Virginia Law

A. Any existing Area Agency on Aging or any applicant for area agency designation will prepare an Area Plan for Aging Services and submit it to the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services for approval. The area plan will clearly detail the means of providing supportive and nutrition services and substantiation for the means selected. An approved area plan will be in effect for two, three, or four years, as determined by the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services. Such plan, if approved, will become the scope of services in the contract executed between the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services and the Area Agency on Aging as contractor.

B. The Area Agency on Aging shall submit to the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services for approval all requests for, and reasonable documentation of and substantiation for, necessary changes, additions, or deletions in its area plan. The area agency shall submit a written amendment to the area plan if it intends to change the scope of a service or if it intends to change the arrangements by which a service is delivered (e.g., direct service or contracted service, the number or location of congregate meal sites). Any amendment shall be approved by the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services and, when signed by both the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services and the Area Agency on Aging as contractor, will be incorporated into the contract as part of the scope of services.

C. The area plan shall provide, through a comprehensive and coordinated system, for supportive and nutrition services and, where appropriate, for the establishment, maintenance, and construction of multipurpose senior centers within the planning and service area covered by the plan. Subject to the requirements in 22VAC30-60-100, such services may include:

1. Checking services. Calling or visiting older persons at their residence to check on them to make sure they are well and safe. This activity may also serve to provide psychological reassurance to an older person who is alone and in need of personal contact from other individuals.

2. Congregate meals. Procurement, preparation, conveyance, and provision of nutritionally balanced meals that meet one-third of the current recommended dietary allowance for older persons. The provision of meals must occur at designated nutrition sites which also provide a climate or atmosphere for socialization and opportunities to alleviate isolation and loneliness.

3. Information and Assistance. Assess older persons' needs for services; collecting and providing information to link older persons with the opportunities, services, and resources needed to meet their particular problems and needs.

4. Dental services. Provision of needed dental services to limited-income persons 60 years of age and older not otherwise able to obtain the services.

5. Emergency services. Provision of money and other resources, including referral to other public and private agencies, for assistance to persons 60 and older who have an emergency need for help. Area agencies must have approved policies established by their governing board for administration of this service.

6. Employment services. Assistance to older persons seeking part-time or full-time employment within the public or private sector and advocacy on behalf of the older worker.

7. Finance, tax, and consumer counseling. Provision of direct guidance and assistance to older persons and their caregivers in the areas of consumer protection, personal financial matters, and tax preparation.

8. Adult day care services. Regular daytime supervision and care of frail, disabled, and institutionally at-risk older adults. Participants require a level of care which ensures their safety, and, with the provision of services ranging from socialization to rehabilitation, may experience an enhancement in their quality of life and level of functioning.

9. Health education. Provision of information or materials, or both, specifically designed to address a particular health-related issue. The activity may be preventive in nature and may promote self-care and independence.

10. Health screening. Provision of screening to determine current health status, including counseling, follow-up, and referral, as needed.

11. Chore services. Provision of light housekeeping and other services to eligible older adults, who, because of their functional level, are unable to perform these tasks themselves.

12. Home delivered meals. Procurement, preparation, conveyance, and provision of nutritionally balanced meals that meet one-third of the current recommended dietary allowance for older persons. The meals must be delivered and received at the homes of the individuals.

13. Home health services. Provision of intermittent skilled nursing care under appropriate medical supervision to acutely or chronically ill homebound older adults. Various rehabilitative therapies and home health aides providing personal care services are included.

14. Homemaker/personal care services. Provision of nonmedically oriented services by trained personnel under professional supervision. Services may include personal care activities, nutrition-related tasks, light housekeeping, and respite for family caregivers.

15. Identification/discount program. Provision to older persons of a card which can be used as identification to cash checks and to obtain discounts for goods and services from participating merchants.

16. Legal assistance. Legal advice and representation by an attorney (including, to the extent feasible, counseling or other appropriate assistance by a paralegal or law student under the supervision of an attorney). Includes counseling or representation by a nonlawyer, where permitted by law, to older individuals with economic or social needs. May also include preventive measures such as community education.

17. Long-term care coordinating activity. Provides for the participation of area agency staff on the local long-term care coordinating committee or committees and in the planning and implementation of a coordinated service delivery system.

18. Public information and education. Provision of information to older persons and the general public about the programs and services available to the elderly and their caregivers and about the talents, skills, problems, and needs of older persons.

19. Residential repair and renovation. Provision of home repairs or home maintenance to persons 60 years of age and older (includes weatherization provided with Older American Act funds).

20. Services to persons in institutions. Provision of consultation and assistance to institutionalized older persons, their families, and facility staff in such areas as aging issues, resident rights, and activities for facility residents.

21. Socialization/recreation services. Activities to provide persons 60 years of age and older with opportunities to participate in constructive social experiences and leisure time activities. This may also include senior center activities as well as activities suitable for and within the time constraints of the nutrition sites.

22. Substate long-term care ombudsman program. Serves as a point of entry for long-term care recipients, their families and friends, and the concerned public, whereby complaints made by, or on behalf of, older persons in long-term care facilities or receiving long-term care services in the community can be received, investigated, and resolved. The program also provides counseling and support to long-term care recipients and others to assist them in resolving problems and concerns through the use of the complaint handling procedure of the long-term care facility or community based long-term care service provider. In addition, the program is a resource for information regarding institutional and community based long-term care services. Through its contacts with long-term care recipients and others concerned with long-term care, the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program identifies problems and concerns of older persons receiving long-term care and their families and friends and recommends changes in the long-term care system which will benefit these individuals as a group.

23. Transportation services. Group transportation of older persons to congregate meals, socialization and recreation activities, shopping, and other services available in the community; individual transportation to needed services that promote continued independent living.

24. Volunteer programs. Development of opportunities for the community to do volunteer work in aging programs and services; recruiting and supervising volunteers; and developing opportunities for older persons to do volunteer work in the community.

D. An Area Agency on Aging may provide a service, other than those listed above, under the following conditions:

1. The service is consistent with the goals and objectives of the Older Americans Act, as amended.

2. The area agency makes a written request to, and receives written approval from, the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services.

3. Such written request includes at least the following:

a. A description of the service to be provided;

b. A budget for the service for the duration of the current Area Plan for Aging Services, including sources and amounts of all funding for the service; and

c. A summary of the process which the area agency used to obtain public comment on the service to be provided.

4. If the area agency plans to provide the service directly, the area agency must comply with 22VAC30-60-110.

E. If a citizen, organization, or local government should believe an Area Agency on Aging or its Area Plan for Aging Services substantially fails to comply with the provisions of the Older Americans Act, as amended, the complaint shall be addressed in writing to the Commissioner of the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, detailing the reasons and bases for the complaint.

F. In the alternative, a complaint can be initiated at the local level with the substate ombudsman program, under circumstances described in 22VAC30-60-580 D 2 and 22VAC30-60-580 D 3 for reporting complaints to the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services.

G. If, after an investigation is conducted, the commissioner has cause to believe that there are substantial grounds for termination of the designation of the area agency which is the subject of the complaint, pursuant to 22VAC30-60-60 B 3 c, the commissioner shall provide notice to the area agency of intent to withdraw its area agency designation within 30 days, stating the bases, and shall provide an opportunity for a hearing if requested within 15 days of receipt of the notice by the area agency involved. Failure to request a hearing shall result in withdrawal of the area agency designation at the end of the 30th day after receipt of the notice by the area agency.

H. The hearing, if timely requested, shall be provided consistent with the provisions of the Virginia Administrative Process Act, § 2.2-4019 of the Code of Virginia. Within 30 days of the close of the hearing, unless the case is disposed of by consent during the hearing process, the commissioner shall render a written decision. If the commissioner finds that the Area Plan for Aging Services of the Area Agency on Aging or the administration of the area plan by the area agency does not comply with the requirements and provisions of the Older Americans Act, as amended, the commissioner shall withdraw the designation, pursuant to 45 CFR 1321.35. If there are significant, correctable problems in the Area Plan for Aging Services or the administration thereof, the commissioner may allow the area agency to continue as such, contingent upon appropriate changes and attainment of compliance within a stated time period.

I. When the cause for termination endangers the health, safety and welfare of the population to be served or jeopardizes the financial or programmatic provision of functions and services, suspension of the area agency shall be immediate, and termination shall become final within 30 days, unless good cause is shown by clear and convincing evidence.