The
Aging Network
Program Instructions
AoA-PI-01-01 January 8, 2001
TO: STATE AGENCIES ON AGING ADMINISTERING PLANS
UNDER TITLE III OF THE OLDER AMERICANS ACT OF 1965, AS AMENDED
SUBJECT: State Plan Amendment Procedures for
the Older Americans Act, as Amended in 2000
LEGAL AND RELATED REFERENCES: Sections 305,
306, and 307 of the Older Americans Act of 1965, As Amended, and
45 CFR Part 1321, Grants for State and Community Programs on Aging
The Older Americans Act Amendments of 2000 (P.L. 106-501), which
President Clinton signed on November 13, 2000, contain a number
of significant new provisions. This guidance discusses changes
and consolidations in state plan assurances. The provisions that
have major and immediate implications for State and area plans
require amendments to those plans. Those provisions pertain to:
Section 305, Organization;
Section 306, Area Plans; and
Section 307, State Plans.
The new statutory language for these sections is attached. For
ease in reading, the specific changes are in italics. The changes
to these provisions require new assurances. Please note that every
provision is not a new substantive change, but may be reflective
of the reorganization, streamlining and consolidation of the statute.
In keeping with the State plan requirements in 45 CFR Part 92.11,
States may provide a single assurance that cites by number the
statutory provisions, or may repeat the statutory assurance language.
In addition, a State must affirm that it gives the assurances
required by those provisions. As required in section 1321.21 of
the Older Americans Act regulations, the Governor or the Governor’s
designee must sign amendments to a State plan. To expedite the
process for the submission of State plan assurances in conformance
with the 2000 amendments to the Older Americans Act, I have provided
a certification form that can be signed and dated by the Governor
or the Governor’s designee. This Assurance Certification
Form or other affirmation of your State’s assurances are
due to your respective Administration on Aging Regional Office
by February 15, 2001.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediately, State Assurances
Due February 15, 2001
ATTACHMENTS:
- Listing of Assurances in Need of Updating
- Optional Assurance Certification Form for State Official
INQUIRIES: Address inquiries to Regional Administrators on Aging, DHHS Regional Offices.
____________________________________
Jeanette C. Takamura
Assistant Secretary for Aging
ATTACHMENT 1. Listing of
Assurances in Need of Updating
Section 305
ORGANIZATION
Sec. 305. (a) In order for a State to be eligible to participate
in programs of grants to States from allotments under this title
–
(2) the State agency shall --
(E) provide assurance that preference will be given to providing
services to older individuals with greatest economic need and
older individuals with greatest social need, with particular attention
to low-income minority individuals, and older individuals residing
in rural areas and include proposed methods of carrying out the
preference in the State plan;
(F) provide assurances that the State agency will require use
of outreach efforts described in section 307(a)(16); and
(G)(i) set specific objectives, in consultation with area agencies
on aging, for each planning and service area for providing services
funded under this title to low-income minority older individuals
and older individuals residing in rural areas;
(ii) provide an assurance that the State agency will undertake
specific program development, advocacy, and outreach efforts focused
on the needs of low-income minority older individuals and older
individuals residing in rural areas;
Section 306
AREA PLANS
Sec. 306. (a) Each area agency on aging designated under section
305(a)(2)(A) shall, in order to be approved by the State agency,
prepare and develop an area plan for a planning and service area
for a two-, three-, or four-year period determined by the State
agency, with such annual adjustments as may be necessary. Each
such plan shall be based upon a uniform format for area plans
within the State prepared in accordance with section 307(a)(1).
Each such plan shall --
(1) provide, through a comprehensive and coordinated system,
for supportive services, nutrition services, and, where appropriate,
for the establishment, maintenance, or construction of multipurpose
senior centers, within the planning and service area covered by
the plan, including determining the extent of need for supportive
services, nutrition services, and multipurpose senior centers
in such area (taking into consideration, among other things, the
number of older individuals with low incomes residing in such
area, the number of older individuals who have greatest economic
need (with particular attention to low-income minority individuals
and older individuals residing in rural areas) residing in such
area, the number of older individuals who have greatest social
need (with particular attention to low-income minority individuals
and older individuals residing in rural areas) residing in such
area, and the number of older individuals who are Indians residing
in such area, and the efforts of voluntary organizations in the
community), evaluating the effectiveness of the use of resources
in meeting such need, and entering into agreements with providers
of supportive services, nutrition services, or multipurpose senior
centers in such area, for the provision of such services or centers
to meet such need;
(C) legal assistance; and assurances that the area agency on
aging will report annually to the State agency in detail the amount
of funds expended for each such category during the fiscal year
most recently concluded;
(4)(A)(i) provide assurances that the area agency on aging will
set specific objectives for providing services to older individuals
with greatest economic need and older individuals with greatest
social need, include specific objectives for providing services
to low-income minority individuals and older individuals residing
in rural areas, and include proposed methods of carrying out the
preference in the area plan;
(ii) provide assurances that the area agency on aging will include
in each agreement made with a provider of any service under this
title, a requirement that such provider will--
(I) specify how the provider intends to satisfy the service
needs of low-income minority individuals and older individuals
residing in rural areas in the area served by the provider;
(II) to the maximum extent feasible, provide services to low-income
minority individuals and older individuals residing in rural areas
in accordance with their need for such services; and
(III) meet specific objectives established by the area agency
on aging, for providing services to low-income minority individuals
and older individuals residing in rural areas within the planning
and service area; and
(iii) with respect to the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year
for which such plan is prepared--
(I) identify the number of low-income minority older individuals
and older individuals residing in rural areas in the planning
and service area;
(B) provide assurances that the area agency on aging will use
outreach efforts that will--
(i) identify individuals eligible for assistance under this
Act, with special emphasis on--
(II) older individuals with greatest economic need (with particular
attention to low-income minority individuals and older individuals
residing in rural areas);
(III) older individuals with greatest social need (with particular
attention to low-income minority individuals and older individuals
residing in rural areas);
(C) contain an assurance that the area agency on aging will
ensure that each activity undertaken by the agency, including
planning, advocacy, and systems development, will include a focus
on the needs of low-income minority older individuals and older
individuals residing in rural areas;
(5) provide assurances that the area agency on aging will coordinate
planning, identification, assessment of needs, and provision of
services for older individuals with disabilities, with particular
attention to individuals with severe disabilities, with agencies
that develop or provide services for individuals with disabilities;
(6) provide that the area agency on aging will--
(C)(i) where possible, enter into arrangements with organizations
providing day care services for children, assistance to older
individuals caring for relatives who are children, and respite
for families, so as to provide opportunities for older individuals
to aid or assist on a voluntary basis in the delivery of such
services to children, adults, and families; and
(D) establish an advisory council consisting of older individuals
(including minority individuals and older individuals residing
in rural areas) who are participants or who are eligible to participate
in programs assisted under this Act, representatives of older
individuals, local elected officials, providers of veterans' health
care (if appropriate), and the general public, to advise continuously
the area agency on aging on all matters relating to the development
of the area plan, the administration of the plan and operations
conducted under the plan;
(7) provide that the area agency on aging will facilitate the
coordination of community-based, long-term care services designed
to enable older individuals to remain in their homes, by means
including—
(A) development of case management services as a component of
the long-term care services, consistent with the requirements
of paragraph (8);
(B) involvement of long-term care providers in the coordination
of such services; and
(C) increasing community awareness of and involvement in addressing
the needs of residents of long-term care facilities;
(8) provide that case management services provided under this
title through the area agency on aging will--
(A) not duplicate case management services provided through
other Federal and State programs;
(B) be coordinated with services described in subparagraph (A);
and
(C) be provided by a public agency or a nonprofit private agency
that--
(i) gives each older individual seeking services under this
title a list of agencies that provide similar services within
the jurisdiction of the area agency on aging;
(ii) gives each individual described in clause (i) a statement
specifying that the individual has a right to make an independent
choice of service providers and documents receipt by such individual
of such statement;
(iii) has case managers acting as agents for the individuals
receiving the services and not as promoters for the agency providing
such services; or
(iv) is located in a rural area and obtains a waiver of the
requirements described in clauses (i) through (iii);
(9) provide assurances that the area agency on aging, in carrying
out the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman program under section 307(a)(9),
will expend not less than the total amount of funds appropriated
under this Act and expended by the agency in fiscal year 2000
in carrying out such a program under this title;
(10) provide a grievance procedure for older individuals who
are dissatisfied with or denied services under this title;
(11) provide information and assurances concerning services
to older individuals who are Native Americans (referred to in
this paragraph as `older Native Americans'), including--
(A) information concerning whether there is a significant population
of older Native Americans in the planning and service area and
if so, an assurance that the area agency on aging will pursue
activities, including outreach, to increase access of those older
Native Americans to programs and benefits provided under this
title;
(B) an assurance that the area agency on aging will, to the
maximum extent practicable, coordinate the services the agency
provides under this title with services provided under title VI;
and
(C) an assurance that the area agency on aging will make services
under the area plan available, to the same extent as such services
are available to older individuals within the planning and service
area, to older Native Americans; and
(12) provide that the area agency on aging will establish procedures
for coordination of services with entities conducting other Federal
or federally assisted programs for older individuals at the local
level, with particular emphasis on entities conducting programs
described in section 203(b) within the planning and service area.
(b) Each State, in approving area agency on aging plans under
this section, shall waive the requirement described in paragraph
(2) of subsection (a) for any category of services described in
such paragraph if the area agency on aging demonstrates to the
State agency that services being furnished for such category in
the area are sufficient to meet the need for such services in
such area and had conducted a timely public hearing upon request.
Section 307
STATE PLANS
Sec. 307. (a )(1) The plan shall--
(A) require each area agency on aging designated under section
305(a)(2)(A) to develop and submit to the State agency for approval,
in accordance with a uniform format developed by the State agency,
an area plan meeting the requirements of section 306; and
(B) be based on such area plans.
(2) The plan shall provide that the State agency will--
(A) evaluate, using uniform procedures described in section
202(a)(29), the need for supportive services (including legal
assistance pursuant to 307(a)(11), information and assistance,
and transportation services), nutrition services, and multipurpose
senior centers within the State;
(B) develop a standardized process to determine the extent to
which public or private programs and resources (including volunteers
and programs and services of voluntary organizations) that have
the capacity and actually meet such need; and
(C) specify a minimum proportion of the funds received by each
area agency on aging in the State to carry out part B that will
be expended (in the absence of a waiver under sections 306(b)
or 316) by such area agency on aging to provide each of the categories
of services specified in section 306(a)(2).
(3) The plan shall--
(A) include (and may not be approved unless the Assistant Secretary
approves) the statement and demonstration required by paragraphs
(2) and (4) of section 305(d) (concerning intrastate distribution
of funds); and
(B) with respect to services for older individuals residing
in rural areas--
(i) provide assurances that the State agency will spend for
each fiscal year, not less than the amount expended for such services
for fiscal year 2000;
(ii) identify, for each fiscal year to which the plan applies,
the projected costs of providing such services (including the
cost of providing access to such services); and
(iii) describe the methods used to meet the needs for such services
in the fiscal year preceding the first year to which such plan
applies.
(4) The plan shall provide that the State agency will conduct
periodic evaluations of, and public hearings on, activities and
projects carried out in the State under this title and title VII,
including evaluations of the effectiveness of services provided
to individuals with greatest economic need, greatest social need,
or disabilities, with particular attention to low-income minority
individuals and older individuals residing in rural areas.
(5) The plan shall provide that the State agency will--
(A) afford an opportunity for a public hearing upon request,
in accordance with published procedures, to any area agency on
aging submitting a plan under this title, to any provider of (or
applicant to provide) services;
(B) issue guidelines applicable to grievance procedures required
by section 306(a)(10); and
(C) afford an opportunity for a public hearing, upon request,
by an area agency on aging, by a provider of (or applicant to
provide) services, or by any recipient of services under this
title regarding any waiver request, including those under 316.
(8)(A) The plan shall provide that no supportive services, nutrition
services, or in-home services will be directly provided by the
State agency or an area agency on aging in the State, unless,
in the judgment of the State agency--
(i) provision of such services by the State agency or the area
agency on aging is necessary to assure an adequate supply of such
services;
(ii) such services are directly related to such State agency's
or area agency on aging's administrative functions; or
(iii) such services can be provided more economically, and with
comparable quality, by such State agency or area agency on aging.
(B) Regarding case management services, if the State agency
or area agency on aging is already providing case management services
(as of the date of submission of the plan) under a State program,
the plan may specify that such agency is allowed to continue to
provide case management services.
(C) The plan may specify that an area agency on aging is allowed
to directly provide information and assistance services and outreach.
(9) The plan shall provide assurances that the State agency
will carry out, through the Office of the State Long-Term Care
Ombudsman, a State Long-Term Care Ombudsman program in accordance
with section 712 and this title, and will expend for such purpose
an amount that is not less than an amount expended by the State
agency with funds received under this title for fiscal year 2000,
and an amount that is not less than the amount expended by the
State agency with funds received under title VII for fiscal year
2000.
(10) The plan shall provide assurance that the special needs
of older individuals residing in rural areas will be taken into
consideration and shall describe how those needs have been met
and describe how funds have been allocated to meet those needs.
(16) The plan shall provide assurances that the State agency
will require outreach efforts that will--
(A) identify individuals eligible for assistance under this
Act, with special emphasis on--
(ii) older individuals with greatest economic need (with particular
attention to low-income minority individuals and older individuals
residing in rural areas);
(iii) older individuals with greatest social need (with particular
attention to low-income minority individuals and older individuals
residing in rural areas);
(17) The plan shall provide, with respect to the needs of older
individuals with severe disabilities, assurances that the State
will coordinate planning, identification, assessment of needs,
and service for older individuals with disabilities with particular
attention to individuals with severe disabilities with the State
agencies with primary responsibility for individuals with disabilities,
including severe disabilities, to enhance services and develop
collaborative programs, where appropriate, to meet the needs of
older individuals with disabilities.
(21) The plan shall—
(A) provide an assurance that the State agency will coordinate
programs under this title and programs under title VI, if applicable;
and
(B) provide an assurance that the State agency will pursue activities
to increase access by older individuals who are Native Americans
to all aging programs and benefits provided by the agency, including
programs and benefits provided under this title, if applicable,
and specify the ways in which the State agency intends to implement
the activities.
(26) The plan shall provide assurances that funds received under
this title will not be used to pay any part of a cost (including
an administrative cost) incurred by the State agency or an area
agency on aging to carry out a contract or commercial relationship
that is not carried out to implement this title.
ATTACHMENT 2. Optional Assurance Certification Form for State Official
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