12 2 STA T .486PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 181 —J A N .28 , 2008 (1)theD e par t m e n t ofV eteran sA ffa i rsisa l ea d er in the field of tra u mati cb rain in j ur y care and coordination of such care
( 2 ) the Department of Veterans Affairs should ha v e the capacity and e x pertise to provide veterans w ho have a trau - matic brain injury with patient-centered health care , rehabilita- tion, and community inte g ration services that are comparable to or exceed similar care and services available to persons with such injuries in the academic and private sector; ( 3 ) rehabilitation for veterans who have a traumatic brain injury should be individuali z ed, comprehensive, and inter- disciplinary with the goals of optimizing the independence of such veterans and reintegrating them into their communities; ( 4 ) family support is integral to the rehabilitation and community reintegration of veterans who have sustained a traumatic brain injury, and the Department should provide the families of such veterans with education and support; ( 5 ) the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs have made efforts to provide a smooth transi- tion of medical care and rehabilitative services to individuals as they transition from the health care system of the Depart- ment of Defense to that of the Department of Veterans Affairs, but more can be done to assist veterans and their families in the continuum of the rehabilitation, recovery, and reintegra- tion of wounded or injured veterans into their communities; ( 6 ) in planning for rehabilitation and community reintegra- tion of veterans who have a traumatic brain injury, it is nec- essary for the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide a system for life-long case management for such veterans; and ( 7 ) in such system for life-long case management, it is necessary to conduct outreach and to tailor specialized trau- matic brain injury case management and outreach to the uni q ue needs of veterans with traumatic brain injury who reside in urban and non-urban settings .SEC.1702 . IND I V ID UALR E H A B ILI T ATI O NANDCO M MUNIT Y RE - INTE G RATION P LANS F OR VETERANS AND OTHERS W ITH TRAUMATIC BRAIN IN J URY. (a) INGE NE RAL . —S ubchapter II of chapter 17 of title 3 8 , U nited States C ode, is amended by inserting after section 171 0B the fol- lowing new sections
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‘ §17 1 0C.Traum a ticb rai n in j ur y:pl an sfo rr eh abilitation an d reinte g ration into the community ‘ ‘(a) P LAN R E QUI RE D .— T he Secretary shall, for each individual who is a veteran or member of the Armed F orces who receives inpatient or outpatient rehabilitative hospital care or medical serv- ices provided by the Department for a traumatic brain injury— ‘‘(1) develop an individualized plan for the rehabilitation and reintegration of the individual into the community; and ‘‘(2) provide such plan in writing to the individual— ‘‘(A) in the case of an individual receiving inpatient care, before the individual is discharged from inpatient care or after the individual ’ s transition from serving on active duty as a member of the Armed Forces to receiving outpatient care provided by the Department; or
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