The Pentagon has been asked to produce a report on recruitment and retention of childcare providers. Image: ChiccoDodiFC/Shutterstock.com
The 2023 defense-spending bill addresses several areas of child care, health and justice.
Should a dependent die, service members who receive BAH at a “with dependents” rate can continue to do so for up to one year after the date of death. A pilot program will focus on hiring special education inclusion coordinators for child development centers that have a high number of children enrolled in the Exceptional Family Member Program, and at the centers themselves.
Congress also wants the Pentagon to produce a report on recruitment and retention of childcare providers. Another pilot program would expand enrollment eligibility at stateside dependent elementary and secondary schools.
Changes in health care include designation of four Core Casualty Receiving Facilities at existing locations. They would serve as destinations for casualties who are transported by air from operational theaters. National Guard members who are separated from full-time duty, or called to duty by the president or secretary of Defense for more than 30 days in support of federal emergencies, would be eligible for transitional health-care benefits.
Lawmakers want an internal review of suicide rates by military occupational specialty (MOS), service and pay grade, for the period between Sept. 11, 2001 and the present. They also are asking for a briefing that addresses suicide prevention.
The bill also calls for a capability assessment aimed at identifying and mitigating the potential effects of exposure to burn pits and other environmental hazards.
The TRICARE Dental Program would be subject to third-party handling of enrollment, eligibility and premium-payment processing, as well as making sure beneficiaries have three options from which to choose during enrollments.
Brain health would garner more attention, with the establishment of a comprehensive initiative to focus on the subject. Behavioral health would be improved.
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