ACL Generic AoA Formula Grants 0985-New Proposed Gen IC Plan

As a unit of the Administration for Community Living, the Administration on Aging (AoA) provides 

expertise on program development, advocacy, and initiatives for older Americans and their caregivers 

and families. Working with state agencies, local agencies, grantees, and community providers, AoA 

directs programs authorized by the Older Americans Act (OAA), Elder Justice Act (EJA), and other 

legislation that supports older adults. Through these programs multi-year State Plans and assurances, and 

other financial forms are needed to provide approval and oversight of grant recipients. 

ACL is seeking OMB approval to add a new Generic Information Collection (Gen IC) to ACLs 

Paperwork inventory. This Gen IC will cover AoA formula grant programs for State Plans on Aging and 

assurances, State Plans on Adult Protective Services and assurances, and other financial forms associated 

with Aging formula grant management. Adding a Gen IC will allow for the collection of data across 

programmatic and financial management of the Aging and APS formula grants. 

The purpose of the Gen IC is for programmatic and financial management of the Aging and APS formula 

grants. The purpose of the State Plans and assurances is to document and provide the opportunity for 

public comment of achievements and planned activities for the multi-year plan period. A wide range of 

constituents use or will use the State Plans to coordinate, monitor, evaluate, and improve Aging Network 

and APS support services by using the State Plans as a blueprint for service planning and delivery. 

Additionally, ACL leverages State Plans to understand the numerous services older adults use, and to 

utilize the information for advocating for the needs of older adults and those who use APS and for 

requesting additional funding. The purpose of the other financial forms that are a part of this general 

clearance request is to facilitate OAA formula grant management. 

Method of collection 

ACL does its best to ensure we are requiring the least amount of burden when collecting information 

from the public. To the extent possible, we always strive to collect information electronically and/or use 

online collaboration tools to reduce burden unless other means provide more accessibility for a person or 

persons with a disability.

Category (or categories) of respondents

State Plan on Aging and Assurances

Fifty-five SUAs will develop a State Plan on Aging. The 55 SUAs include one in each of the 50 states as 

well as the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana 

Islands. SUAs are required to submit either a 2 (1 state), 3 (8 states), or 4-year (46 states) State Plan on 

Aging that includes assurances. Therefore, the average number of state plans submitted per year is 14.7 

((46 states/4 year state plan) +(8 states/3 year state plan) +(1 state /2 year state plan)). The annual burden 

hours (1,176) are based on the total number of SUAs (55) annualized submissions (14.7) who are 

required to submit a State Plan on Aging and an estimated average of 80 burden hours per response or 

development of a State Plan on Aging. 
State Plan on Adult Protective Services (APS)

Fifty-six states will develop a State Plan on Adult Protective Services. The 56 States include one in each 

of the 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin 

Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands. States are required to submit either a 3, 4, or 5-year State Plan 

on Adult Protective Services. ACL is working on an estimated annualized burden estimate accounting for 

the multi-year nature of the plans. The annual burden hours (336) are based on the total number of States 

(56) who are required to submit a State Plan on Adult Protective Services and an estimated average of 6 

burden hours per response or development of a State Plan on Adult Protective Services. 

Required Assurances for APS

Fifty-six states will provide assurances on Adult Protective Services. The 56 States include one in each of 

the 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin 

Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands. States are required to submit either a 3, 4, or 5-year State Plan 

on APS to ACL. The State Plan on APS will contain three assurances for APS. These assurances will 

represent a one-time cost to states. The annual burden hours (1,680) is based on the total number of 

States (56) who are required to submit three (3) assurances for APS and an estimated average of 10 

burden hours per response for submission of assurances for APS. 

Financial Forms for Aging Programs

Fifty-six states will provide financial forms for Aging Programs. The 56 States include one in each of the 

50 states as well as the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Islands, 

and the Northern Mariana Islands. States are required to submit financial forms annually or semiannually. ACL is working on an estimated annualized burden estimate accounting for the varying 

reporting periods for the financial forms either annually or semi-annually. The annual burden hours 280 

is based on the total number of States (56) who are required to submit five (5) financial forms and an 

estimated average of 1 burden hours per response for submission of financial forms.
Estimated “burden cap,” maximum number of burden hours (per year) 

How ACL will use the information collected

State Units on Aging (SUA) and state entities for APS are responsible for developing and implementing 

multi-year State Plans. SUAs and state entities for APS are also responsible for adhering to program 

management as required in the OAA and EJA, as applicable. ACL/AoA uses the Plans and the other 

forms and instructions that are a part of this request to transparently communicate priority goals and 

objectives related to assisting older residents, their families, and caregivers, as well as individuals who 

are served by APS, for the coming years and the Aging Network at large uses the plans to coordinate 

activities.

ACL’s plans to obtain public input regarding the specific information collections 

ACL announced an opportunity for the public to comment on the proposed collection of information 

listed above. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), ACL published a notice in the Federal 

Register concerning each proposed collection of information, to allow 60 days for public comment. 

Published on October xx 2023, in FR [Enter Citation on publication of the 60-day FRN]

Respondent/Data 

Collection 

Activity

Form Number of 

respondents

Number of 

responses 

per 

respondent

Average 

burden 

hours 

per 

response

Total 

burden 

hours

State Unit on 

Aging (SUA)

State Plan on 

Aging

14.7 1 80 1,176

State Entity for 

APS 

State Plan on 

APS

56 1 6 336

State Entity for 

APS

Required 

Assurances 

for APS (4)

56 3 10 1,680

State Unit on 

Aging (SUA)

Financial 

Forms 56 5 1 280

Total Estimated 

Burden

3,472
Applicable regulations

In 1965, Congress originally passed the Older Americans Act (OAA) in response to concerns by 

policymakers about a lack of community social services for older adults. The original legislation 

established authority for grants to states for community planning and social services, research and 

development projects, and personnel training in the field of aging. Changes to the OAA were made 

through the Supporting Older Americans Act of 2020 (P.L. 116-131). This legislation reauthorized the 

OAA and its programs from federal fiscal year (FFY) 2020 through 2024. 

The OAA provides the foundation for the National aging Network, which includes the Administration on 

Aging (AoA), State Units on Aging (SUA), Area Agencies on Aging (AAA), tribal organizations, service 

providers, and volunteers. SUAs are an integral part of the network responsible for developing and 

administering a multi-year State Plan on Aging that advocates for and aids older residents, their families, 

their caregivers, and, in many states, for adults with disabilities. 

The Elder Justice Act, passed in 2010, is the first comprehensive legislation to address the abuse, neglect, 

and exploitation of older adults at the federal level. The law authorized a variety of programs and 

initiatives to better coordinate federal responses to elder abuse, promote elder justice research and 

innovation, support Adult Protective Services systems, and provide additional protections for residents of 

long-term care facilities. The importance of these services at the state-level and local-level is 

demonstrated by the fact that states significantly leverage Older Americans Act (OAA) funds to obtain 

other funding for these activities. 

The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 and the American 

Rescue Plan Act provided two years of federal funding ($188 million in each year) to support, for the 

first time, the nationwide APS formula grant program authorized by the Elder Justice Act of 2010. That 

funding was used by states to expand or develop a variety of capabilities that were necessary to meet 

increased needs due to the public health pandemic, and ongoing funding is necessary to maintain the 

improved reach and effectiveness of APS systems beyond the pandemic. The FY 2023 Omnibus 

Appropriations Bill provided, for the first time, an annual appropriation of $15 million to continue 

providing federal formula grants to state APS programs. This will be the first time State entities are 

required to develop and submit State plans on Adult Protective Services under Section 2042 of the Elder 

Justice Act, 42 U.S.C. 1397m-1(b). However, States have developed spending plans for the formula 

funding received to date, consistent with 45 C.F.R. 75.206(d), and to update those every three to five 

years. Based on our extensive experience working with APS systems and OAA grantees on their state

plans, we do not anticipate a significantly greater level of detail for the development of State plans for 

APS.