12 2 STA T .4 4 8PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 181 —J A N .28 , 2008 healt h c a r e s er vi ces , receivi ngb ene f its inf o r m ation, an d an y other diffic u lties encountered w hile su p porting wounded warriors .T he S ecretary shall widely disseminate information regarding the e x ist - ence and availability of the center, including contact information, to members of the A rmed F orces and their dependents. I n carrying out this subsection, the Secretary may use existing infrastructure and organi z ations but shall ensure that the center has the ability to separately k eep track of calls from wounded warriors. ( b ) A C C ES S. — The center shall provide multiple methods of access, including at a minimum an Internet website and a toll- free telephone number (commonly referred to as a ‘ ‘hot line ’ ’) at which personnel are accessible at all times to receive reports of deficiencies or provide information about covered military facilities, health care services, or military benefits. (c) CONFID EN T I AL IT Y .— ( 1 ) N OTIFICATION.—Individuals who seek to provide information through the center under subsection (a) shall be notified, immediately before they provide such information, of their option to elect, at their discretion, to have their identity remain confidential. ( 2 ) PR O H I B ITION ON F U RTHER DISCLOSURE.—In the case of information provided through use of the toll-free telephone number by an individual who elects to maintain the confiden- tiality of his or her identity, any individual who, by necessity, has had access to such information for purposes of investigating or responding to the call as re q uired under subsection (d) may not disclose the identity of the individual who provided the information. (d) FUNCTIONS.—The center shall perform the following func- tions
(1) CALL TRAC K IN G .—The center shall be responsible for documenting receipt of a call, referring the call to the appro- priate office within a military department for answer or inves- tigation, and tracking the formulation and notification of the response to the call. (2) IN V ESTIGATION AND RES P ONSE.—The center shall be responsible for ensuring that, not later than 96 hours after a call— (A) if a report of deficiencies is received in a call— (i) any deficiencies referred to in the call are inves- tigated
(ii) if substantiated, a plan of action for remedi- ation of the deficiencies is developed and implemented; and (iii) if requested, the individual who made the report is notified of the current status of the report; or ( B ) if a request for information is received in a call— (i) the information requested by the caller is pro- vided by the center; (ii) all requests for information from the call are referred to the appropriate office or offices of a military department for response; and (iii) the individual who made the report is notified, at a minimum, of the current status of the query. ( 3 ) FINAL NOTIFICATION.—The center shall be responsible for ensuring that, if requested, the caller is notified when Deadlin e .W e bs i t e. Com m u ni c ations and tele - communications.
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