,i  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #dah  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of   
,,representatives  ,january #aj1        
#bjag,mrs4 ,lawrence introduced the     
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs   
,a ,,bill  ,to direct the ,secretary of 
,veterans ,affairs to establish a pilot 
program to improve access to supportive 
services and community coordination for 
families of disabled veterans4  #a4     
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,early ,intervention for ,veterans  
and their ,families ,act4  #b4 ,pilot   
program for greater direct access to    
supportive services and community       
coordination for disabled veterans      
families  7a7 ,in general ,commencing   
not later than #ahj days after the date 
of the enactment of this ,act1 the      
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall  
carry out a three-year pilot program    
with community partners to provide      
intensive community care coordination   
and supportive services to disabled     

veteran families who lack access to     
direct wellness services provided by the
 ,department of ,veterans ,affairs or   
other entities4  7b7 ,agreements with   
community partners ,in carrying out the 
pilot program under subsection 7a71 the 
,secretary shall enter into partnership 
agreements with community partners using
 a competitive and merit-based award    
process for individual grants and for   
multi-service site grants to test       
service delivery efficiencies and       
generate best practices4  7c7 ,community
 care coordination and supportive       
services ,the community care            
coordination and supportive services    
referred to in subsection 7a7 are the   
following3  7#a7 ,services provided by a
 community partner to improve the       
well-being and address the needs of     
disabled veteran families who otherwise 
lack access to adequate direct wellness 
services provided by the ,department of 
,veterans ,affairs or other entities4   
,such assistance and services may       

include the following3 7,a7 ,care       
coordination and case management        
services4  7,b7 ,outreach services4     
7,c7 ,assistance in obtaining any       
benefits from the ,department which the 
veteran may be eligible to receive1     
including vocational and rehabilitation 
counseling1 employment and training     
service1 educational assistance1 and    
health care services4  7,d7 ,assistance 
in obtaining and coordinating the       
provision of other public benefits      
provided by department or agencies of   
the ,federal ,government or a ,state or 
local government or by community        
partners1 including with respect to--   
7i7 marriage counseling2  7ii7 services 
for children2  7iii7 suicide prevention2
  7iv7 substance abuse awareness and    
treatment2  7v7 mental health awareness 
and treatment2  7vi7 financial          
counseling2  7vii7 anger management     
counseling2  7viii7 domestic violence   
awareness and prevention2  7ix7         
employment assistance2  7x7             

transportation services2  7xi7 child    
care2  7xii7 housing counseling2  7xiii7
 preparing and updating family care     
plans2  7xiv7 development of strategies 
for living with a veteran with          
post-traumatic stress disorder or       
traumatic brain injury2  7xv7 accessing 
emergency financial assistance through  
philanthropic efforts2 and  7xvi7 other 
services that are determined by the     
,secretary to be appropriate to improve 
the well-being and address the unique   
needs of disabled veteran families who  
lack access to such direct wellness     
services4  7#b7 ,providing the direct   
services specified in paragraph         
7#a77;,d7 that are necessary to improve 
the well-being and address the needs of 
the disabled veteran families but are   
otherwise unavailable through existing  
public or private programs4  7d7        
,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,the
 term community partner means a private 
nonprofit organization4  7#b7 ,the term 
disabled veteran means a ,united ,states

 citizen or ,united ,states national    
who-- 7,a7 was honorably discharged from
 the ,armed ,forces2 and  7,b7 is       
entitled to disability compensation 7or 
who but for the receipt of military     
retired pay would be entitled to        
disability compensation7 under laws     
administered by the ,secretary of       
,veterans ,affairs or was discharged or 
released from active duty in the ,armed 
,forces because of a service-connected  
disability under chapter #fa of title   
#aj1 ,united ,states ,code4  7#c7 ,the  
term disabled veterans family means the 
dependents of a disabled veteran4  7e7  
,authorization of appropriations ,there 
are authorized to be appropriated to the
 ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs       
#b1jjj1jjj to carry out the pilot       
program under subsection 7a7 for each   
fiscal year in which the ,secretary     
carries out such pilot program4  7f7    
,report ,not later than #ahj days before
 the completion of the pilot program    
under subsection 7a71 the ,secretary    

shall submit to the ,committee on       
,veterans' ,affairs of the ,senate and  
the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of
 the ,house of ,representatives a report
 on the results of the pilot program1   
including the number of disabled veteran
 families served and service linkages or
 referrals and a description and        
assessment of the effectiveness and     
achievements of the pilot program with  
respect to services and treatments and  
mitigation of risks1 including          
homelessness1 unemployment and suicide  
as well as recommended best practices   
for improving access to supportive      
services and coordination of care for   
disabled veteran families4