agency with a plan approved under this title for a fiscal
year, and to each grantee with an application approved
under title VI for such fiscal year, an amount bearing the
same ratio to the total amount appropriated for such fiscal
year under subsection (e) as the number of meals served
in the State under such plan approved for the preceding
fiscal year (or the number of meals served by the title VI
grantee, under such application approved for such pre-
ceding fiscal year), bears to the total number of such
meals served in all States and by all title VI grantees
under all such plans and applications approved for such
preceding fiscal year.
‘‘(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), in the case of
a grantee that has an application approved under title VI
for a fiscal year but that did not receive assistance under
this section for the preceding fiscal year, the number of
meals served by the title VI grantee for the preceding fis-
cal year shall be deemed to equal the number of meals
that the Assistant Secretary estimates will be served by
the title VI grantee in the fiscal year for which the applica-
tion was approved.’’;
(4) in subsection (c) (as redesignated by para-
graph (2)), by striking paragraph (4);
(5) in subsection (d) (as redesignated by para-
graph (2)), by striking ‘‘Notwithstanding’’ through
‘‘election’’ and inserting ‘‘In any case in which a
State elects to receive cash payments,’’;
(6) in subsection (d) (as redesignated by para-
graph (2)), by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(4) Among the commodities delivered under sub-
section (c), the Secretary of Agriculture shall give special
emphasis to high protein foods. The Secretary of Agri-
culture, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary, is
authorized to prescribe the terms and conditions respect-
ing the donating of commodities under this subsection.’’;
and
(7) by striking subsection (e) (as redesignated
by paragraph (2)) and inserting the following:
‘‘(e) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this section (other than subsection (c)(1)) such sums
as may be necessary for fiscal year 2001 and such sums
as may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal
years.’’.
SEC. 310. CONSUMER CONTRIBUTIONS AND WAIVERS.
Part A of title III (42 U.S.C. 3021 et seq.) is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 315. CONSUMER CONTRIBUTIONS.
‘‘(a) COST SHARING.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graphs (2) and (3), a State is permitted to imple-
ment cost sharing for all services funded by this Act
by recipients of the services.
‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—The State is not permitted
to implement the cost sharing described in para-
graph (1) for the following services:
‘‘(A) Information and assistance, outreach,
benefits counseling, or case management serv-
ices.
‘‘(B) Ombudsman, elder abuse prevention,
legal assistance, or other consumer protection
services.
‘‘(C) Congregate and home delivered
meals.
‘‘(D) Any services delivered through tribal
organizations.
‘‘(3) PROHIBITIONS.—A State or tribal organi-
zation shall not permit the cost sharing described in
paragraph (1) for any services delivered through
tribal organizations. A State shall not permit cost
sharing by a low-income older individual if the in-
come of such individual is at or below the Federal
poverty line. A State may exclude from cost sharing
low-income individuals whose incomes are above the
Federal poverty line. A State shall not consider any
assets, savings, or other property owned by older in-
dividuals when defining low-income individuals who
are exempt from cost sharing, when creating a slid-
ing scale for the cost sharing, or when seeking con-
tributions from any older individual.
‘‘(4) PAYMENT RATES.—If a State permits the
cost sharing described in paragraph (1), such State
shall establish a sliding scale, based solely on indi-
vidual income and the cost of delivering services.
‘‘(5) REQUIREMENTS.—If a State permits the
cost sharing described in paragraph (1), such State
shall require each area agency on aging in the State
to ensure that each service provider involved, and
the area agency on aging, will—
‘‘(A) protect the privacy and confidentiality
of each older individual with respect to the dec-
laration or nondeclaration of individual income
and to any share of costs paid or unpaid by an
individual;
‘‘(B) establish appropriate procedures to
safeguard and account for cost share payments;
‘‘(C) use each collected cost share payment
to expand the service for which such payment
was given;
‘‘(D) not consider assets, savings, or other
property owned by an older individual in deter-
mining whether cost sharing is permitted;
‘‘(E) not deny any service for which funds
are received under this Act for an older indi-
vidual due to the income of such individual or
such individual’s failure to make a cost sharing
payment;
‘‘(F) determine the eligibility of older indi-
viduals to cost share solely by a confidential
declaration of income and with no requirement
for verification; and
‘‘(G) widely distribute State created writ-
ten materials in languages reflecting the read-
ing abilities of older individuals that describe
the criteria for cost sharing, the State’s sliding
scale, and the mandate described under sub-
paragraph (E).
‘‘(6) WAIVER.—An area agency on aging may
request a waiver to the State’s cost sharing policies,
and the State shall approve such a waiver if the area
agency on aging can adequately demonstrate that—
‘‘(A) a significant proportion of persons re-
ceiving services under this Act subject to cost
sharing in the planning and service area have
incomes below the threshold established in
State policy; or
‘‘(B) cost sharing would be an unreason-
able administrative or financial burden upon
the area agency on aging.
‘‘(b) VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Voluntary contributions
shall be allowed and may be solicited for all services
for which funds are received under this Act provided
that the method of solicitation is noncoercive.
‘‘(2) LOCAL
DECISION.—The area agency on
aging shall consult with the relevant service pro-
viders and older individuals in agency’s planning and
service area in a State to determine the best method
for accepting voluntary contributions under this sub-
section.
‘‘(3) PROHIBITED ACTS.—The area agency on
aging and service providers shall not means test for
any service for which contributions are accepted or
deny services to any individual who does not con-
tribute to the cost of the service.
‘‘(4) REQUIRED
ACTS.—The area agency on
aging shall ensure that each service provider will—
come older individuals (with particular attention to
low-income minority individuals and older individuals
residing in rural areas) receiving services will not de-
crease with the implementation of the cost sharing
under such subsection.
‘‘(d) EVALUATION.—Not later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of the Older Americans Act Amend-
ments of 2000, and annually thereafter, the Assistant Sec-
retary shall conduct a comprehensive evaluation of prac-
tices for cost sharing to determine its impact on participa-
tion rates with particular attention to low-income and mi-
nority older individuals and older individuals residing in
rural areas. If the Assistant Secretary finds that there is
a disparate impact upon low-income or minority older indi-
viduals or older individuals residing in rural areas in any
State or region within the State regarding the provision
of services, the Assistant Secretary shall take corrective
action to assure that such services are provided to all older
individuals without regard to the cost sharing criteria.
‘‘SEC. 316. WAIVERS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary may
waive any of the provisions specified in subsection (b) with
respect to a State, upon receiving an application by the
State agency containing or accompanied by documentation
sufficient to establish, to the satisfaction of the Assistant
Secretary, that—
‘‘(1) approval of the State legislature has been
obtained or is not required with respect to the pro-
posal for which waiver is sought;
‘‘(2) the State agency has collaborated with the
area agencies on aging in the State and other orga-
nizations that would be affected with respect to the
proposal for which waiver is sought;
‘‘(3) the proposal has been made available for
public review and comment, including the oppor-
tunity for a public hearing upon request, within the
State (and a summary of all of the comments re-
ceived has been included in the application); and
‘‘(4) the State agency has given adequate con-
sideration to the probable positive and negative con-
sequences of approval of the waiver application, and
the probable benefits for older individuals can rea-
sonably be expected to outweigh any negative con-
sequences, or particular circumstances in the State
otherwise justify the waiver.
‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS SUBJECT
TO WAIVER.—The
provisions of this title that may be waived under this sec-
tion are—
‘‘(1) any provision of sections 305, 306, and
307 requiring statewide uniformity of programs car-
ried out under this title, to the extent necessary to
permit demonstrations, in limited areas of a State,
of innovative approaches to assist older individuals;
‘‘(2) any area plan requirement described in
section 306(a) if granting the waiver will promote
innovations or improve service delivery and will not
diminish services already provided under this Act;
‘‘(3) any State plan requirement described in
section 307(a) if granting the waiver will promote
innovations or improve service delivery and will not
diminish services already provided under this Act;
‘‘(4) any restriction under paragraph (5) of sec-
tion 308(b), on the amount that may be transferred
between programs carried out under part B and part
C; and
‘‘(5) the requirement of section 309(c) that cer-
tain amounts of a State allotment be used for the
provision of services, with respect to a State that re-
duces expenditures under the State plan of the State
(but only to the extent that the non-Federal share
of the expenditures is not reduced below any min-
imum specified in section 304(d) or any other provi-
sion of this title).
‘‘(c) DURATION OF WAIVER.—The application by a
State agency for a waiver under this section shall include
a recommendation as to the duration of the waiver (not
to exceed the duration of the State plan of the State). The
Assistant Secretary, in granting such a waiver, shall speci-
fy the duration of the waiver, which may be the duration
recommended by the State agency or such shorter time
period as the Assistant Secretary finds to be appropriate.
‘‘(d) REPORTS TO SECRETARY.—With respect to each
waiver granted under this section, not later than 1 year
after the expiration of such waiver, and at any time during
the waiver period that the Assistant Secretary may re-
quire, the State agency shall prepare and submit to the
Assistant Secretary a report evaluating the impact of the
waiver on the operation and effectiveness of programs and
services provided under this title.’’.
SEC. 311. SUPPORTIVE SERVICES AND SENIOR CENTERS.
Section 321 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42
U.S.C. 3030d) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)—
(A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘or
both’’ and inserting ‘‘and services provided by
an area agency on aging, in conjunction with
local transportation service providers, public
transportation agencies, and other local govern-
ment agencies, that result in increased provi-
sion of such transportation services for older in-
dividuals’’;
(B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘or (D)’’
and all that follows and inserting ‘‘or (D) to as-
sist older individuals in obtaining housing for
which assistance is provided under programs of
the Department of Housing and Urban Devel-
opment;’’;
(C) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘includ-
ing’’ and all that follows and inserting the fol-
lowing: ‘‘including—
‘‘(A) client assessment, case management
services, and development and coordination of
community services;
‘‘(B) supportive activities to meet the spe-
cial needs of caregivers, including caretakers
who provide in-home services to frail older indi-
viduals; and
‘‘(C) in-home services and other commu-
nity services, including home health, home-
maker, shopping, escort, reader, and letter writ-
ing services, to assist older individuals to live
independently in a home environment;’’;
(D) in paragraph (12), by inserting before
the semicolon the following: ‘‘, and including
the coordination of the services with programs
administered by or receiving assistance from
the Department of Labor, including programs
carried out under the Workforce Investment
Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.)’’;
(E) in paragraph (21), by striking ‘‘or’’;
(F) by inserting after paragraph (21) the
following:
‘‘(22) in-home services for frail older individ-
uals, including individuals with Alzheimer’s disease
and related disorders with neurological and organic
brain dysfunction, and their families, including in-
home services defined by a State agency in the State
plan submitted under section 307, taking into con-
sideration the age, economic need, and noneconomic
and nonhealth factors contributing to the frail condi-
tion and need for services of the individuals de-
scribed in this paragraph, and in-home services de-
fined by an area agency on aging in the area plan
submitted under section 306.’’;
(G) by redesignating paragraph (22) as
paragraph (23); and
(H) in paragraph (23) (as redesignated by
subparagraph (G)), by inserting ‘‘necessary for
the general welfare of older individuals’’ before
the semicolon; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(c) In carrying out the provisions of this part, to
more efficiently and effectively deliver services to older in-
dividuals, each area agency on aging shall coordinate serv-
ices described in subsection (a) with other community
agencies and voluntary organizations providing the same
services. In coordinating the services, the area agency on
aging shall make efforts to coordinate the services with
agencies and organizations carrying out intergenerational
programs or projects.
‘‘(d) Funds made available under this part shall sup-
plement, and not supplant, any Federal, State, or local
funds expended by a State or unit of general purpose local
government (including an area agency on aging) to provide
services described in subsection (a).’’.
SEC. 312. NUTRITION SERVICES.
(a) REPEAL.—Subpart 3 of part C of title III of the
Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3030g–11 et
seq.) is repealed.