(a) (1) The Secretary shall develop congregate housing services programs for seniors in conjunction with:

(i) public or private for profit or nonprofit corporations; or

(ii) State or federal units.

(2) Congregate housing services shall include congregate meals, housekeeping, and personal services.

(b) (1) An individual is eligible for congregate housing services if the individual is at least 62 years old and has temporary or periodic difficulty with one or more essential activities of daily living, such as feeding, bathing, grooming, dressing, or transferring.

(2) The spouse of an individual described in paragraph (1) of this subsection is eligible for congregate housing services if the spouse is at least 55 years old and has temporary or periodic difficulty with one or more essential activities of daily living, such as feeding, bathing, grooming, dressing, or transferring.

(c) The Secretary shall:

(1) make maximum use of rent and other subsidies available from federal and State sources;

(2) provide for subsidies necessary from State general funds to assist low-income seniors to reside in congregate housing as an alternative to more costly institutional care that is not required;

(3) find sponsors or managers for congregate housing services programs;

(4) assist developers in formulating design concepts and meeting program needs; and

(5) when necessary, provide subsidies for congregate meals, housekeeping, and personal services in congregate housing services programs and develop eligibility requirements for the subsidies.

(d) The Secretary shall adopt regulations to:

(1) govern the certification and operation of congregate housing services programs; and

(2) provide for investigations of criminal records of congregate housing services providers and employees under subsection (e) of this section.

(e) The Secretary is authorized to conduct federal and State criminal background investigations of providers of congregate housing services programs and their employees.

(f) (1) A congregate housing services program must be certified by the Secretary.

(2) The Secretary shall review the compliance of congregate housing services programs with the regulations governing their certification and operation.

(3) Before the Secretary may certify or renew the certification of a provider of congregate housing services for seniors with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders, the provider shall have an in-service education program that includes instruction on dementia and the techniques necessary to manage patients with physical, intellectual, and behavioral manifestations of dementia.