§ 3120. — Program of independent living services and assistance.
[Laws in effect as of January 7, 2003]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 7, 2003 and December 19, 2003]
[CITE: 38USC3120]
TITLE 38--VETERANS' BENEFITS
PART III--READJUSTMENT AND RELATED BENEFITS
CHAPTER 31--TRAINING AND REHABILITATION FOR VETERANS WITH SERVICE-
CONNECTED DISABILITIES
Sec. 3120. Program of independent living services and assistance
(a) The Secretary may, under contracts with entities described in
subsection (f) of this section, or through facilities of the Veterans
Health Administration, which possess a demonstrated capability to
conduct programs of independent living services for severely handicapped
persons, provide, under regulations which the Secretary shall prescribe,
programs of independent living services and assistance under this
chapter, in various geographic regions of the United States, to veterans
described in subsection (b) of this section.
(b) A program of independent living services and assistance may be
made available under this section only to a veteran who has a serious
employment handicap resulting in substantial part from a service-
connected disability described in section 3102(1)(A)(i) of this title
and with respect to whom it is determined under section 3106(d) or (e)
of this title that the achievement of a vocational goal currently is not
reasonably feasible.
(c) The Secretary shall, to the maximum extent feasible, include
among those veterans who are provided with programs of independent
living services and assistance under this section substantial numbers of
veterans described in subsection (b) of this section who are receiving
long-term care in Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals and nursing
homes and in nursing homes with which the Secretary contracts for the
provision of care to veterans.
(d) A program of independent living services and assistance for a
veteran shall consist of such services described in section 3104(a) of
this title as the Secretary determines necessary to enable such veteran
to achieve maximum independence in daily living. Such veteran shall have
the same rights with respect to an individualized written plan of
services and assistance as are afforded veterans under section 3107 of
this title.
(e) Programs of independent living services and assistance shall be
initiated for no more than 2,500 veterans in each fiscal year, and the
first priority in the provision of such programs shall be afforded to
veterans for whom the reasonable feasibility of achieving a vocational
goal is precluded solely as a result of a service-connected disability.
(f) Entities described in this subsection are (1) public or
nonprofit agencies or organizations, and (2) for-profit entities in
cases in which the Secretary determines that services comparable in
effectiveness to services available from such an entity are not
available, or cannot be obtained cost-effectively from, public or
nonprofit agencies or through facilities of the Veterans Health
Administration.
(Added Pub. L. 96-466, title I, Sec. 101(a), Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat.
2185, Sec. 1520; amended Pub. L. 99-576, title III, Sec. 333(a), (b)(6),
(c), Oct. 28, 1986, 100 Stat. 3279; Pub. L. 100-689, title II,
Sec. 202(b), Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4176; Pub. L. 101-237, title IV,
Secs. 404, 423(b)(1), Dec. 18, 1989, 103 Stat. 2080, 2092; renumbered
Sec. 3120 and amended Pub. L. 102-83, Sec. 5(a), (c)(1), Aug. 6, 1991,
105 Stat. 406; Pub. L. 103-446, title XII, Sec. 1201(b)(1), (d)(11),
Nov. 2, 1994, 108 Stat. 4682, 4684; Pub. L. 104-275, title I,
Sec. 101(f)(2)(D), (i), Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3325; Pub. L. 107-103,
title V, Sec. 508(a), Dec. 27, 2001, 115 Stat. 997.)
Amendments
2001--Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 107-103 substituted ``2,500 veterans''
for ``five hundred veterans''.
1996--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 104-275, Sec. 101(i)(1), substituted
``serious employment handicap resulting in substantial part from a
service-connected disability described in section 3102(1)(A)(i)'' for
``service-connected disability described in section 3102(1)(A)''.
Pub. L. 104-275, Sec. 101(f)(2)(D), substituted ``3106(d) or (e)''
for ``3106(d)''.
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 104-275, Sec. 101(i)(2), struck out ``and (b)''
after ``section 3104(a)''.
1994--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103-446, Sec. 1201(b)(1), substituted
``Veterans Health Administration'' for ``Department of Medicine and
Surgery''.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103-446, Sec. 1201(d)(11), which directed
substitution of ``section 3102(1)(A)(i)'' for ``section 3012(1)(A)'',
could not be executed because the words ``section 3012(1)(A)'' did not
appear.
Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 103-446, Sec. 1201(b)(1), substituted
``Veterans Health Administration'' for ``Department of Medicine and
Surgery''.
1991--Pub. L. 102-83, Sec. 5(a), renumbered section 1520 of this
title as this section.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 102-83, Sec. 5(c)(1), substituted
``3102(1)(A)'' for ``1502(1)(A)'' and ``3106(d)'' for ``1506(d)''.
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 102-83, Sec. 5(c)(1), substituted ``3104(a)''
for ``1504(a)'' and ``3107'' for ``1507''.
1989--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 101-237, Sec. 423(b)(1)(A), substituted
``Secretary'' for ``Administrator'' wherever appearing.
Pub. L. 101-237, Sec. 404(2)-(4), redesignated former par. (1) of
subsec. (a) as entire subsection, substituted ``The'' for ``During
fiscal years 1982 through 1989, the'', ``subsection (f) of this
section'' for ``paragraph (7) of this subsection'' and ``subsection (b)
of this section'' for ``paragraph (2) of this subsection'', redesignated
former pars. (2), (3), (4), (6), and (7) of subsec. (a) as subsecs. (b),
(c), (d), (e), and (f) of this section, respectively, and struck out
former par. (5) which read as follows: ``Any contract for services
initiated with respect to any veteran under this section before the end
of fiscal year 1989 may be continued in effect after the end of such
year for the purposes of providing services and assistance to such
veteran in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.''
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 101-237, Sec. 404(1), (3), (5), redesignated
former subsec. (a)(2) as (b), struck out before period at end ``and who
is selected pursuant to criteria provided for in regulations prescribed
under paragraph (1) of this subsection'' and struck out former subsec.
(b) which read as follows: ``Not later than February 1, 1989, the
Administrator shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the
Senate and the House of Representatives statistical data regarding
veterans' participation in the program conducted under subsection (a) of
this section during fiscal years 1987 and 1988 and any recommendations
of the Administrator for administrative or legislative action or both
regarding the program.''
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 101-237, Sec. 423(b)(1), substituted
``Secretary'' and ``Department of Veterans Affairs'' for
``Administrator'' and ``Veterans' Administration'', respectively,
wherever appearing.
Pub. L. 101-237, Sec. 404(3), (6), redesignated former subsec.
(a)(3) as (c) and substituted ``subsection (b) of this section'' for
``paragraph (2) of this subsection''.
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 101-237, Sec. 423(b)(1)(A), substituted
``Secretary'' for ``Administrator''.
Pub. L. 101-237, Sec. 404(3), redesignated former subsec. (a)(4) as
(d).
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 101-237, Sec. 404(3), (7), redesignated former
subsec. (a)(6) as (e) and substituted ``in each fiscal year'' for ``in
each of the fiscal years 1982 through 1989''.
Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 101-237, Sec. 423(b)(1)(A), substituted
``Secretary'' for ``Administrator''.
Pub. L. 101-237, Sec. 404(3), (8), redesignated former subsec.
(a)(7) as (f) and substituted ``in this subsection are (1) public or
nonprofit agencies or organizations, and (2)'' for ``in this paragraph
are (A) public or nonprofit agencies or organizations, and (B)''.
1988--Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 100-689, Sec. 202(b)(1), substituted
``entities described in paragraph (7) of this subsection'' for ``public
or nonprofit private agencies or organizations''.
Subsec. (a)(7). Pub. L. 100-689, Sec. 202(b)(2), added par. (7).
1986--Pub. L. 99-576, Sec. 333(b)(6), substituted ``Program'' for
``Pilot program'' in section catchline.
Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 99-576, Sec. 333(a)(1)(A), substituted
``1989'' for ``1985''.
Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 99-576, Sec. 333(a)(1)(B), inserted
``currently'' after ``goal''.
Subsec. (a)(5), (6). Pub. L. 99-576, Sec. 333(a)(1)(A), substituted
``1989'' for ``1985''.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 99-576, Sec. 333(c), amended subsec. (b)
generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (b) read as follows: ``Not later
than September 30, 1984, the Administrator shall submit to the Congress
a report on the programs of independent living services and assistance
provided for in subsection (a) of this section. Such report shall
include--
``(1) the results of a study which the Administrator shall
conduct of the accomplishments and cost-effectiveness of such
programs, including the extent to which (A) such programs have met
needs for comprehensive independent living services that would not
otherwise have been met, (B) severely disabled veterans have
achieved and maintained greater independence in daily living as a
result of participation in the programs, and (C) costs of care in
hospital, nursing home, and domiciliary facilities have been and may
be avoided as the result of such programs; and
``(2) the Administrator's recommendations for any legislative
changes with respect to the provision of independent living services
and assistance to veterans for whom the achievement of a vocational
goal is not feasible.''
Effective Date of 2001 Amendment
Pub. L. 107-103, title V, Sec. 508(b), Dec. 27, 2001, 115 Stat. 997,
provided that: ``The amendment made by subsection (a) [amending this
section] shall take effect as of September 30, 2001.''
Effective Date of 1996 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 104-275 effective Oct. 9, 1996, with amendment
by section 101(i) of Pub. L. 104-275 only applicable with respect to
claims of eligibility or entitlement to services and assistance
(including claims for extension of such services and assistance) under
this chapter received by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on or after
Oct. 9, 1996, including those claims based on original applications, and
applications seeking to reopen, revise, reconsider, or otherwise
adjudicate or readjudicate on any basis claims for services and
assistance under this chapter, see section 101(j) of Pub. L. 104-275,
set out as a note under section 3101 of this title.
Effective Date
Section effective Oct. 1, 1980, see section 802(a)(2) of Pub. L. 96-
466, set out as a note under section 3100 of this title.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 3101, 3103, 3106, 3109 of
this title.
