,i  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #idge  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,june #be1 #bjbf,mr4 
,mc,garvey introduced the following     
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs1 and  
in addition to the ,committee on ,armed 
,services1 for a period to be           
subsequently determined by the ,speaker1
 in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the           
jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
,a ,,bill  ,to establish the ,national  
,task ,force on ,caregiving ,youth4  #a4
 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as
 the ,national ,task ,force on          
,caregiving ,youth of ,veterans ,act4   
#b4 ,findings ,congress finds the       
following3  7#a7 ,caregiving youths     
provide unpaid care to veterans and     
members of the ,armed ,forces with      
disabilities1 illnesses1 or injuries4   
7#b7 ,the care provided by youths to    
veterans and members of the ,armed      
,forces often includes physical         

assistance1 emotional support1 household
 management1 and advocacy1 which may    
adversely affect their education1 long  
term mental and physical health1 and    
economic opportunities4  7#c7 ,research 
indicates that millions of caregiving   
youths across the ,united ,states who   
provide care to members of the ,armed   
,forces and veterans face increased     
risks of academic disruption1 social    
isolation1 and long-term health         
challenges4  7#d7 ,caregiving youths who
 provide care to members of the ,armed  
,forces and veterans contribute         
significantly to the well-being of      
members of the ,armed ,forces and       
veterans and their families1 reducing   
institutional care needs and            
strengthening family cohesion4  7#e7    
,existing ,federal programs do not      
adequately identify or support          
caregiving youths who provide care for  
member of the ,armed ,forces and        
veterans1 and there is no coordinated   
strategy across agencies to address     

their needs4  7#f7 ,a national task     
force is necessary to assess the scope  
of caregiving youths providing care for 
members of the ,armed ,forces and       
veterans1 support ongoing research1 and 
develop policy and programmatic         
solutions to ensure such youths receive 
appropriate recognition and assistance4 
#c4 ,establishment of ,national ,task   
,force on ,caregiving ,youth  7a7       
,establishment ,not later than #ahj days
 after the date of the enactment of this
 ,act1 the ,secretary of ,veterans      
,affairs shall establish the ,national  
,task ,force on ,caregiving ,youth      
7referred to in this section as the     
,task ,force74  7b7 ,membership ,the    
,task ,force shall be composed of not   
fewer than #ah members1 as follows3     
7#a7 ,the ,department of ,veterans      
,affairs1 including a representative of 
each of the following designated by the 
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs3 7,a7  
,the ,veteran ,benefits ,administration4
  7,b7 ,the ,national ,cemetery         

,administration4  7,c7 ,the ,veteran    
,health ,administration4  7,d7 ,the     
,caregiver ,support ,program4  7,e7 ,the
 ,veterans ,experience ,office4  7#b7   
,the ,department of ,health and ,human  
,services1 including a representative of
 each of the following 7or successor    
office7 designated by the ,secretary of 
,health and ,human ,services3 7,a7 ,the 
,centers for ,medicare and ,medicaid    
,services4  7,b7 ,the ,administration   
for ,community ,living4  7,c7 ,the      
,indian ,health ,service4  7,d7 ,the    
,administration for ,children and       
,families4  7#c7 ,the ,department of    
,education1 including a representative  
of each of the following 7or successor  
office7 designated by the ,secretary of 
,education3  7,a7 ,the ,office of       
,elementary and ,secondary ,education   
,program4  7,b7 ,the ,office of ,special
 ,education ,programs4  7,c7 ,the       
,office of ,student ,support and        
,accountability4  7#d7 ,the ,department 
of ,defense1 including a representative 

of each of the following 7or successor  
office7 designated by the ,secretary of 
,defense3  7,a7 ,the ,department of     
,defense ,education ,activity4  7,b7    
,the ,office of ,military ,community and
 ,family ,policy4  7,c7 ,the ,defense   
,health ,agency4  7#e7 ,one             
representative from each of three       
non-profit organizations that specialize
 in military family support1 caregiving 
youth initiatives1 mental health        
advocacy1 or educational access for     
caregivers designated by the ,secretary 
of ,veterans ,affairs4  7c7 ,chairperson
 ,the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs  
shall designate the ,under ,secretary of
 ,veterans ,affairs for ,health or      
designee to serve as ,chairperson of the
 ,task ,force4  7d7 ,meetings  7#a7 ,in 
general ,the ,task ,force shall meet at 
least once each calendar year quarter4  
7#b7 ,quorum ,two-thirds of the members 
of the ,task ,force shall constitute a  
quorum4  7e7 ,duties ,the duties of the 
,task ,force include the following3     

7#a7 ,not later than #ahj days after the
 establishment of the ,task ,force1 to  
seek to enter into an agreement with a  
federally funded research and           
development center to conduct a national
 study on caregiving youth4 ,such study1
 which shall be completed not later than
 two years after the date of the        
enactment of this ,act1 shall include   
the following3 7,a7 ,an analysis of the 
prevalence1 demographics1 and           
socio-economic impacts of caregiving    
youth4  7,b7 ,short- and long-term      
effects on the education1 employment1   
safety1 and physical and mental health  
caregiving youth4  7,c7 ,geographic     
disparities in access of caregiving     
youth to support services4  7,d7        
,barriers to ,federal1 ,state1 and local
 assistance programs for caregiving     
youth4  7,e7 ,an identification of gaps 
in services available for caregiving    
youth4  7,f7 ,an identification of the  
benefits of caregiving for veterans1    
members of the ,armed ,forces1 and      

caregiving youth4  7#b7 ,not later than 
#cj days after the establishment of the 
,task ,force1 to consult directly with  
stakeholders including--  7,a7          
caregivers and survivors of veterans and
 members of the ,armed ,forces2  7,b7   
representatives of nonprofit            
organizations that specialize in        
military family support1 caregiving     
youth initiatives1 mental health        
advocacy1 or educational access for     
caregivers2 and  7,c7 relevant ,federal 
advisory commissions4  7#c7 ,not later  
than #ahj days after the establishment  
of the ,task ,force1 to develop targeted
 policy recommendations to ,congress1   
and ,federal1 ,state1 and local agencies
 on how the ,federal departments        
represented on the ,task ,force pursuant
 to subsection 7b7 can expand program   
support1 resources1 and accommodation   
for caregiving youths who provide care  
for members of the ,armed ,forces and   
veterans1 including--  7,a7 school-based
 resources and scholarship programs2    

7,b7 improved mental health support by  
integrating trauma-informed care for    
caregiving youth within frameworks of   
such departments2  7,c7 creating support
 programs within each such department2  
and  7,d7 establishing financial        
assistance models4  7#d7 ,to explore the
 feasibility and advisability of the    
development of a standardized database  
to-- 7,a7 track the demographics and    
services used by caregiving youths who  
provide care for members of the ,armed  
,forces and veterans2  7,b7 develop     
joint initiatives between relevant      
,federal agencies to provide            
comprehensive support2 and  7,c7 align  
,federal programs with ,state and local 
resources to ensure no caregiving youth 
is overlooked4  7#e7 ,to formalize      
nonprofit engagement by establishing a  
,caregiving ,youth ,advisory ,council   
that-- 7,a7 is composed of advocates for
 caregivers2  7,b7 hosts quarterly      
roundtables to incorporate front-line   
perspectives2 and  7,c7 provides        

recommendations to relevant ,federal    
agencies regarding the allocation and   
use of ,federal grants to support       
non-profit organizations by expanding   
direct service programs for caregiving  
youth4  7#f7 ,to conduct a survey of all
 existing efforts of ,federal agencies  
to support caregiving youth1 including  
best practices and past and ongoing     
efforts to collect data1 research1 and  
other relevant information4  7f7        
,authority ,to enter into agreements    
,the ,task ,force may enter into        
agreements with entities1 including     
academic institutions1 research         
entities1 and nonprofit organizations1  
to assist in conducting the national    
study and developing policy             
recommendations4  7g7 ,reporting        
requirements  7#a7 ,initial report ,not 
later than one year after the date of   
the enactment of this ,act1 the ,task   
,force shall submit to ,congress an     
initial report that includes a          
description of the research methodology 

and preliminary findings of the ,task   
,force related to the duties of the     
,task ,force1 including stakeholder     
consultation1 national study design1 and
 early policy considerations4  7#b7     
,annual reports ,not later than one year
 after the date of the submission of the
 initial report under paragraph 7#a71   
and annually thereafter through the     
termination date specified under        
subsection 7h71 the ,task ,force shall  
submit to ,congress a report that       
describes the progress of the ,task     
,force on such duties1 including        
updates1 policy recommendations1        
,federal collaboration efforts1         
nonprofit engagement1 and survey        
results4  7h7 ,termination ,the ,task   
,force shall terminate on the day that  
is five years after the date of the     
enactment of this ,act4  7i7 ,caregiving
 youth defined ,in this section1 the    
term caregiving youth means an          
individual under the age of #bf--  7#a7 
who provides unpaid care1 including     

physical assistance1 emotional support1 
household management1 medication        
oversight1 or advocacy1 to a veteran or 
member of the ,armed ,forces with a     
disability1 chronic illness1 or injury2 
and  7#b7 without regard to whether the 
individual or the parent of the         
individual qualifies for the ,program of
 ,comprehensive ,assistance for ,family 
,caregivers of the ,department of       
,veterans ,affairs4