Administration on Aging

Autonomy Has Increased but Harmonization of Mission and Resources Is Still Needed Gao ID: T-PEMD-92-9 June 11, 1992

GAO discussed the Administration on Aging (AOA), focusing on how a reorganization of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) affected AOA. GAO noted that: (1) HHS added personnel to AOA so that AOA could perform administrative functions that another HHS office previously performed; (2) the reorganization solidified the congressionally mandated direct reporting relationship between the Commissioner of AOA and the Secretary of Health and Human Services; (3) AOA has made progress in improving its ability to carry out its mission at headquarters, but suffers administrative, personnel, and funding problems in its regional offices; (4) the AOA methodology for gathering program participation data is flawed, and AOA has not adequately addressed the problem; (5) state and local agencies lack the necessary resources to target groups of elderly persons for AOA services, as the Older Americans Act requires; (6) AOA has not yet identified all states with critical needs for technical assistance; and (7) AOA intends to meet requirements that it collect data on utilization rates for board-and-care homes and on the impact of its ombudsman program.



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