Virginia Law

The following words and terms when used in this chapter shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Access services" means services associated with access to other services, such as care coordination, information and assistance and transportation services.

"Area" means the planning and service area served by an Area Agency on Aging.

"Area Agency on Aging" means the public or private nonprofit agency created pursuant to the federal Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended (42 USC § 3001 et seq.) and incorporated by reference in this chapter, which has submitted an approved Area Plan and is designated by contract with the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services to develop and administer its area plan as approved for a comprehensive and coordinated system of services for older persons.

"Area Plan for Aging Services" means the document submitted by an area agency to and approved by the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, as the scope of services in the executed contract, in order to receive funding under the Older Americans Act, as amended.

"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services.

"Complaint" means any written or oral allegation regarding (i) an action, inaction, or decision of a provider that adversely affects the rights, health, welfare, or safety of the person complaining or the recipient of services, or (ii) a violation of the regulations, policies or procedures that govern long-term care services, brought by or on behalf of a resident of a long-term care facility, regardless of age, or a recipient of long-term care services provided in the community who is at least 60 years of age.

"Complaint counseling" means information, guidance, and support to enable the complainant or the recipient of services to attempt to resolve the complaint or concern himself if he so chooses or is able by utilizing the complaint handling procedures of the long-term care facility or long-term care service provider.

"Contract" means the document of agreement wherein the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services designates the contractor as the duly funded Area Agency on Aging, consistent with the federally approved State Plan for Aging Services, in consideration for which the area agency assures its specific performance of functions and services pursuant to the approved area plan.

"Frail" means having a physical or mental disability, including having Alzheimer's disease or a related disorder with neurological or organic brain dysfunction, which restricts the ability of an individual to perform normal daily tasks or which threatens the capacity of an individual to live independently.

"Government-sponsored area agencies" or "area agencies sponsored by governmental entities" means area agencies created as units of general purpose by local governments, area agencies created through the joint exercise of powers, and area agencies created as units of community services boards. Included under this category of Area Agencies on Aging are: District Three Governmental Cooperative trading as District Three Senior Services, New River Valley Agency on Aging, Alexandria Agency on Aging, Arlington Agency on Aging, Fairfax Area Agency on Aging, Loudoun County Area Agency on Aging, Prince William Area Agency on Aging, Rappahannock-Rapidan Community Services Board, Jefferson Area Board for Aging, Lake Country Area Agency on Aging, and Crater District Area Agency on Aging. In instances where governmental-sponsored agencies need to be differentiated by their status as free-standing joint-exercise-of-powers agencies or units of a governmental entity, it has been so denoted.

"Grant" means an award of financial assistance in the form of money, or property instead of money, by the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services to an Area Agency on Aging. The term includes such financial assistance when provided by contract.

"Grantee" or "contractor" means the government, nonprofit corporation, or other legal entity to which a grant is awarded and which is accountable to the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services for the use of the funds provided.

"Greatest economic need" means the need resulting from an income level at or below the poverty level established by the federal Office of Management and Budget.

"Greatest social need" means the need caused by noneconomic factors, which include physical and mental disabilities, language barriers, and cultural, social, or geographical isolation, including that caused by racial or ethnic status, that restrict an individual's ability to perform normal daily tasks or threaten such individual's capacity to live independently.

"In-home services" means (i) homemaker services, (ii) personal care services, (iii) chore services, (iv) home health services, (v) checking services, (vi) residential repair and renovation services, and (vii) in-home respite care for families and adult day care as a respite service for families.

"Long-term care facility" means any facility outside of the service recipient's home in which two or more unrelated persons receive long-term care services, including nursing homes licensed by the Department of Health, assisted living facilities licensed by the Department of Social Services, and geriatric treatment centers licensed by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.

"Long-term care services" means diagnostic, preventive, therapeutic, rehabilitative, supportive, and maintenance services provided on a recurring or continuous basis for the purpose of (i) minimizing the effects of illness or disability, or both, (ii) assisting a person to maintain his highest level of functioning, or (iii) maintaining or restoring independence. Such services may be provided in the recipient's home or in a community setting such as a long-term care facility.

"Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman" means the program administered and funded by the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services that serves as a point of entry, whereby a complaint is received, investigated or referred for investigation, and resolved.

"Older person" or "elderly" or "older individual" means any individual who is 60 years of age or older.

"Planning and service area" or "PSA" means a geographic area of the Commonwealth that is designated for purposes of planning, development, delivery, and overall administration of services under an area plan. Unless otherwise exempted, such planning and service areas shall be coterminous with the planning districts established by the Virginia Department of Planning and Budget, pursuant to §§ 2.2-1501 and 15.2-4202 of the Code of Virginia.

"Private nonprofit Area Agency on Aging" means those area agencies created independently of a local governing body. They include Mountain Empire Older Citizens, Appalachian Agency for Senior Citizens, League of Older Americans trading as LOA-Area Agency on Aging, Valley Program for Aging Services, Shenandoah Area Agency on Aging, Central Virginia Alliance for Community Living, Southern Area Agency on Aging, Piedmont Senior Resources Area Agency on Aging, Senior Connections, The Capital Area Agency on Aging, Rappahannock Area Agency on Aging, Bay Aging, Southeastern Virginia Areawide Model Program trading as Senior Services of Southeastern Virginia, Peninsula Agency on Aging, and Eastern Shore Area Agency on Aging/Community Action Agency.

"Subgrant" means an award of financial assistance in the form of money, or property instead of money, made under a grant by an Area Agency on Aging to an eligible subgrantee. The term includes such financial assistance when provided by contract.

"Subgrantee" or "subcontractor" means the government, nonprofit corporation, or other legal entity to which a grant is awarded and which is accountable to an Area Agency on Aging for the use of the funds provided.

"Substate Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program" means an organizational unit within an Area Agency on Aging, which the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services designates, through contract with the Area Agency on Aging, to fulfill the duties of the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman in a specific geographic area.

"Unit of general purpose local government" means a political subdivision of the state whose authority is general and not limited to only one function or combination of related functions.