In accordance with the Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended, and pursuant to § 51.5-136 of the Code of Virginia, the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS), as Virginia’s designated State Unit on Aging, is mandated to submit a State Plan for Aging Services to the U.S. Administration on Community Living (ACL), the Governor, and the General Assembly.
Amended State Plan for Aging Services (October 1, 2025 – September 30, 2027)
In 2023, DARS issued its Virginia State Plan for Aging Services (October 1, 2023 – September 30, 2027). Guided by federal requirements and grounded in a comprehensive needs assessment process, DARS developed the State Plan for Aging Services in collaboration with older Virginians and caregivers as well as the state’s aging network, state agencies, Virginia universities, and stakeholder organizations. The agency submitted the Virginia State Plan for Aging Services to the federal Administration for Community Living (ACL) on June 30, 2023, and ACL approved it on September 19, 2023.
In 2024, ACL issued revised federal Older Americans Act (OAA) regulations (45 CFR Part 1321) and new State Plan Guidance (OMB # 0985-0083) that required states to update their current plans by October 1, 2025. DARS compiled an amended Virginia State Plan for Aging Services (October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2027), which was subsequently approved by ACL on September 26, 2025. The amended Virginia State Plan for Aging Services and the ACL approval letter are provided below.
2022 – 2023 Needs Assessment Process
To inform the State Plan for Aging Services, DARS completed a comprehensive needs assessment. The needs assessment process produced a series of materials, which can be found on this webpage.
These materials include: 1) a complete statewide report with the results of a September 2022 survey of older Virginians, 2) an executive summary of the September 2022 statewide survey report, 3) reports for each Area Agency on Aging (AAA) with the results of the September 2022 survey for their planning and services areas (PSAs), 4) a 2023 statewide report with the results of listening sessions with stakeholders as well as an analysis of data and trends related to the conditions and characteristics of older Virginians as conducted and produced by the Virginia Center on Aging, and 5) a December 2022 report on the in-home services and home modification needs of older Virginians.
- Needs Assessment Statewide Survey Results
- Needs Assessment Statewide Executive Summary
- Needs Assessment AAA Survey Results
- Needs Assessment Focus Groups & Data
- Needs Assessment for In-Home Services and Home Modifications
2023 State Agency Reports on Aging
As required in § 51.5-136 of the Code of Virginia, DARS collected state agency reports on the impacts of aging on their services, operations, and workforce. State agency reports can be found via the SharePoint link below.