Library: Policy

340:105-10-51. General Title III service standards

Revised 9-15-22

(a) Policy. Parts B, C, D, and E of Title III of the Older Americans Act of 1965, as Amended (OAA), provide funding for a variety of services to meet the needs of older persons. All services meet service specific standards and general standards in this subsection.

(1) Projects, who are recipients of grant awards, serve all eligible persons in the project service area (PSA) and do not limit participation to their own membership or residents, such as church memberships or residents of a day care program. Project sponsors demonstrate to the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) a capacity for effective delivery of nutrition, supportive services, or both through the PSA. Projects may be:

(A) public;

(B) private for-profit, or nonprofit agencies or organizations;

(D) political subdivisions of the state; or

(E) Indian tribal organizations.

(2) Project services are provided to persons 60 years of age and older unless otherwise allowed in the eligibility requirements of a specific service.

(3) Project services are located in communities with the greatest occurrence of older persons in greatest economic and social need with particular attention to those who are low income minority persons and those residing in rural or isolated areas. The project sponsor documents in the written grant agreement with the AAA:

(A) assurance that, to the extent possible, the project serves low income minority and older persons residing in rural or isolated areas according to their service needs;

(B) specific objectives outlining how the project satisfies qualified older participants' service needs of low income minority persons and older persons residing in rural or isolated areas served by the project. These objectives reflect the Area Plan objectives for targeting these persons;

(C) information on the extent the project met its objectives for serving low income minority persons and older persons residing in rural or isolated areas during the previous fiscal year, if previously funded; and

(D) other targeting activities required for specific funded services, as appropriate, such as targeting activities for outreach services.

(4) Projects provide qualified older participants the opportunity to contribute to service cost, with the guidelines in (A) through (G) of this paragraph.

(A) Contributions are voluntary, and no otherwise eligible person is denied service because he or she chooses not to or cannot contribute to the service cost.

(B) Participants are advised of the opportunity to contribute to the program cost through:

(i) individual consultation upon program entry, including a written suggested contribution schedule;

(ii) written brochures about the program and written schedules of program activities; and

(iii) signs posted at the project site.

(D) The project advisory council develops a suggested contribution schedule for funded services taking into consideration income ranges of older persons in the community and the project's other income means. Means testing is not used to determine suggested contributions.

(E) Congregate and home delivered meal participants are allowed to use United States (U.S.) Department of Agriculture food benefits to contribute toward their meal costs.

(F) The project uses appropriate procedures to safeguard and account for all contributions.

(G) The project uses the participant contributions to expand the respective service for which the participant contributed to. For example, if a congregate site (C1) contribution was made, funds are used to expand that service.

(5) Projects conform to Title III fiscal accounting and program reporting systems as implemented by Community Living, Aging and Protective Services (CAP) and AAAs. All records are managed according to the guidelines in (A) through (E) of this paragraph. OAA grantees:

(A) maintain adequate and separate accounting and fiscal records, and account for all funds provided by any source to pay for OAA funded project costs;

(B) permit audit, examination, or both, of all such records, procedures, and accounts at any reasonable time by authorized personnel of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS), the state Auditor and Inspector, and other appropriate state entities;

(C) allow authorized personnel open and complete access to the grantees' accounting records and practices, and to any other service provider items pertinent to grant performance or payment in order to audit, examine, and make excerpts of records;

(D) retain for at least seven years all financial and program records, supporting documents, statistical records, and other records pertaining to Title III services.

(i) In the case of litigation, claim negotiation, audit, or other pending action before the end of the seven year period, the records are retained until such action is completed and until all issues have been resolved, or until the end of the regular seven year period, whichever is later.

(ii) Permanent records are maintained at the project office; and

(E) provide appropriate security, confidentiality, and accommodations for proper maintenance and organization of program records and reports.

(6) Where feasible and appropriate, projects make arrangements for service availability to persons in weather related emergencies and other local and national emergencies, including terrorist acts and pandemics.

(7) Projects assist participants to take advantage of benefits or services under other programs.

(8) Project staff reports any situation that places the participant, participant's household, or both, in imminent danger to the appropriate officials.

(9) Project staff ensures signage is posted appropriately informing all persons, except law enforcement, no firearms are permitted within the project office, maintenance buildings, and all nutrition site-dining areas.

(10) Projects coordinate Title III services with other appropriate services in the community, including Title VI Native American nutrition programs. Appropriate coordination efforts include:

(A) joint planning;

(B) information sharing; and

(11) Projects establish and maintain an advisory council to advise the projects on all matters relating to project services delivery, per Oklahoma Administrative Code 340:105-10-52.

(12) Projects ensure appropriate intake information to provide the appropriate Title III service(s) and ensures participant safety and well-being is gathered on each participant.

(A) For participants receiving Title III:

(i) personal care, homemaker, chore, home repair, home delivered meals, adult day health or adult day care, outreach or case management services, information is gathered on Title III Program Registration and includes at minimum the participant's:

(I) name, address, and phone number;

(II) age, sex, race, ethnicity, minority status, and date of birth with signature verification;

(III) emergency contact's name, address, and phone number;

(IV) household status, including whether the participant lives alone or lives with others;

(V) special dietary needs when requesting home delivered meals;

(VI) ability to perform activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL);

(VII) Nutrition Screening Checklist;

(VIII) support system;

(IX) signature or witness signature when participant is unable to sign;

(X) explanation of donation system;

(XI) information release authorization; and

(XII) status related to poverty level;

(ii) congregate meals, nutrition counseling, or assisted transportation, information is gathered on, Title III Program Registration and includes at minimum the participant's:

(I) name, address, and phone number;

(II) age, sex, race, ethnicity, minority status, and date of birth with signature verification;

(III) emergency contact's name, address, and phone number;

(IV) household status including whether the participant lives alone or lives with others;

(V) special dietary needs when requesting congregate meals;

(VII) Nutrition Screening Checklist;

(VIII) signature or witness signature when participant is unable to sign;

(IX) explanation of donation system;

(X) information release authorization; and

(XI) status related to poverty level;

(iii) National Family Caregiver Support Program services information is gathered on Title III Program Registration for both caregiver and care recipient, and includes at minimum:

(I) the family caregiver's identifying information;

(II) the caregiver's relationship to the care receiver;

(III) the care receiver's identifying information; and

(IV) a written description of the caregiver's current situation, including the care receiver's need for assistance due to inability to perform specific ADLs or the need for supervision due to Alzheimer's disease or other dementia.

(B) Project staff:

(i) ensures assessment procedures are conducted in a confidential manner, with only the intake person, the participant, and other persons approved by the participant in attendance; and

(ii) conducts an assessment of each participant upon the participant's entry into a Title III service with, at minimum, annual reassessments.

(C) Income source information is not required to receive Title III services and may only be used to assist the participant in determining eligibility for programs with income guidelines.

(13) Projects have procedures, approved by AAA, to ensure strict confidentiality is maintained regarding all participant information. Projects ensure identifying participant information is disclosed only when staff obtains the informed consent of the participant or the participant's legal representative. Exceptions to the rules in this paragraph include court orders, reporting possible neglect, abuse, or both, and monitoring project records by federal, state, and AAA officials.

(14) Project staff posts grievance procedures in a public area in the project facility and complies with AAA grievance procedures for Title III participants.

(15) Projects comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Title VI of The Civil Rights Act of 1964. A public notice of civil rights compliance is posted in a public area in all project facilities and offices.

(16) Projects comply with the Oklahoma Open Meetings Act when conducting public meetings. Public meetings are held in handicap accessible facilities with provisions for interpreters, as needed.

(17) Project staff conducts ongoing public information activities to ensure the general public is aware of each project and the services it provides. All materials produced by or for the project include a statement that:

(A) the project makes no distinctions on the grounds of race, color, sex, age, ancestry, national origin, religion, or disability; and

(B) a portion of the project costs are met by state and federal OAA funds from AAA and OKDHS CAP.

(18) Project staff provides or arranges for orientation and ongoing training for all staff engaged in project implementation. Training is designed to enhance staff performance as related to each staff person's specific job responsibilities. Projects authorize staff time to attend AAA and CAP sponsored training as funds permit. Minimum orientation or training topics include:

(A) the OAA, as amended, and related regulations;

(B) the OKDHS Policies and Procedures Manual for Title III of the OAA, as amended;

(D) all program and fiscal reports, as appropriate;

(E) assessment procedures;

(F) the aging network; and

(G) specific job duties.

(19) Project staff participates in regularly scheduled AAA assessments and evaluations.

(A) The AAA schedules assessments at least 30-calendar days in advance at a time mutually convenient for the AAA and the project.

(B) The AAA informs the project director of areas covered during the assessment.

(20) The project allows AAA to make unscheduled or unannounced visits for the purposes of:

(A) investigating alleged problems;

(B) monitoring corrective action; or

(b) Authority. The authority for this Section is Sections 1321.11, 1321.51, 1321.63(b), 1321.65, 1321.67, and 75.307 of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(1) incorporate the standards into the AAA policies and procedures manual;

(2) provide training on the standards to Title III project directors and other appropriate staff;

(3) monitor the compliance of Title III projects with the standards; and

(4) provide ongoing technical assistance to Title III projects regarding the standards.

(d) Cross references. Refer to Oklahoma Administrative Code 340:105-10-40, 340:105-10-50.1, and 340:105-10-52.