,,ii  #aadth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #gag  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,march #aa1 #bjae   
,mr4 ,donnelly 7for himself and ,mrs4   
,ernst7 introduced the following bill2  
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs  ,a  
,,bill  ,to designate certain           
non-,department mental health care      
providers who treat members of the      
,armed ,forces and veterans as providers
 who have particular knowledge relating 
to the provision of mental health care  
to members of the ,armed ,forces and    
veterans1 and for other purposes4  #a4  
,short title  ,this ,act may be cited as
 the ,community ,provider ,readiness    
,recognition ,act of #bjae4  #b4        
,designation of certain non-,department 
mental health care providers with       
knowledge relating to treatment of      
members of the ,armed ,forces and       
veterans  7a7 ,mental health provider   
readiness designation  7#a7 ,in general 
,not later than one year after the date 

of the enactment of this ,act1 the      
,secretary of ,defense and the          
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall  
jointly develop a system by which any   
non-,department mental health care      
provider that meets eligibility criteria
 jointly established by such            
,secretaries relating to the knowledge  
described in paragraph 7#b7 receives a  
mental health provider readiness        
designation from the ,department of     
,defense and the ,department of         
,veterans ,affairs4  7#b7 ,knowledge    
,the knowledge described in this        
paragraph is the following3 7,a7        
,knowledge1 comfort1 and understanding  
with respect to the culture of members  
of the ,armed ,forces1 veterans1 and    
family members and caregivers of members
 of the ,armed ,forces and veterans4    
7,b7 ,knowledge with respect to         
evidence-based treatments that have been
 approved by the ,department of ,defense
 and the ,department of ,veterans       
,affairs for the treatment of mental    

health issues among members of the      
,armed ,forces and veterans4  7b7       
,availability of information on         
designation  7#a7 ,registry ,the        
,secretary of ,defense and the          
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall  
jointly establish and update a registry 
that is available to the public of all  
non-,department mental health care      
providers that are currently designated 
under subsection 7a77#a74  7#b7         
,provider list ,the ,secretary concerned
 shall update all lists maintained by   
such ,secretary of non-,department      
mental health care providers that       
provide mental health care under the    
laws administered by such ,secretary by 
indicating the providers that are       
currently designated under subsection   
7a77#a72 and  7c7 ,definitions ,in this 
section3 7#a7 ,non-,department mental   
health care provider ,the term          
non-,department mental health care      
provider--  7,a7 means a health care    
provider that-- 7i7 specializes in      

mental health2  7ii7 is not a health    
care provider of the ,department of     
,defense or the ,department of ,veterans
 ,affairs2 and  7iii7 provides health   
care to members of the ,armed ,forces or
 veterans2 and  7,b7 includes           
psychiatrists1 psychologists1           
psychiatric nurses1 social workers1     
mental health counselors1 marriage and  
family therapists1 and other mental     
health care providers designated by the 
,secretary of ,defense and ,secretary of
 ,veterans ,affairs4  7#b7 ,secretary   
concerned ,the term ,secretary concerned
 means-- 7,a7 the ,secretary of ,defense
 with respect to matters concerning the 
,department of ,defense2 and  7,b7 the  
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs with   
respect to matters concerning the       
,department of ,veterans ,affairs4