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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| SENATE BILL |
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| INTRODUCED BY STACK, WASHINGTON, STOUT, RAFFERTY, LOGAN, FERLO, KITCHEN, HUGHES, GREENLEAF, O'PAKE, FONTANA, BOSCOLA AND WOZNIAK, JULY 17, 2009 |
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| REFERRED TO AGING AND YOUTH, JULY 17, 2009 |
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| AN ACT |
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1 | Establishing naturally occurring retirement communities; and |
2 | providing for powers and duties of the Department of Aging. |
3 | The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
4 | hereby enacts as follows: |
5 | Section 1. Short title. |
6 | This act shall be known and may be cited as the Naturally |
7 | Occurring Retirement Community Act. |
8 | Section 2. Declaration of policy. |
9 | The General Assembly finds and declares as follows: |
10 | (1) There is an increasing need for appropriate services |
11 | to senior citizens residing in houses, apartments and other |
12 | dwellings not originally constructed for the elderly. |
13 | (2) Establishing and supporting naturally occurring |
14 | retirement communities assures access to a continuum of |
15 | necessary services and prevents or postpones the need for |
16 | seniors residing in these communities to move to an |
17 | institutional care setting such as a hospital, nursing home |
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1 | or assisted living residence. |
2 | Section 3. Definitions. |
3 | The following words and phrases when used in this act shall |
4 | have the meanings given to them in this section unless the |
5 | context clearly indicates otherwise: |
6 | "Department." The Department of Aging of the Commonwealth. |
7 | "Eligible entity." A nonprofit health or social service |
8 | organization, a community-based nonprofit organization, an area |
9 | agency on aging or other local government agency or other entity |
10 | that: |
11 | (1) the Secretary of Aging determines to be appropriate |
12 | to carry out a project under this act; and |
13 | (2) demonstrates a record of and experience in providing |
14 | or administering group and individual health and social |
15 | services for senior citizens. |
16 | The term does not include an entity providing housing under the |
17 | congregate housing services program carried out under section |
18 | 802 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act |
19 | (Public Law 101-625, 42 U.S.C. 8011) or the multifamily service |
20 | coordinator program carried out under section 202(g) of the |
21 | National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1701q(g)). |
22 | "Eligible services." Services including, but not limited to, |
23 | case management, care coordination, counseling, health |
24 | assessment and monitoring, transportation, socialization |
25 | activities, home care facilitation and monitoring, technology, |
26 | assistive technology, home repairs, the eligible entity's |
27 | infrastructure-related costs, home health care and assistance |
28 | with daily living activities such as cooking and cleaning, and |
29 | other services designed to address the needs of residents of |
30 | naturally occurring retirement communities by helping them |
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1 | extend their independence, improve their quality of life and |
2 | avoid unnecessary hospital and nursing home stays. |
3 | "Naturally occurring retirement community." A community with |
4 | a concentrated population of senior citizens, including, but not |
5 | limited to, a residential building, housing complex and area, |
6 | including a rural area, of single-family residences or a |
7 | neighborhood composed of age-integrated housing that is not an |
8 | institutional care or an assisted living residence and where: |
9 | (1) not less than 40% of the heads of households are |
10 | seniors; or |
11 | (2) a critical mass of seniors exists, based on local |
12 | factors that, taken in total, allow an organization to |
13 | achieve efficiencies in the provision of health and social |
14 | services to seniors living in the community. |
15 | "Program." The Naturally Occurring Retirement Community |
16 | Program. |
17 | "Secretary." The Secretary of Aging of the Commonwealth. |
18 | "Senior" or "senior citizen." A person who is 60 years of |
19 | age or older. |
20 | Section 4. Naturally Occurring Retirement Community Program. |
21 | The Naturally Occurring Retirement Community Program is |
22 | established and shall be administered by the department. |
23 | Section 5. Powers and duties. |
24 | (a) Rules and regulations.--The department shall promulgate |
25 | rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this act. |
26 | (b) Grants.--The department shall issue grants to eligible |
27 | entities to the extent that funds may be available. |
28 | (c) Advisory board.--The secretary shall establish an |
29 | advisory board to aid in the development of the program. The |
30 | advisory board shall consist of all of the following: |
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1 | (1) The secretary, who shall serve as the chairman of |
2 | the advisory group. |
3 | (2) Four representatives from existing naturally |
4 | occurring retirement communities programs, one of whom shall |
5 | reside in a city of the third class, a township or a borough. |
6 | (3) Two representatives from senior citizen advocacy |
7 | groups. |
8 | (4) Two representatives from area agencies on aging. |
9 | (5) Two representatives from nonprofit community-based |
10 | senior centers. |
11 | (6) Two representatives from home and community-based |
12 | service providers. |
13 | (7) One representative appointed by each of the |
14 | following: |
15 | (i) The Majority Leader of the Senate. |
16 | (ii) The Minority Leader of the Senate. |
17 | (iii) The Majority Leader of the House of |
18 | Representatives. |
19 | (iv) The Minority Leader of the House of |
20 | Representatives. |
21 | (d) Criteria for grants.--The department shall develop |
22 | criteria for the awarding of grants consistent with this section |
23 | and shall include, at a minimum: |
24 | (1) The number, size, type and location of the projects |
25 | to be served, except that the advisory board and the |
26 | secretary shall make reasonable efforts to assure that |
27 | geographic balance in the distribution of the projects is |
28 | maintained, consistent with: |
29 | (i) The needs to be addressed. |
30 | (ii) Funding available. |
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1 | (iii) Applications from eligible entities. |
2 | (iv) Other requirements of this section. |
3 | (v) Other criteria developed by the advisory board |
4 | and the secretary. |
5 | (2) The appropriate number and concentration of senior |
6 | citizens to be served by an individual project. |
7 | (3) The demographic characteristics, including the age, |
8 | sex and region of the senior citizens to be served. |
9 | (4) The financial support required to operate and |
10 | sustain a naturally occurring retirement community project |
11 | and the sources of the support, including, but not limited |
12 | to, a membership contribution or fee that may be assessed on |
13 | a sliding scale related to income of the member and the |
14 | specific service provided. |
15 | (5) The scope and intensity of the services to be |
16 | provided, and their appropriateness for the senior citizens |
17 | proposed to be served. The criteria shall not require that |
18 | the eligible entity be the sole provider of such services, |
19 | but shall require that the eligible entity at a minimum |
20 | actively manage the provision of the services utilizing to |
21 | the extent possible the existing service providers in order |
22 | to avoid duplication of services and to promote coordination |
23 | of available services. |
24 | (6) The experience and financial stability of the |
25 | eligible entity, except that the criteria shall require that |
26 | priority be given to programs already in operation. |
27 | (7) The nature and extent of requirements established |
28 | for active, meaningful participation for senior citizens to |
29 | be served in project design, implementation, monitoring, |
30 | evaluation and governance. |
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1 | (8) Documentation of the need for the project and |
2 | financial commitments to it from such sources as the advisory |
3 | board shall deem appropriate given the character and nature |
4 | of the proposed project. The purpose of the documentation |
5 | shall be to demonstrate the need for the project, support for |
6 | it in the areas to be served and financial and managerial |
7 | ability to sustain the project. |
8 | Section 6. Reports to General Assembly. |
9 | On or before March 1 of every year, the secretary shall issue |
10 | a report to the Governor, the chairman and the minority chairman |
11 | of the Aging and Youth Committee of the Senate, and the chairman |
12 | and minority chairman of the Aging and Older Adult Services |
13 | Committee of the House of Representatives. The report shall |
14 | discuss the effectiveness of the program and recommendations for |
15 | improvement. Areas that may be included in the report are: |
16 | (1) Whether the program is helping to address the needs |
17 | of naturally occurring retirement community residents. |
18 | (2) Whether the program is assuring access to a |
19 | continuum of necessary services. |
20 | (3) Whether the program receives private, philanthropic |
21 | and other public funding. |
22 | (4) Whether the program prevents or postpones the need |
23 | for seniors residing in a naturally occurring retirement |
24 | community to move to an institutional care setting, such as a |
25 | hospital, nursing home or assisted living residence, as |
26 | measured by the time period commencing on the date a senior |
27 | first meets the legal criteria for admission to such an |
28 | institution and ending on the date when he or she applies for |
29 | such admission. |
30 | (5) The number, size, type and location of the projects |
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1 | developed and funded, including the number, kinds and |
2 | functions of staff in each program. |
3 | (6) The number, size, type and location of the projects |
4 | proposed but not funded and the reasons for denial of funding |
5 | for the projects. |
6 | (7) The age, sex, region and other appropriate |
7 | demographic information concerning the seniors served. |
8 | (8) The services provided to seniors, reported in a |
9 | manner to allow comparison of services by demographic group |
10 | and region. |
11 | (9) A listing of the services provided by eligible |
12 | entities, including the number, kind and intensity of the |
13 | services. |
14 | Section 20. Effective date. |
15 | This act shall take effect in 60 days. |
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