OLDER AMERICANS ACT DISASTER RELIEF

UPDATE

March 16, 2020

On Friday, March 13, 2020, the President declared that the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is of

sufficientseverity and magnitude to warrant an Emergency determination undersection 501(b) of the Robert T. Stafford

Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. 5121-5207 (the “Stafford Act”), and that the emergency exists

nationwide (see declaration).

In addition, as the President stated in the Emergency Declaration, requests for a declaration of a “Major Disaster” as

set forth in section 401(a) of the Stafford Act may be appropriate and encouraged Governors and Tribal Leaders to

consider requesting such a declaration through their FEMA Regional Administrator.

To assist your Governors and Tribal Leaders, see information on the Stafford Act Declaration Process and templates,

forms, and tools. Should a State or Tribe (Title VI grantee) receive a Major Disaster declaration by the President under

the Stafford Act, this Major Disaster Declaration triggers disaster relief authority in the Older Americans Act (OAA).

For States

Once this Major Disaster declaration request by a State is approved, Section 310(c) permits states to use any portion of

the funds made available under any and all sections of the Act for disaster relief for older individuals. In this regard,

flexibility is provided forstates – without the need for a separate application, transfer request, or request for a waiver --

to use existing allocations already made to them under Title III-B, C-1, C-2, D, and E for disaster relief.

This means that a state may use Title III-B, C-1, C-2, D, and/or E funds for any disaster relief activities for older individuals

or family caregivers served under the OAA, which may include, but are not limited to:

• providing drive through, take out, or home-delivered meals,

• providing well-being checks via phone, in-person, or virtual means, and

• providing homemaker, chore, grocery/pharmacy/supply delivery, or otherservices.

For example, as part of their COVID-19 disaster relief activities, a state may use:

• funding originally allocated under Title III-C-1 to provide take-out meals and, and

• funding originally allocated under Title III-D to conduct daily phone well-being checks.

In this COVID-19 Major Disaster-declared response for the examples above, the state does not need to submit a transfer

or waiver request to ACL. However, the state should be prepared to track:

• COVID-19 related expenditures using Title III-C-1 funding and number of persons and meals served and

• COVID-19 related expenditures using Title III-D funding and number of persons and units served.
ACL COVID-19 Response · OAA Disaster Relief Update · Page 2

For Tribes

Once this Major Disaster declaration request by a Tribe is approved, Section 310(c) permits tribesto use any portion of

the funds made available under any and allsections of the Act for disaster relief for older individuals. In this regard,

flexibility is provided for tribes – without the need for a separate application or request for a waiver -- to use existing

allocations already made to them under Title VI Part A/B and Part C for disaster relief.

This means that a tribe may use Title VI Part A/B and/or Part C for any disaster relief activities for older individuals or

family caregiversserved under the OAA, which may include, but are not limited to:

• providing drive through, take out, or home-delivered meals,

• providing well-being checks via phone, in-person, or virtual means, and

• providing homemaker, chore, grocery/pharmacy/supply delivery, or otherservices.

Similarly, as part of their COVID-19 disaster relief activities, a tribe may use:

• funding originally allocated under Title VI Part A/B to provide take out or home-delivered meals and otherservices

to elders or family caregivers, and

• funding originally allocated under Title VI Part C to provide take out or home-delivered meals and other services to

elders or family caregivers.

In this COVID-19 Major Disaster-declared response for the examples above, the tribe does not need to submit a transfer

or waiver request to ACL. However, the tribe should be prepared to track:

• COVID-19 related expenditures using Title VI Part A/B funding and number of persons and meals or other units

served and

• COVID-19 related expenditures using Title VI Part C funding and number of persons and meals or other units

served.

Fiscal & Program Reporting Requirements for States and Tribes

For your own records, we recommend thatspecific fiscal and program reporting of funds reallocated for disaster relief

be identified as “COVID-19” with notes that describe what was provided and whatservices were initially planned, but

not provided. We understand that each State and Tribe may need to implement new or updated practices regarding

claiming and reimbursement of expenditures in order to help funds properly continue to flow to meet the needs of your

communities. ACL encourages you to exercise maximum flexibility.

ACL will provide further details regarding both fiscal and program reporting as soon as practicable. Please note that you

may wish to consider how you will record other program data as additional funds may become available via other

sources.

OAA Disaster Assistance Grant

Section 310 of the Act provides the ability of ACL to provide very limited amounts of disaster assistance to reimburse

states and tribes for responding to Presidentially declared Major Disasters. This disaster assistance is available to states

and tribes who submit applications as described here. At thistime, ACL isn’t accepting applications for disaster

assistance related to COVID-19 through thisfunding opportunity announcement. Additional information and guidance

regarding this limited assistance available directly from ACL will be forthcoming.

As always, we encourage States and Tribes to work through their Regional Administrators to request any additional

clarification or additional FAQ items. From an emergency perspective, we also encourage States and Tribes to share

emergency information with their Regional Administrators on an ongoing basis so that ACL may be as responsive as

possible.