Selected Federal Authorities
ShareCompartir
Authorities Addressing Vulnerable Older Adults
- Pandemic and All-Hazard Preparedness Act
- Older Americans Act
- Emergency Management Assistance Compact
Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act
Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act's (PAHPA) purpose is “to improve the Nation’s public health and medical preparedness and response capabilities for emergencies, whether deliberate, accidental, or natural.” To that end, the Act establishes mechanisms and grants to continue strengthening of state and local public health security infrastructure. It also permits the Secretary of Health and Human Services to require entities receiving cooperative agreement awards to contain in their plans a description of how the entity will include the state unit on aging in public health emergency preparedness.
Older Americans Act
The Older Americans Act (OAA) created the Administration on Aging (AoA) which is responsible for advancing the concerns and interests of older people and their caregivers through the state units on aging and local area agencies on aging. The Older Americans Act and its amendments create several requirements of State Units on Aging and Area Agencies on Aging which relate to preparedness planning for older Americans.
Selected Provisions of the Older Americans Act Related to Preparedness
42 U.S.C. Title I, § 306(b)3
Permits AAAs to make recommendations to government officials in the planning and service area and the state on the needs of older individuals with regard to emergency preparedness.
42 U.S.C. Title I, § 306(a)
Requires that each AAA shall, in order to be approved by the state agency, prepare and develop an area plan for a planning and service area for a two-, three-, or four-year period determined by the state agency.
42 U.S.C. Title I, § 306(a)17
Requires these plans to include information detailing how the AAA will coordinate activities and develop long-range emergency preparedness plans with local and state emergency response agencies, relief organizations, local and state governments, and any other institutions that have responsibility for disaster relief service delivery.
42 U.S.C. Title I, § 307(a)
Requires that each State Unit on Aging (SUA) shall, in order to be eligible for grants from its allotment under this title for any fiscal year, submit to the Assistant Secretary a state plan which under Section 307(a)29 is required include information detailing how the state will coordinate activities and develop long-range emergency preparedness plans with AAA, local emergency response agencies, relief organizations, local governments, state agencies responsible for emergency preparedness, and any other institutions that have responsibility for disaster relief service deliver.
42 U.S.C. Title I, § 307(a)30
Requires that SUAs plan to include information describing the involvement of the head of the state agency in the development, revision, and implementation of emergency preparedness plans, including the state Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan.
Emergency Management Assistance Compact
The Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) is an important mechanism to facilitate sharing emergency response resources amongst the states and territories. The National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) administers EMAC, which has been enacted by every state and three territories. A governor’s declaration of emergency and request for assistance triggers EMAC for the requesting state. An assisting state may respond to the request by providing the needed resources. Further, EMAC also establishes that the requesting state is responsible for reimbursing the assisting state for any expenses incurred. For more information, visit FEMA’s overview of EMAC [PDF–137K].
- Page last reviewed: March 14, 2012
- Page last updated: March 14, 2012
- Content source: