10 U.S.C. § 1781 — Office of Military Family Readiness Policy

(a) Establishment. The Office of Military Family Readiness Policy exists in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. The Director of Military Family Readiness Policy heads it and serves within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.

(b) Duties. The Office (1) must coordinate military-department programs and activities to the extent they relate to military families; and (2) must recommend programs and policies about military families to the Secretaries of the military departments^*.

(c) Staff. The Office must have at least five professional staff members.

(d) Non-medical Counseling Services. (1) In carrying out subsection (b), the Office may coordinate programs and activities that provide non-medical counseling services to military families through the Department of Defense Military and Family Life Counseling Program. (2) A mental-health professional described in paragraph (3) may provide those services at any location in a State, the District of Columbia, or a United States territory or possession, regardless of where the professional or recipient is located or where the service is delivered, including face-to-face and telehealth delivery, if providing it is within the professional’s authorized Federal duties. (3) Such a professional is a person who (A) is a currently licensed mental-health provider with a license (i) issued by a State, the District of Columbia, or a United States territory or possession and (ii) recognized by the Defense Secretary as appropriate for non-medical counseling; (B) is a member of the armed forces^*, a Defense Department civilian employee, or a contractor designated by the Secretary; and (C) performs authorized Defense Department duties under a program or activity described in paragraph (1). (4) This subsection’s authority ends 3 years after its enactment. (5) “Non-medical counseling services” means mental-health care that is non-clinical, short-term, solution-focused, and addresses personal growth, development, and positive functioning. This section does not otherwise define the quoted term.