and updating the staffing model 19 developed and implemented under subsection (a) not 20 less frequently than once every four years; and 21 (2) implementing any needed changes to such 22 model, as the Secretary determines appropriate. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 Jan 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5072.IS S5072 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 5072 IS SEC. 5. WORKING GROUP OF READJUSTMENT COUN- 1 SELORS, OUTREACH SPECIALISTS, AND DI- 2 RECTORS OF VET CENTERS. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—In conducting the evaluation of 4 productivity expectations described in section 3 and devel- 5 oping the staffing model described in section 4, the Sec- 6 retary of Veterans Affairs shall establish a working group 7 to assess— 8 (1) the efficacy, impact, and composition of per- 9 formance metrics for such expectations with respect 10 to— 11 (A) quality of care and access to care for 12 veterans; and 13 (B) the welfare of readjustment counselors 14 and other employees of Vet Centers; and 15 (2) key considerations for the development of a 16 staffing model for Vet Centers, including— 17 (A) quality of care and access to care for 18 veterans and other individuals eligible for care 19 through Vet Centers; and 20 (B) recruitment, retention, and welfare of 21 employees of Vet Centers. 22 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The working group established 23 under subsection (a) shall be composed of readjustment 24 counselors, outreach specialists, and directors of Vet Cen- 25 ters. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 Jan 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5072.IS S5072 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 5072 IS (c) FEEDBACK; RECOMMENDATIONS.—The working 1 group established under subsection (a) shall provide to the 2 Secretary— 3 (1) feedback from readjustment counselors, out- 4 reach specialists, and directors of Vet Centers; and 5 (2) recommendations on how to improve— 6 (A) quality of care and access to care for 7 veterans; and 8 (B) the welfare of readjustment counselors 9 and other employees of Vet Centers. 10 SEC. 6. IMPROVEMENTS OF HIRING PRACTICES AT VET 11 CENTERS. 12 (a) STANDARDIZATION OF POSITION DESCRIP- 13 TIONS.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 15 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 16 retary of Veterans Affairs shall standardize descrip- 17 tions of position responsibilities at Vet Centers. 18 (2) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—In each of the 19 first two annual reports submitted under section 20 7309(e) of title 38, United States Code, after the 21 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 22 shall include a description of the actions taken by 23 the Secretary to carry out paragraph (1). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 Jan 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5072.IS S5072 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 5072 IS (b) EXPANSION OF REPORTING REQUIREMENTS ON 1 READJUSTMENT COUNSELING TO INCLUDE ACTIONS TO 2 REDUCE STAFFING VACANCIES AND TIME TO HIRE.— 3 Section 7309(e) of title 38, United States Code, is amend- 4 ed by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: 5 ‘‘(D) A description of actions taken by the Sec- 6 retary to reduce— 7 ‘‘(i) vacancies in counselor positions in the 8 Readjustment Counseling Service; and 9 ‘‘(ii) the time it takes to hire such coun- 10 selors.’’. 11 SEC. 7. REPORT BY GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OF- 12 FICE ON VET CENTER INFRASTRUCTURE AND 13 FUTURE INVESTMENTS. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 15 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 16 of the United States shall submit to Congress a report 17 on physical infrastructure and future investments with re- 18 spect to Vet Centers. 19 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required by subsection 20 (a) shall include the following: 21 (1) An assessment of— 22 (A) the condition of the physical infra- 23 structure of all assets of Vet Centers, whether 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 Jan 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5072.IS S5072 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 5072 IS owned or leased by the Department of Veterans 1 Affairs; and 2 (B) the short-, medium-, and long-term 3 plans of the Department to maintain and up- 4 grade the physical infrastructure of Vet Centers 5 to address the operational needs of Vet Centers 6 as of the date of the date of the submittal of 7 the report and future needs. 8 (2) An assessment of management and stra- 9 tegic planning for the physical infrastructure of Vet 10 Centers, including whether the Department should 11 buy or lease existing or additional locations in areas 12 with stable or growing populations of veterans. 13 (3) An assessment of whether, as of the date of 14 the submittal of the report, Vet Center buildings, 15 mobile Vet Centers, community access points, and 16 similar infrastructure are sufficient to care for vet- 17 erans or if such infrastructure is negatively affecting 18 care due to limited space for veterans and Vet Cen- 19 ter personnel or other factors. 20 (4) An assessment of the areas with the great- 21 est need for investments in— 22 (A) improved physical infrastructure, in- 23 cluding upgraded Vet Centers; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 Jan 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5072.IS S5072 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 5072 IS (B) additional physical infrastructure for 1 Vet Centers, including new Vet Centers owned 2 or leased by the Department. 3 (5) A description of the authorities and re- 4 sources that may be required for the Secretary to 5 make such investments. 6 (6) A review of all annual reports submitted 7 under 7309(e) of title 38, United States Code before 8 the date of the submittal of the report under sub- 9 section (a). 10 SEC. 8. PILOT PROGRAM TO COMBAT FOOD INSECURITY 11 AMONG VETERANS AND FAMILY MEMBERS 12 OF VETERANS. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 14 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet- 15 erans Affairs shall establish a pilot program to award 16 grants to eligible entities to support partnerships that ad- 17 dress food insecurity among veterans and family members 18 of veterans who receive services through Vet Centers or 19 other facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs as 20 determined by the Secretary. 21 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—For purposes of the pilot 22 program, an eligible entity is— 23 (1) a nonprofit organization; 24 (2) a veterans service organization; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 Jan 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5072.IS S5072 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 5072 IS (3) a public agency; 1 (4) a community-based organization; or 2 (5) an institution of higher education. 3 (c) LOCATIONS.—In carrying out the pilot program, 4 the Secretary shall award at least one grant to at least 5 one eligible entity in each State, if the Secretary deter- 6 mines that there is such an entity in a State that has ap- 7 plied for, and meets requirements for the award of, such 8 a grant. 9 (d) MINIMUM PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—Any 10 grant awarded under this section shall be used— 11 (1) to carry out a collaboration between one or 12 more public agencies and one or more Vet Centers 13 or other facilities of the Department for five years; 14 (2) to increase participation in nutrition coun- 15 seling programs and provide educational materials 16 and counseling to veterans and family members of 17 veterans to address food insecurity and healthy diets 18 among those individuals; 19 (3) to increase access to and enrollment in Fed- 20 eral assistance programs, including the supplemental 21 nutrition assistance program under the Food and 22 Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), the 23 special supplemental nutrition program for women, 24 infants, and children established by section 17 of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 Jan 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 [Text truncated for display. 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