                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

POWERS AND DUTIES OF DEPARTMENT WITH RESPECT TO AGING PERSONS; AREA AGENCIES ON
AGING (§ 51.5-135)

A. The Department shall provide aging services to improve the quality of life
for and meet the needs of older persons in the Commonwealth and shall act as a
focal point among state agencies for research, policy analysis, long-range
planning, and education on aging issues. The Department shall use available
resources to provide services to older persons with economic needs and those
with social needs. In allocating resources to provide aging services, the
Department (i) shall prioritize providing services to those with the greatest
economic need and (ii) among individuals with comparable levels of economic
need, may prioritize providing services to individuals with the greatest social
need. The Department shall also serve as the lead agency in coordinating the
work of state agencies on meeting the needs of an aging society. The
Department&#8217;s policies and programs shall be designed to enable older
persons to be as independent and self-sufficient as possible. The Department
shall promote local participation in programs for older persons, evaluate and
monitor aging services, and provide information to the general public. In
furtherance of this mission, the Department shall have, without limitation, the
following duties to:

   1. Study the economic, social, and physical condition of the residents in the
   Commonwealth whose age qualifies them for coverage under the Older Americans
   Act, 42 U.S.C. &#xA7; 3001 et seq., or any law amendatory or supplemental
   thereto, and the employment, medical, educational, recreational, and housing
   facilities available to them, with the view of determining the needs and
   problems of such persons;

   2. Determine the services and facilities, private and governmental and state
   and local, provided for and available to older persons and recommend to the
   appropriate persons such coordination of and changes in such services and
   facilities as will make them of greater benefit to older persons and more
   responsive to their needs;

   3. Act as the designated state unit on aging for the purposes of carrying out
   the requirements under P.L. 89-73 or any law amendatory or supplemental
   thereto, and as the sole agency for administering or supervising the
   administration of such plans as may be adopted in accordance with the
   provisions of such laws. The Department may prepare, submit, and carry out
   state plans and shall be the agency primarily responsible for coordinating
   state programs and activities related to the purposes of, or undertaken under,
   such plans or laws;

   4. Apply, with the approval of the Governor, for and expend such grants,
   gifts, or bequests from any source that becomes available in connection with
   its duties under this section, and may comply with such conditions and
   requirements as may be imposed in connection therewith;

   5. Hold hearings and conduct investigations necessary to pass upon
   applications for approval of a project under the plans and laws set out in
   subdivision 3, and shall make reports to the U.S. Secretary of Health and
   Human Services as may be required;

   6. Designate area agencies on aging pursuant to P.L. 89-73 or any law
   amendatory or supplemental thereto of the Congress of the United States and to
   adopt regulations for the composition and operation of such area agencies on
   aging, each of which shall be designated as the lead agency in each respective
   area for the No Wrong Door system of aging and disability resource centers;

   7. Provide staff support to the Commonwealth Council on Aging;

   8. Assist state, local, and nonprofit agencies, including, but not limited to,
   area agencies on aging, in identifying grant and public-private partnership
   opportunities for improving services to older Virginians;

   9. Provide or contract for the administration of the state long-term care
   ombudsman program. Such program or contract shall provide a minimum staffing
   ratio of one ombudsman to every 2,000 long-term care beds, subject to
   sufficient appropriations by the General Assembly. The Department may also
   contract with such entities for the administration of elder rights programs as
   authorized under P.L. 89-73, such as insurance counseling and assistance, and
   the creation of an elder information/elder rights center;

   10. Serve as the focal point for the rights of older persons and their
   families by establishing, maintaining, and publicizing (i) a toll-free number
   and (ii) a means of electronic access to provide resource and referral
   information and other assistance and advice as may be requested; and

   11. Develop and maintain a four-year plan for aging services in the
   Commonwealth, pursuant to &#xA7; 51.5-136.

B. The governing body of any county, city, or town may appropriate funds for
support of area agencies on aging designated pursuant to subdivision A 6.

C. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall assist the Department in effectuating
its functions in accordance with its designation as the single state agency as
required in subdivision A 3.

HISTORY: 1974, c. 420, § 2.1-373; 1976, c. 299; 1978, c. 271; 1979, c. 678;
1982, c. 345; 1983, cc. 165, 215; 1997, c. 320; 1998, c. 665; 1999, cc. 712,
1021; 2000, cc. 307, 313; 2001, c. 844, § 2.2-703; 2004, c. 694; 2005, cc. 610,
924; 2008, c. 361; 2009, cc. 339, 719; 2010, cc. 411, 801; 2012, cc. 803, 835;
2020, c. 728; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 299, 300; 2022, c. 313.