Title: Aging Together Act
Policy area: Social Welfare

Summary:
Aging Together Act
This bill changes requirements and preferences for certain grants and contracts that support multigenerational and civil engagement projects and other activities for older individuals, such as by expressly expanding eligibility for the grants and contracts to include states and area agencies on aging.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1671 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1671

   To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to direct resources that 
    promote multigenerational collaboration, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                 May 23 (legislative day, May 22), 2019

 Mr. Jones (for himself and Mr. Casey) 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 direct resources that 
    promote multigenerational collaboration, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Aging Together Act''.

SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM FOR MULTIGENERATIONAL COLLABORATION.

    Section 417 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3032f) is 
amended--
            (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
    ``(a) Grants and Contracts.--The Assistant Secretary shall award 
grants and enter into contracts with eligible organizations to carry 
out projects to--
            ``(1) provide opportunities for older individuals to 
        participate in multigenerational activities and civic 
        engagement activities that contribute to the health and 
        wellness of older individuals and individuals in younger 
        generations by developing--
                    ``(A) meaningful roles for participants;
                    ``(B) reciprocity in relationship building;
                    ``(C) reduced social isolation and improved 
                participant social connectedness;
                    ``(D) improved economic well-being for older 
                individuals;
                    ``(E) increased lifelong learning; or
                    ``(F) support for family caregivers by--
                            ``(i) providing support for older relative 
                        caregivers (as defined in section 372) raising 
                        children (such as kinship navigator programs); 
                        or
                            ``(ii) involving volunteers who are older 
                        individuals who provide support and information 
                        to families who have a child with a disability 
                        or chronic illness, or other families in need 
                        of such family support; and
            ``(2) coordinate multigenerational activities and civic 
        engagement activities, promote volunteerism, and facilitate 
        development of and participation in multigenerational 
        activities and civic engagement activities.'';
            (2) by striking subsection (g);
            (3) by redesignating subsections (b) through (f) as 
        subsections (c) through (g), respectively;
            (4) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
    ``(b) Grant Periods.--Each grant awarded under subsection (a) shall 
be for a period of not less than 36 months.'';
            (5) by amending subsection (c), as so redesignated, to read 
        as follows:
    ``(c) Use of Funds.--
            ``(1) In general.--An eligible organization shall use funds 
        made available under a grant awarded, or a contract entered 
        into, under this section to carry out a project described in 
        subsection (a).
            ``(2) Provision of projects through grantees.--In making 
        grants under this section, the Assistant Secretary shall ensure 
        that awards are made for the activities and projects described 
        in each of paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a).'';
            (6) in subsection (d), as so redesignated--
                    (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
                inserting ``that serves individuals in younger 
                generations and older individuals'' after ``to carry 
                out a project'';
                    (B) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``, intent to 
                carry out, or intent to partner with local 
                organizations or multiservice organizations to carry 
                out,'' after ``record of carrying out'';
                    (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ``; and'' and 
                inserting a semicolon;
                    (D) in paragraph (4), by striking the period and 
                inserting ``; and''; and
                    (E) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) eligible organizations proposing multigenerational 
        activity projects that utilize shared site programs, such as 
        collocated child care and long-term care facilities.'';
            (7) by amending subsections (f) and (g), as so 
        redesignated, to read as follows:
    ``(f) Eligible Organizations.--Organizations eligible to receive a 
grant or enter into a contract under subsection (a) shall--
            ``(1) be a State, an area agency on aging, or an 
        organization that provides opportunities for older individuals 
        to participate in activities described in such subsection; and
            ``(2) have the capacity to conduct the coordination, 
        promotion, and facilitation described in such subsection 
        through the use of multigenerational coordinators.
    ``(g) Evaluation.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
        enactment of the Aging Together Act, the Assistant Secretary 
        shall, through data submitted by organizations receiving grants 
        or contracts under this section, evaluate the activities 
        supported through such grants and contracts to determine--
                    ``(A) the effectiveness of such activities;
                    ``(B) the impact of such activities on the 
                community being served and the organization providing 
                the activities; and
                    ``(C) the impact of such activities on older 
                individuals participating in such project.
            ``(2) Report to congress.--Not later than 6 months after 
        the Assistant Secretary completes the evaluation under 
        paragraph (1), the Assistant Secretary shall prepare and submit 
        to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 
        President pro tempore of the Senate a report that assesses such 
        evaluation and contains, at a minimum--
                    ``(A) the names or descriptive titles of the 
                projects funded under subsection (a);
                    ``(B) a description of the nature and operation of 
                such projects;
                    ``(C) the names and addresses of organizations that 
                conducted such projects;
                    ``(D) a description of the methods and success of 
                such projects in recruiting older individuals as 
                employees and as volunteers to participate in the 
                projects;
                    ``(E) a description of the success of the projects 
                in retaining older individuals participating in such 
                projects as employees and as volunteers;
                    ``(F) the rate of turnover of older individual 
                employees and volunteers in such projects;
                    ``(G) a strategy for disseminating the findings 
                resulting from such projects; and
                    ``(H) any policy change recommendations relating to 
                such projects.''; and
            (8) in subsection (h)(2)(B)(i), by striking ``individuals 
        from the generations with older individuals'' and inserting 
        ``older individuals''.
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