Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage Family Caregivers Act of 2015 or the RAISE Family Caregivers Act
This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop, maintain, and periodically update a National Family Caregiving Strategy.
HHS shall convene a Family Caregiving Advisory Council to advise it on recognizing and supporting family caregivers.
Federal departments and agencies must share with HHS any data they maintain that HHS needs to prepare the initial and updated Strategies.
[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3099 Introduced in House (IH)]
114th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3099
To provide for the establishment and maintenance of a National Family
Caregiving Strategy, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 16, 2015
Mr. Harper (for himself, Ms. Castor of Florida, Ms. Michelle Lujan
Grisham of New Mexico, and Mrs. Black) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for the establishment and maintenance of a National Family
Caregiving Strategy, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Recognize, Assist, Include, Support,
and Engage Family Caregivers Act of 2015'' or the ``RAISE Family
Caregivers Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Advisory council.--The term ``Advisory Council'' means
the Family Caregiving Advisory Council convened under section
4.
(2) Family caregiver.--The term ``family caregiver'' means
a relative, partner, friend, or neighbor who has a significant
relationship with, and who provides a broad range of assistance
for, a person with a chronic or other health condition,
disability, or functional limitation.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Health and Human Services.
(4) Strategy.--The term ``Strategy'' means the National
Family Caregiving Strategy established, maintained, and updated
under section 3.
SEC. 3. NATIONAL FAMILY CAREGIVING STRATEGY.
(a) In General.--The Secretary, in consultation with the heads of
other appropriate Federal agencies, shall develop, maintain, and
periodically update a National Family Caregiving Strategy.
(b) Contents.--The Strategy shall identify specific actions that
Federal, State, and local governments, communities, health care, long-
term services and supports and other providers, employers, and others
can take to recognize and support family caregivers in a culturally
competent manner, including with respect to the following:
(1) Promoting greater adoption of person- and family-
centered care in all health and long-term services and supports
settings, with the person receiving services and support and
the family caregiver (as appropriate) at the center of care
teams.
(2) Assessment and service planning (including care
transitions and coordination) involving family caregivers and
care recipients.
(3) Training and other supports.
(4) Information, education, referral, and care
coordination, including hospice, palliative care, and advance
planning services.
(5) Respite options.
(6) Financial security.
(7) Workplace policies and supports that allow family
caregivers to remain in the workforce.
(c) Responsibilities of the Secretary.--The Secretary, in carrying
out this section, shall be responsible for the following:
(1) Collecting and making publically available information,
including evidence-based or promising practices and innovative
models (both domestically and internationally) regarding the
provision of care by family caregivers or support for family
caregivers.
(2) Coordinating Federal Government programs and activities
to recognize and support family caregivers while ensuring
maximum effectiveness and avoiding unnecessary duplication.
(3) Providing technical assistance, such as best practices
and information sharing, to State or local efforts, as
appropriate, to support family caregivers.
(4) Addressing disparities in recognizing and supporting
family caregivers and meeting the needs of the diverse family
caregiving population.
(5) Assessing all Federal programs regarding family
caregivers, including with respect to funding levels.
(d) Initial Strategy; Updates.--The Secretary shall--
(1) not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of
this Act, develop, publish, and submit to Congress the initial
Strategy incorporating the items addressed in the Advisory
Council's report in section 4(d)(2) and other priority actions
for recognizing and supporting family caregivers; and
(2) not less than annually, update, republish, and submit
to Congress the Strategy, taking into account the most recent
annual report submitted under section 4(d)(1)--
(A) to reflect new developments, challenges,
opportunities, and solutions; and
(B) to assess progress in implementation of the
Strategy and, based on the results of such assessment,
recommend priority actions for such implementation.
(e) Process for Public Input.--The Secretary shall establish a
process for public input to inform the development of, and updates to,
the Strategy, including a process for the public to submit
recommendations to the Advisory Council and an opportunity for public
comment on the proposed Strategy.
(f) No Preemption.--Nothing in this Act preempts any authority of a
State or local government to recognize or support family caregivers.
SEC. 4. FAMILY CAREGIVING ADVISORY COUNCIL.
(a) Convening.--The Secretary shall convene a Family Caregiving
Advisory Council to provide advice to the Secretary on recognizing and
supporting family caregivers.
(b) Membership.--
(1) In general.--The members of the Advisory Council shall
consist of--
(A) the Federal members under paragraph (2); and
(B) the appointed members under paragraph (3).
(2) Federal members.--The Federal members of the Advisory
Council shall consist of the following:
(A) The Administrator of the Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services (or the Administrator's designee).
(B) The Administrator of the Administration for
Community Living (or the Administrator's designee who
has experience in both aging and disability).
(C) The Assistant Secretary for the Administration
for Children and Families (or the Assistant Secretary's
designee).
(D) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs (or the
Secretary's designee).
(E) The Secretary of Labor (or the Secretary's
designee).
(F) The Secretary of the Treasury (or the
Secretary's designee).
(G) The National Coordinator for Health Information
Technology (or the National Coordinator's designee).
(H) The heads of other Federal departments or
agencies (or their designees), as appointed by the
President or the Chair of the Advisory Council.
(3) Appointed members.--In addition to the Federal members
under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall appoint not more than
15 members of the Advisory Council who are not representatives
of Federal departments or agencies and who shall include at
least one representative of each of the following:
(A) Family caregivers.
(B) Older adults with long-term services and
supports needs.
(C) Individuals with disabilities.
(D) Advocates for family caregivers, older adults
with long-term services and supports needs, and
individuals with disabilities.
(E) Health care and social service providers.
(F) Long-term-services-and-support providers.
(G) Employers.
(H) Direct care workers or advocates for such
workers.
(I) State and local officials.
(J) Accreditation bodies.
(K) Relevant industries.
(L) Veterans.
(M) As appropriate, other experts in family
caregiving.
(4) Diverse representation.--The Secretary shall ensure
that the membership of the Advisory Council reflects the
diversity of--
(A) the overall population; and
(B) family caregivers.
(c) Meetings.--The Advisory Council shall meet quarterly. Meetings
of the Advisory Council shall be open to the public.
(d) Advisory Council Annual Reports.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 15 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Advisory
Council shall submit to the Secretary and Congress a report
concerning the development, maintenance, and updating of the
Strategy and the implementation thereof, including a
description of the outcomes of the recommendations and
priorities under paragraph (2), as appropriate. Such report
shall be made publically available by the Advisory Council.
(2) Initial report.--The Advisory Council's initial report
under paragraph (1) shall include--
(A) an inventory and assessment of all federally
funded efforts to recognize and support family
caregivers and the outcomes of such efforts, including
analyses of the extent to which federally funded
efforts are reaching family caregivers and gaps in such
efforts;
(B) recommendations for priority actions--
(i) to improve and better coordinate
programs; and
(ii) to deliver services based on the
performance, mission, and purpose of a program
while eliminating redundancies and ensuring the
needs of family caregivers are met;
(C) recommendations to reduce the financial impact
and other challenges of caregiving on family
caregivers; and
(D) an evaluation of how family caregiving impacts
the Medicare program, the Medicaid program, and other
Federal programs.
SEC. 5. SHARING OF DATA.
The heads of Federal departments and agencies, as appropriate,
shall share with the Secretary any data that is--
(1) maintained by the respective department or agency; and
(2) needed by the Secretary to prepare the initial and
updated Strategies under section 3(d).
SEC. 6. SUNSET PROVISION.
The authority and obligations established by this Act shall
terminate on December 31, 2030.
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Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.
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