West Virginia Code 16-5S-5 – Powers and duties of the Bureau of Senior Services
The bureau shall be the designated state agency to:
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 16-5S-5
- Bureau: means the Bureau for Public Health in the department. See West Virginia Code 16-1-2
- Department: means the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources: Provided, That beginning January 1, 2024, as used in this chapter, "department" and "Department of Health and Human Resources" means the Department of Health. See West Virginia Code 16-1-2
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
(a) Develop and administer the state plan as required by the federal administration on aging;
(b) Be the primary agency responsible for the planning, policy development, administration, coordination, priority setting and evaluation of activities related to this article;
(c) Serve as an effective and visible advocate for older West Virginians;
(d) Divide the state into distinct planning and service areas and designate for each area a public or private nonprofit agency or organization as the area agency on aging as required by the federal administration on aging;
(e) Provide technical assistance and information to area agencies on aging and local service providers as appropriate and conduct monitoring of area agencies on aging to ensure compliance with applicable rules, regulations and standards;
(f) Maintain client and service data using a standardized computer client tracking system through which all providers shall report required information;
(g) Maintain letters of agreement with the state Department of Health and Human Resources to provide program operations of the personal care and aged and disabled waiver programs; and
(h) Maintain a registry of companies and organizations that provide free medications or provide assistance to persons in securing medications, and make this information available to consumers through all local senior programs.