H.R. 9475: National Task Force on Caregiving Youth of Veterans Act.

This bill would create a National Task Force on Caregiving Youth within the Department of Veterans Affairs. The task force would focus on young people under age 26 who provide unpaid care to veterans or members of the Armed Forces who have a disability, chronic illness, or injury.

What the task force would do

• Be set up within 180 days of enactment.
• Include representatives from:
  • the Department of Veterans Affairs,
  • the Department of Health and Human Services,
  • the Department of Education,
  • the Department of Defense, and
  • three nonprofit organizations chosen by the VA.
• Be chaired by the VA’s Under Secretary for Health, or a designee.
• Meet at least once every three months.

Main responsibilities

The task force would be required to study caregiving youth and make recommendations on how the federal government can better identify and support them. Its work would include:

• Working with a federally funded research center to conduct a national study on caregiving youth.
• Examining how common caregiving youth are, who they are, and what economic effects caregiving has on them.
• Studying how caregiving affects their:
  • education,
  • employment,
  • safety,
  • physical health, and
  • mental health.
• Looking at differences by region in access to support services.
• Identifying barriers to federal, state, and local assistance programs.
• Finding gaps in services and also any benefits associated with caregiving.

Consultation and coordination

Within 30 days of being created, the task force would have to consult with:

• caregivers and survivors of veterans and service members,
• nonprofit groups focused on military families, caregiving youth, mental health, or educational access, and
• relevant federal advisory bodies.

It would also review existing federal efforts to support caregiving youth and identify best practices and past data collection efforts.

Recommendations and possible policy ideas

Within 180 days of being established, the task force would develop recommendations for Congress and relevant agencies. Those recommendations could include:

• school-based resources and scholarship programs,
• mental health support using trauma-informed approaches,
• new support programs within federal departments, and
• financial assistance models.

Data and nonprofit involvement

The bill directs the task force to examine whether a standardized database should be created to track caregiving youth demographics and the services they use, and to help agencies coordinate support. It would also create a Caregiving Youth Advisory Council made up of advocates and nonprofit representatives to hold quarterly roundtables and advise on how federal grants could support nonprofit direct-service programs.

Reports and duration

• The task force would submit an initial report to Congress within one year of enactment.
• It would then submit annual reports until it ends.
• The task force would automatically terminate five years after the bill becomes law.

Relevant Companies

None found