Green Star Families Act Mandates Free Counseling for Next of Kin and Caregivers of Veterans Who Die by Suicide, Kicking Off in 90 Days

The new Green Star Families Act establishes a critical, free mental health counseling program run by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This program is strictly focused on providing support to the immediate family members—the next of kin—and former volunteer caregivers of veterans who have died by suicide. The goal is to provide timely, high-quality bereavement and trauma support, and the VA is required to get this whole thing up and running within 90 days of the bill becoming law.

The New Definition of Support

This isn’t just a suggestion; it’s a mandate to provide free counseling services that must be equal to, or better than, the services the VA already offers (Section 2). For anyone who has lost a loved one to suicide, the aftermath is devastating, and this bill recognizes that the trauma extends beyond immediate family. It explicitly includes former volunteer caregivers who provided care for at least three months before the veteran’s death, as long as they were working without pay through a recognized veterans service organization. This is a crucial detail, acknowledging the often-invisible support network surrounding veterans.

Who Qualifies and How They’ll Know

The bill is very clear about who counts as “Next of Kin,” laying out a specific order: spouse first, then child, parent, sibling, and finally, anyone else the Secretary of Veterans Affairs deems the closest relative. This clarity is helpful, ensuring the benefit goes to the most directly affected people. Perhaps just as important, the VA is required to actively advertise this new benefit on its website and proactively inform eligible individuals (Section 2). This means less burden on grieving families to hunt down resources and more responsibility on the VA to deliver the help.

Implementation on a Tight Deadline

Setting a 90-day deadline for implementation is a tight turnaround for a new federal program, but it shows a clear urgency to deliver this support. To meet this goal, the VA is authorized to partner with federal, state, or private groups, including recognized veteran service organizations, and pay them fairly for providing the counseling. For the VSOs, this means new opportunities to expand their services and receive funding for work they are already doing. For the VA’s administrative teams, it means a sprint to finalize agreements and establish the outreach protocols to meet that three-month deadline.