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NOTE: Intro. para. of §932 eff. until one or more of the 20 depts. of the executive branch is abolished or a const. amend. authorizing the creation of an additional dept. becomes effective, whichever is earlier. See Acts 2013, No. 384, §§5 and 9.

            The office shall have the following powers and duties:

NOTE: Intro. para. of §932 as amended by Acts 2013, No. 384, §5, eff. when one or more of the 20 depts. of the executive branch is abolished or a const. amend. authorizing the creation of an additional dept. becomes effective, whichever is earlier.

            The department shall have the following powers and duties:

            (1) To administer the Older Americans Act¹ and related programs.

            (2) To collect facts and statistics and make special studies of conditions pertaining to the employment, health, financial status, recreation, social adjustment, or other conditions affecting the welfare of the aged.

            (3) To keep abreast of the latest developments in aging throughout the nation and to interpret such findings to the public.

            (4) To provide for a mutual exchange of ideas and information on national, state, and local levels.

            (5) To conduct hearings and subpoena witnesses.

            (6) To make recommendations to the governor and to the legislature for needed improvements and additional resources to promote the welfare of the aging in the state.

            (7) To coordinate the services of all state agencies serving the elderly and require reports from such state agencies and institutions, including carrying out the provisions of La. Rev. Stat. 46:935.

            (8) To adopt and promulgate rules and regulations that are deemed necessary to implement the provisions of this Chapter in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act.

            (9) To exercise the functions of the state relative to nutrition programs for the citizens of Louisiana who are elderly or have disabilities.

            (10) To perform the functions of the state which are designed to meet the social and community needs of Louisiana residents sixty years of age or older, including but not limited to the provision of such comprehensive social programs as homemaker services, home repair and maintenance services, employment and training services, recreational and transportation services, counseling, information and referral services, protective services under La. Rev. Stat. 15:1501 et seq., and health-related outreach; but excluding the transportation program for persons who are elderly or have disabilities administered by the Department of Transportation and Development under Section 16(b)(2) of the Federal Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964 as amended and other such programs and services assigned to departments of state government as provided in Title 36 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950.

            (11) Repealed by Acts 2001, No. 1185, §10, eff. July 10, 2002.

            (12) To administer all federal funds appropriated, allocated, or otherwise made available to the state for services to the elderly, whether by block grant or in any other form, with the exception of funds for programs administered by the Department of Children and Family Services or the Louisiana Department of Health, on August 15, 1995, and to distribute those funds in accordance with and consistent with La. Rev. Stat. 46:936.

            (13)(a) To develop a plan on the best method to efficiently coordinate services to all elderly citizens in the state. The plan shall include but not be limited to the following:

            (i) Recommendations to meet the long-term care needs of Louisiana residents, including home and community-based services as well as those services delivered in an institutional setting.

            (ii) Recommendations on eliminating the duplication of services with other departments and agencies which provide services to the elderly.

            (b) The plan shall be developed in consultation and cooperation with private organizations and with other public agencies providing services or funding services for the elderly.

            (c) Repealed by Acts 2018, No. 206, §8.

NOTE: Paragraph (14) eff. until one or more of the 20 depts. of the executive branch is abolished or a const. amend. authorizing the creation of an additional dept. becomes effective, whichever is earlier. See Acts 2013, No. 384, §§5 and 9.

            (14) To approve recommendations from any parish voluntary council on aging prior to the creation of any new state-funded senior center in the state. Recommendations from a parish voluntary council on aging and approval by the office of elderly affairs shall be based on need for a new facility and whether the proposed facility will meet the criteria for a senior center as defined in the policies and regulations established by the office of elderly affairs.

NOTE: Paragraph (14) as amended by Acts 2013, No. 384, §5, eff. when one or more of the 20 depts. of the executive branch is abolished or a const. amend. authorizing the creation of an additional dept. becomes effective, whichever is earlier.

            (14) To approve recommendations from any parish voluntary council on aging prior to the creation of any new state-funded senior center in the state. Recommendations from a parish voluntary council on aging and approval by the Department of Elderly Affairs shall be based on need for a new facility and whether the proposed facility will meet the criteria for a senior center as defined in the policies and regulations established by the Department of Elderly Affairs.

            Acts 1979, No. 206, §1, eff. July 6, 1979. Amended by Acts 1981, Ex.Sess., No. 24, §1, eff. Nov. 19, 1981; 1982, No. 842, §2, eff. Aug. 4, 1982; Acts 1984, No. 520, §2, eff. July 1, 1984; Acts 1987, No. 536, §2; Acts 1992, No. 975, §3, eff. July 7, 1992; Acts 1992, No. 984, §18; Acts 1995, No. 1033, §2, eff. June 29, 1995; Acts 1995, No. 1134, §1, eff. June 29, 1995; Acts 1995, No. 1222, §1; Acts 1997, No. 1182, §1; Acts 2001, No. 1185, §10, eff. July 1, 2002; Acts 2010, No. 861, §20; Acts 2010, No. 877, §3, eff. July 1, 2010; Acts 2013, No. 384, §5, eff. when one of the 20 executive branch depts. is abolished or a const. amend. authorizing creation of an additional dept. becomes effective, whichever is earlier; Acts 2014, No. 811, §24, eff. June 23, 2014; Acts 2018, No. 206, §§5, 8.

¹42 U.S.C.A. §3001 et seq.