§ 1321.17 - Appeal to the Departmental Appeals Board on planning and service area designation.

§ 1321.17 Content of State plan.

To receive a grant under this part, a State shall have an approved State plan as prescribed in section 307 of the Act. In addition to meeting the requirements of section 307, a State plan shall include:

(a) Identification by the State of the sole State agency that has been designated to develop and administer the plan.

(b) Statewide program objectives to implement the requirements under Title III of the Act and any objectives established by the Commissioner through the rulemaking process.

(c) A resource allocation plan indicating the proposed use of all title III funds administered by a State agency, and the distribution of title III funds to each

Appeal to the Departmental Appeals Board on planning and service area designation.

(

d) Identification of the geographic boundaries of each planning and service area and of area agencies on aging designated for each planning and service area, if appropriate.

(e) Provision of prior Federal fiscal year information related to low income minority and rural older individuals as required by sections 307(a)(23) and (29) of the Act.

(f) Each of the assurances and provisions required in sections 305 and 307 of the Act, and provisions that the State meets each of the requirements under §§ 1321.5 through 1321.75 of this part, and the following assurances as prescribed by the Commissioner:

(1) Each area agency engages only in activities which are consistent with its statutory mission as prescribed in the Act and as specified in State policies under § 1321.11;

(2) Preference is given to older persons in greatest social or economic need in the provision of services under the plan;

(3) Procedures exist to ensure that all services under this part are provided without use of any means tests;

(4) All services provided under title III meet any existing State and local licensing, health and safety requirements for the provision of those services;

(5) Older persons are provided opportunities to voluntarily contribute to the cost of services;

(6) Area plans shall specify as submitted, or be amended annually to include, details of the amount of funds expended for each priority service during the past fiscal year;

(7) The State agency on aging shall develop policies governing all aspects of programs operated under this part, including the manner in which the ombudsman program operates at the State level and the relation of the ombudsman program to area agencies where area agencies have been designated;

(8) The State agency will require area agencies on aging to arrange for outreach at the community level that identifies individuals eligible for assistance under this Act and other programs, both public and private, and informs them of the availability of assistance. The outreach efforts shall place special emphasis on reaching older individuals with the greatest economic or social needs with particular attention to low income minority individuals, including outreach to identify older Indians in the planning and service area and inform such older Indians of the availability of assistance under the Act.

(9) The State agency shall have and employ appropriate procedures for data collection from area agencies on aging to permit the State to compile and transmit to the Commissioner accurate and timely statewide data requested by the Commissioner in such form as the Commissioner directs; and

(10) If the State agency proposes to use funds received under section 303(f) of the Act for services other than those for preventive health specified in section 361, the State plan shall demonstrate the unmet need for the services and explain how the services are appropriate to improve the quality of life of older individuals, particularly those with the greatest economic or social need, with special attention to low-income minorities.

(11) Area agencies shall compile available information, with necessary supplementation, on courses of post-secondary education offered to older individuals with little or no tuition. The assurance shall include a commitment by the area agencies to make a summary of the information available to older individuals at multipurpose senior centers, congregate nutrition sites, and in other appropriate places.

(12) Individuals with disabilities who reside in a non-institutional household with and accompany a person eligible for congregate meals under this part shall be provided a meal on the same basis that meals are provided to volunteers pursuant to section 307(a)(13)(I) of the Act.

(13) The services provided under this part will be coordinated, where appropriate, with the services provided under title VI of the Act.

(14)

(i) The State agency will not fund program development and coordinated activities as a cost of supportive services for the administration of area plans until it has first spent 10 percent of the total of its combined allotments under Title III on the administration of area plans;

(ii) State and area agencies on aging will, consistent with budgeting cycles (annually, biannually, or otherwise), submit the details of proposals to pay for program development and coordination as a cost of supportive services, to the general public for review and comment; and

(iii) The State agency certifies that any such expenditure by an area agency will have a direct and positive impact on the enhancement of services for older persons in the planning and service area.

(15) The State agency will assure that where there is a significant population of older Indians in any planning and service area that the area agency will provide for outreach as required by section 306(a)(6)(N) of the Act

a) This section sets forth the procedures for providing hearings to applicants for designation as a planning and service area under § 1321.13, whose application is denied by the State agency or § 1321.15, whose application is denied by the Assistant Secretary for Aging.

(b) Any applicant for designation as a planning and service area whose application is denied, and who has been provided a hearing and a written decision by the State agency, may appeal the denial to the Departmental Appeals Board (DAB) in writing following receipt of the State agency's written decision, in accordance with the procedures set forth in 45 CFR part 16. The applicant must, at the time of filing an appeal with the DAB, mail a copy of the appeal to the State agency, if appealing subject to § 1321.13, or the Assistant Secretary for Aging, if appealing subject to § 1321.15, and include a certificate of service with its initial filing. The DAB may refer an appeal to its Alternative Dispute Resolution Division for mediation prior to making a decision.