II 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3593 

To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to strengthen programming, 

services, and outreach for diverse elders, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 20, 2012 

Mr. BENNET introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to strengthen 

programming, services, and outreach for diverse elders, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Improving Services and 

5 Activities for Diverse Elders Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. OBJECTIVES. 

7 Section 101(8) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 

8 (42 U.S.C. 3001(8)) is amended by inserting ‘‘and sup9 ports, offered in a culturally and linguistically competent 

10 manner’’ after ‘‘community services.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 (a) CULTURAL AND LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE.— 

3 Section 102 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 

4 U.S.C. 3002) is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (13) through 

6 (54) as paragraphs (14) through (55), respectively; 

7 (2) by inserting after paragraph (12) the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(13) The term ‘cultural and linguistic com10 petence’ means competence in a set of behaviors, at11 titudes, and policies that is— 

12 ‘‘(A) used by an organization or among 

13 professionals; and 

14 ‘‘(B) enables effective work in cross-cul15 tural situations.’’; and 

16 (3) in paragraph (15)(C), as redesignated by 

17 paragraph (1) of this subsection, by inserting ‘‘, 

18 their family members,’’ before ‘‘and their primary’’; 

19 (4) in paragraph (29)(E), as redesignated by 

20 paragraph (1) of this subsection, by inserting ‘‘, in 

21 a culturally and linguistically competent manner,’’ 

22 before ‘‘the entire community of older individuals’’; 

23 (5) in paragraph (39), as redesignated by para24 graph (1) of this subsection, by striking ‘‘(as defined 

25 in paragraph (18)(B))’’ and inserting ‘‘(as defined 

26 in paragraph (19)(B))’’; and 


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1 (6) in paragraph (47)(D), as redesignated by 

2 paragraph (1) of this subsection, by striking ‘‘(as 

3 defined in paragraph (18)(B))’’ and inserting ‘‘(as 

4 defined in paragraph (19)(B))’’. 

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

6 373(c)(1)(B) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 

7 U.S.C. 3030s–1(c)(1)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 

8 102(22)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 102(23)’’. 

9 SEC. 4. FUNCTIONS OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 

10 Section 202(a) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 

11 (42 U.S.C. 3012(a)) is amended by striking paragraph 

12 (15) and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(15)(A) as needed, provide technical assist14 ance, training through training packages, and other 

15 forms of instruction to entities consisting of State 

16 agencies, area agencies on aging, service providers, 

17 and community-based organizations, to ensure that 

18 the entities develop and implement, in a culturally 

19 and linguistically competent manner, programming, 

20 services, and outreach for older individuals with 

21 greatest economic need and older individuals with 

22 greatest social need, with particular attention to and 

23 specific objectives for providing services to low-in24 come minority individuals and older individuals re25 siding in rural areas; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) consult with national and community2 based organizations representing minority individ3 uals to develop the capacity of the Administration to 

4 provide such technical assistance, training, and in5 struction.’’. 

6 SEC. 5. ORGANIZATION. 

7 Section 305(a)(2)(C) of the Older Americans Act of 

8 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3025(a)(2)(C)) is amended— 

9 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

10 (2) in clause (ii), by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

11 and 

12 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(iii) the distribution among planning 

14 and service areas of service providers who 

15 specialize in serving populations of older 

16 individuals with greatest social need;’’. 

17 SEC. 6. AREA PLANS. 

18 Section 306(a) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 

19 (42 U.S.C. 3026(a)) is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (16), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

21 end; 

22 (2) in paragraph (17), by striking the period 

23 and inserting a semicolon; and 

24 (3) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(18) provide assurances that programming, 

2 services, and outreach will be developed and imple3 mented in a culturally and linguistically competent 

4 manner, for older individuals with greatest social 

5 need; 

6 ‘‘(19) provide assurances that staff training in7 cludes instruction on cultural and linguistic com8 petence in the provision of services to older individ9 uals with greatest social need; 

10 ‘‘(20) provide assurances that the services of 

11 providers who are contractors will be provided in a 

12 culturally and linguistically competent manner; and 

13 ‘‘(21) provide assurances that, to the extent 

14 feasible, services provided in response to elder abuse 

15 will be provided in a culturally and linguistically 

16 competent manner.’’. 

17 SEC. 7. STATE PLANS. 

18 Section 307(a) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 

19 (42 U.S.C. 3027(a)) is amended— 

20 (1) by striking paragraph (15) and inserting 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(15)(A) The plan shall provide assurances that 

23 programming and services will be provided in a cul24 turally and linguistically competent manner to older 

25 individuals with greatest social need, and that the 


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1 State will require the area agency on aging for each 

2 planning and service area in which a significant 

3 number of older individuals are limited English pro4 ficient— 

5 ‘‘(i) to utilize in the provision of such pro6 gramming and services, workers who are fluent 

7 in the language spoken by a predominant num8 ber of such older individuals who are limited 

9 English proficient; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) to designate an individual employed 

11 by the area agency on aging, or available to 

12 such area agency on aging on a full-time basis, 

13 whose responsibilities will include— 

14 ‘‘(I) taking such action as may be ap15 propriate to assure that programming, 

16 services, and outreach are developed and 

17 implemented in a culturally and linguis18 tically competent manner for older individ19 uals with greatest social need; and 

20 ‘‘(II) providing guidance to individuals 

21 engaged in the delivery of services under 

22 the area plan involved to enable such indi23 viduals to deliver the services in a cul24 turally and linguistically competent man25 ner. 


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1 ‘‘(B) The plan shall provide assurances that, if 

2 a substantial number of the older individuals resid3 ing in any planning and service area in the State are 

4 limited English proficient, then the State will require 

5 the area agency on aging for each such planning and 

6 service area to utilize, in the delivery of outreach 

7 services under section 306(a)(2)(A) in a culturally 

8 and linguistically competent manner, the services of 

9 workers who are fluent in the language spoken by a 

10 predominant number of such older individuals who 

11 are limited English proficient.’’; 

12 (2) by striking paragraph (20) and inserting 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘(20) The plan shall provide assurances that 

15 special efforts will be made to provide technical as16 sistance to minority providers of services and to pro17 viders who specialize in serving populations of older 

18 individuals with greatest social need.’’; and 

19 (3) in paragraph (28)(B)— 

20 (A) by striking clause (i) and inserting the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(i) the projected change in the number of 

23 older individuals in the State, and the dispersal 

24 and growth in the number of older individuals 


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1 with greatest social need in each planning and 

2 service area in the State;’’; and 

3 (B) by striking clause (iii) and inserting 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(iii) an analysis of how the programs, 

6 policies, and services provided by the State can 

7 be improved, including by coordinating with 

8 area agencies on aging and by developing the 

9 cultural and linguistic competence of persons 

10 providing programming and services, and how 

11 resource levels can be adjusted to meet the 

12 needs of the changing population of older indi13 viduals in the State; and’’. 

Æ 


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