The 2022 Appropriations Act, Item 283 G directed the Secretary of Health and Human Resources or his designee to continue the workgroup established in the previous year to review elevating aging services within the Commonwealth. The workgroup was charged with developing a plan to establish a new structure that elevates the provision of aging services to be effective July 1, 2023.

The workgroup met three times in 2022 to discuss potential ways and structures to raise the prominence of aging in Virginia. Presentations were provided on topics ranging from supporting innovation and leveraging Area Agency on Aging (AAA) services to assessing State Unit on Aging (SUA) structural options. At the final meeting held on November 22, the workgroup discussed potential options with the goal of elevating aging services and programs in the Commonwealth. The three options that the workgroup discussed most intently included:

• Creating a Division for Aging within the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS);

• Adding positions to enhance aging services, including a Director of Aging Innovation and Partnerships and an Aging Research and Data Analytics Coordinator; and

• Creating a standalone aging agency in which the SUA would reside.

The workgroup agreed that there was a need to have dedicated positions which focused specifically on enhancing aging services and supporting the innovation and collaboration discussed by the workgroup at the meetings. The workgroup did not reach consensus whether a separate aging division within DARS or a separate state agency would achieve the goal of elevating aging services. It was also determined that a more thorough and detailed determination of the fiscal impact, particularly around establishing a separate SUA, was needed, since the draft recommendation was from the 2021 workgroup report.