,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #eeef ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,january #h1 #bjbj,ms4 ,brownley of ,california introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to direct the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs to conduct an analysis of the need for women-specific programs that treat and rehabilitate women veterans with drug and alcohol dependency and to carry out a pilot program regarding such programs4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as ,women ,veterans ,transitional ,residence ,utilizing ,support and ,treatment ,act or the ,women ,veterans ,,trust ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,substance use problems are a significant problem among veterans and can negatively impact a veteran's health and quality of life4 7#b7 ,veterans can turn to alcohol or drugs in an attempt to relieve stress or the symptoms of mental health disorders4 7#c7 ,rates of substance use disorder among women veterans range from three to #af percent of the population4 7#d7 ,women veterans face a unique set of challenges associated with their military service that can lead to substance abuse4 7#e7 ,women veterans aged #ce and older were found to have higher rates of substance-use disorders than their non-veteran counterparts4 7#f7 ,studies indicate women veterans are twice as likely as men veterans to develop posttraumatic stress disorder1 twice as likely to have serious psychological distress1 and approximately one out of four women veterans reports military sexual trauma4 7#g7 ,studies indicate that women veterans with a substance-use disorder diagnosis have higher rates of suicide than their non-veteran peers1 and women veterans are more than twice as likely to die by suicide than non-veteran women4 7#h7 ,health services that are women-specific can be important to effective care1 and women veterans consider the availability of women-specific care as extremely important4 7#i7 ,while the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs provides women veterans with substance use treatment through a number of programs1 the ,women ,veterans' ,therapeutic ,transitional ,residence ,program is a model for providing treatment and rehabilitative services to women veterans with drug and alcohol dependency1 and it is critical that the ,secretary identifies the need for1 and feasibility of1 similar programs throughout the health care system of the ,department4 #c4 ,women-specific drug and alcohol dependency treatment and rehabilitative programs for women veterans 7a7 ,analysis 7#a7 ,requirement ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall conduct a nationwide analysis of the need for women-specific programs of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs that treat and rehabilitate women veterans with drug and alcohol dependency4 ,such analysis shall include the following3 7,a7 ,with respect to each of the three years preceding the date of the analysis1 the annual number of women veterans who have been treated and rehabilitated for drug and alcohol dependency at each medical center of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs4 7,b7 ,information on all non-,department women-specific programs to which the ,secretary refers women veterans for treatment and rehabilitation of drug and alcohol dependency1 including1 for each such program1 the name of the entity carrying out the program1 the location of the program1 and the number of women veterans referred by the ,secretary served annually by the program4 7,c7 ,an analysis of the effectiveness of programs of the ,department and non-,department programs to treat and rehabilitate women veterans with drug and alcohol dependency1 disaggregated by single-sex versus coed programs4 7,d7 ,an analysis of all information the ,secretary maintains on the satisfaction of women veterans with programs of the ,department and non-,department programs to treat and rehabilitate women veterans with drug and alcohol dependency1 disaggregated by single-sex versus coed programs4 7,e7 ,an assessment of the demand and need for women-specific programs to treat and rehabilitate women veterans with drug and alcohol dependency1 disaggregated by ,veterans ,integrated ,service ,network and medical center of the ,department4 7,f7 ,proposed locations for implementing the pilot program under subsection 7b74 7#b7 ,report ,not later than #bgj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall submit to the ,committees on ,veterans' ,affairs and ,appropriations of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,senate a report containing the analysis under paragraph 7#a74 7b7 ,pilot program 7#a7 ,requirement ,not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall carry out a women-specific pilot program to treat and rehabilitate women veterans with drug and alcohol dependency4 ,the ,secretary shall develop such pilot program based on the findings of the analysis conducted under subsection 7a74 7#b7 ,locations ,the ,secretary shall select not fewer than three ,veterans ,integrated ,service ,networks in which to carry out the pilot program4 7#c7 ,termination ,the authority to carry out a pilot program under this section shall terminate on the date that is five years after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 7#d7 ,report ,not later than #ahj days after the date on which the pilot program under paragraph 7#a7 is completed1 the ,secretary shall submit to ,committees on ,veterans' ,affairs and ,appropriations of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,senate a report on the pilot program1 including-- 7,a7 the findings and conclusions of the ,secretary regarding the pilot program2 and 7,b7 such recommendations of the ,secretary regarding the continuation or expansion of the pilot program as the ,secretary considers appropriate4