Illinois Administrative Code › Title 89 - SOCIAL SERVICES › Part 230 - OLDER AMERICANS ACT PROGRAMS › Subpart B - AREA AGENCIES ON AGING › Section 230.110 - Designation and Function

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
a) The
				Department shall designate an area agency on aging in each planning and service
				area designated by the Department pursuant to Subpart A, Section
				230.40(g)
				of this Part, in which the Department decides to allocate funds, based upon the
				following:
1) The Department shall act to
				designate an organization or agency as the area agency on aging only when
				changes in the existing Planning and Service Areas result in the creation of a
				new Planning and Service Area for which no area agency on aging has been
				designated, or when the Department withdraws designation from a currently
				designated area agency on aging (pursuant to standards and procedures specified
				in Section
				230.140 )
				resulting in a Planning and Service Area for which no area agency on aging
				exists.
2) In order to be eligible
				for designation by the Department as an area agency on aging, an organization
				or agency:
A) Shall be one of the following:
i) an established office on aging which is
				operated within the Planning and Service Area; or
ii) any office or agency of a unit of general
				purpose local government which office or agency is designated for the purpose
				of serving as an area agency on aging by the chief elected officials of such
				unit; or
iii) any office or agency
				of a unit of general purpose local government, within the Planning and Service
				Area, which office or agency is designated for the purpose of serving as an
				area agency on aging by the chief elected officials of any combination of units
				of general purpose local government to act on behalf of such combination for
				such purpose; or
iv) any other
				public or private nonprofit agency in the Planning and Service Area which can
				demonstrate the capability to develop and administer a comprehensive and
				coordinated system of services and serve as the advocate and focal point for
				older persons in the Planning and Service Area. (
				45 CFR
				1321.63 )
B) Shall provide a letter of intent to apply
				to be the area agency on aging for a planning and service area designated
				pursuant to Subsection
				230.40(g)
				and to include documentation that the agency meets the requirements of
				Subsection
				230.110(a)(2)(A).
3) In designating an area agency
				on aging, the Department shall give the right of first refusal to a unit of
				general purpose local government if such unit can meet the requirements of
				subsection (a)(2) above and the boundaries of the area are reasonably
				contiguous. In addition, the Department will give preference to an established
				office on aging unless the Department finds that no such office will have the
				capability to carry out the area plan. ( P.L. 98-459, Section 305
				(b)(5)(B))
4) If an organization
				proposing to serve as an area agency on aging is a multi- purpose agency with
				responsibilities that go beyond programs for the elderly, it shall delegate all
				its authority and responsibility as an area agency on aging to a single
				organizational unit within the organization.
5)
A)
				Within fifteen (15) days of receipt of a Letter of Intent, the Department, by
				registered mail, will forward to the address specified in the Letter of Intent,
				a copy of 45 CFR 1321 (October 1, 1981), a copy of Section 230.110, and an
				application for designation as an Area Agency on Aging. The application shall
				require information that addresses the applicant's ability and capability to
				perform the functions and responsibilities of an Area Agency on Aging. At a
				minimum, the application will require responses to the following:
i) A certified copy of the resolution,
				ordinance, or other action, authorizing the submission of the application. No
				application will be considered as complete without such certification, and no
				action will be taken thereon.
ii) A
				thorough description of the nature of the applicant, including the type of
				organization or agency, its major purpose and any significant subsidiary roles,
				past experience and expertise in the field of aging service, and a description
				of the organizational unit responsible for the development of the
				application.
iii) A map of the
				Planning and Service Area and a discussion of location of the proposed Area
				Agency on Aging and any problems or benefits attendant to the
				location.
iv) A discussion of the
				agency's or organization's knowledge of key census and population data in the
				Planning and Service Area.
v) A
				discussion of the views of units of general purpose local government within the
				Planning and Service Area, including letters of support from those units, and a
				description of the process used to obtain those views.
vi) A listing of priority issues of older
				persons in the Planning and Service Area, including a description of the
				process used to obtain those views and the process used in
				prioritization.
vii) A narrative
				discussion of the capacity of the applicant to respond to the needs and issues
				identified in the Planning and Service Area, including the applicant's ability
				to provide adequate financial resources and its ability to develop service
				systems and resources.
viii) An
				inventory of existing aging programs in the Planning and Service Area, and the
				views of current providers, regarding the applicant's acceptability as the Area
				Agency on Aging.
ix) A discussion
				of the applicant's ability and capacity to perform an Area Agency's role as a
				planning, administering, and monitoring agency, as opposed to a direct service
				delivery agency.
x) A discussion of
				the applicant's ability to perform Community Care Program Administrative
				Support Functions.
xi) A discussion
				of the applicant's plan for developing, maintaining, and monitoring an
				effective Case Coordination/Case Management System in the Planning and Service
				Area.
B) Upon receipt of
				the completed application, the Director shall appoint a review team, composed
				of Department staff, whose purpose shall be the review of the application for
				completeness and content.
C) Within
				thirty (30) days following receipt of the application, the review team shall
				complete its review of the application and shall forward to the Director:
i) A section-by-section critique of the
				application including any requests for additional or clarifying information, if
				needed.
ii) A recommendation for
				performing an on-site assessment of the applicant pursuant to Sub-Section
				230.110(a)(5)(E).
D) Within fifteen (15) days of
				receipt of the review team's recommendations, the Director shall communicate to
				the applicant:
i) A section-by-section
				critique of the application which may include a request for additional or
				clarifying information; and,
ii) A
				decision concerning future actions to be taken by the Department, which will be
				either a statement of the proposed dates of an on-site assessment of the
				applicant, pursuant to Sub-Section
				230.110(a)(5)(E),
				or a statement that the application has been rejected as
				unresponsive.
E) In
				order to make a determination regarding designation in a way which will be
				efficient, appropriate, and equitable, the Department shall take whatever
				actions it deems necessary to verify the information contained in the
				application, which shall include a determination through an on-site assessment
				of the capacity of the applicant to carry out all the functions of an Area
				Agency on Aging, as specified in the application and in the Older Americans Act
				of 1965 ( 42 U.S.C.A. 5001 ).
F)
				Based on the actions taken and information obtained in this Sub-Section, the
				Director shall make a decision regarding the intent to designate an Area Agency
				on Aging:
i) A decision not to proceed with
				the intent to designate the applicant as the Area Agency on Aging shall be
				transmitted to the applicant by certified mail, return receipt
				requested.
ii) A decision to
				proceed with the intent to designate the applicant as the Area Agency on Aging
				shall follow the procedures stated in Sub-Section
				230.110(a)(6).
6) Prior to designation
				of an area agency on aging:
A) Pursuant to
				subsection (a)(1) above, the Director shall at least 210 days prior to the
				beginning of the next area agency on aging grant year issue a written notice of
				intent to designate an organization or agency as the area agency on aging
				within a particular Planning and Service Area. This notice shall be processed
				as follows:
i) The notice shall be
				transmitted to the proposed area agency on aging.
ii) The notice shall be transmitted to the
				currently designated area agency on aging, if applicable,
iii) The notice shall be transmitted to the
				chief elected officials of units of general purpose local government in the
				Planning and Service Area. The chief elected officials shall be requested to
				present their views to the Director in writing within thirty (30) days of being
				notified. Receipt of such views shall be promptly confirmed by the Director in
				writing. In the absence of a response from the chief elected officials in the
				Planning and Service Area, the Director shall proceed with the process of
				designation.
iv) The notice shall
				be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the Planning and Service
				Area and in the official newspaper of the State of Illinois.
B) The notice of intent to
				designate an organization or agency in a Planning and Service Area as the area
				agency on aging shall comply with all of the following:
i) The notice shall identify the organization
				or agency to be designated as the area agency on aging in the Planning and
				Service Area.
ii) The notice shall
				state the reason for the issuance of intent to designate.
iii) The notice shall announce that a public
				hearing(s) shall be held in the Planning and Service Area so as to afford the
				public an opportunity to give testimony regarding the intent to
				designate.
iv) The notice shall
				contain the time, the place, and a brief description of the conduct of the
				hearing(s) and the name, telephone number, and address of the person to be
				contacted regarding the offering of testimony.
v) The notice shall contain any other
				information which the Director deems necessary.
C) Public hearing(s) shall be held relative
				to designation of the organization or agency as the area agency on aging within
				the Planning and Service Area.
i) Public
				hearing(s) shall be conducted within forty-five (45) days of the transmittal of
				the notice of intent to designate the area agency on aging in as many locations
				as needed to assure convenient public access within the Planning and Service
				Area but shall not be conducted sooner than fifteen (15) days after publication
				of the notice of intent to designate.
ii) The presiding officer at the public
				hearing(s) shall be the Director or other person designated by the
				Director.
iii) The Department shall
				produce verbatim transcription of all testimony, a copy of which shall be
				available for public inspection at the main office of the Department.
iv) The testimony received at the public
				hearing(s) shall be summarized and provided to the Director who will consider
				it along with all other information in the possession of the Department in
				arriving at a decision relative to a preliminary designation of the
				organization or agency as the area agency on aging.
D) At least 150 days prior to the beginning
				of the next grant year, a preliminary decision regarding designation shall be
				provided to the organization or agency seeking designation as the area agency
				on aging in the Planning and Service Area.
i)
				The Director shall notify the organization or agency in writing of the
				preliminary decision to designate it as the area agency on aging in the
				Planning and Service Area.
ii) The
				organization or agency so notified shall thereupon submit the assurances
				required by the Department. Such assurances shall be in writing and consist of
				a reaffirmation of the intent of the organization or agency to perform the
				functions and carry out the responsibilities of an area agency on aging set
				forth in Subsection
				230.110(a)(5)
				and shall be submitted by the organization or agency within fifteen (15) days
				of receipt of the preliminary decision to designate.
7) Upon receipt and acceptance of
				the assurances required in subsection
				230.110(a)(6)(E)(ii)
				above and at least 120 days prior to the beginning of the next area agency on
				aging grant year, the Director shall:
A)
				Notify the organization or agency of its designation as the area agency on
				aging in the Planning and Service Area for the coming grant year.
B) Notify the chief elected officials of the
				units of general purpose local government in the Planning and Service Area of
				the designation of the organization or agency as the area agency on
				aging.
C) Publish a notice of
				designation in newspapers of general circulation in the planning and service
				area and in the official newspaper of the State of Illinois.