Administration on Aging

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) officials announced in April 1991 that the status of the Administration on Aging (AOA) had been elevated within the Department's organizational structure. As a result, AOA is now responsible for many administrative duties in addition to its existing programmatic functions. AOA's enhanced status means that the Commissioner on Aging is theoretically on an equal footing with other HHS division heads and that AOA's role as an advocate for the elderly should be strengthened. To assist with its new responsibilities, AOA received additional full-time staff for fiscal year 1992. AOA has also received substantial travel funds, has filled many key positions long vacant, and plans to beef up its program expertise. At the same time, however, AOA's oversight abilities remain questionable, its expertise in the regions has not been enhanced, and its plans to address program responsibilities may be inadequate. Further, the need persists to harmonize AOA's responsibilities, its program funds, and the demands of the elderly. GAO summarized this report in testimony before Congress; see: Administration on Aging: Autonomy Has Increased but Harmonization of Mission and Resources Is Still Needed, by Robert L. York, Director of Program Evaluation in Human Services Areas, before the Subcommittee on Human Resources, House Committee on Education and Labor. GAO/T-PEMD-92-9, June 11, 1992 (15 pages).

GAO found that: (1) in April 1991, HHS elevated the status of AOA within its organizational structure, making AOA responsible for performing all of the administrative functions that the Office of Human Development Services had previously performed; (2) to facilitate the performance of its new administrative functions and to allow AOA to function independently, AOA received 33 new full-time-equivalent staff for fiscal year (FY) 1992; (3) since the elevation of AOA to the level of an operating division, the Commissioner on Aging is at least nominally equal to the heads of other HHS divisions, giving the Commissioner authority over AOA resources and greater leverage to deal with the Secretary and other division heads; (4) since its enhanced status, AOA has filled key leadership positions that had long been vacant, secured more travel funds, and formulated plans to enhance its program; and (5) AOA oversight capabilities remain in question, its expertise in the regions has not been enhanced, its plans to address certain program responsibilities may be inadequate, and its responsibilities must be better harmonized with its program funding and the increased demand for services by the growing population of elderly.