Page images
PDF
EPUB

desires to use. Individuals making phone requests will be advised by the records officer or his designee whether a written request would be advisable to aid in the identification and expeditious handling of the records sought. Individuals making written requests should identify the records sought in the manner provided in § 1005.7. They should also indicate whether there is any specific date on which they would like to use the records room facilities. The records officer will endeavor to advise the writer as promptly as possible whether, for any reason, it may not be possible to make the records sought available on the date requested. § 1005.7 Identification of records by persons requesting them.

(a) In order for the Office to locate records and make them available, it is necessary that it be able to identify the specific records sought. Persons wishing to inspect or secure copies of records should, therefore, seek to identify them just as fully and accurately as is possible. In cases where requests are submitted which are not sufficient to permit identification, the records officer receiving the request will endeavor to assist the person seeking the records in filling in necessary details. In most cases, however, persons seeking records will find that time taken in trying to identify materials in the beginning is well worth their while in enabling the Office to respond promptly to their request.

(b) Among the kinds of information which a person seeking a record should try to provide in order to permit identification of a record are the following:

(1) The specific event or action, if any or if known, to which the record refers.

(2) The unit or program of the Office which may be responsible for or may have produced the record, such as Job Corps, Community Action Programs, or VISTA.

(3) The date of the record or the date or period to which it refers or relates, if known.

(4) The type of record, such as an application, a contract, or a grant, or a report.

(5) Personnel of the Office who may have prepared or have knowledge of the record.

(6) Citations to newspapers or publications which are known to have referred to the record.

§ 1005.8 Securing copies of records by mail.

A person desiring to secure copies of records by mail should write to the "Records Officer" at the Washington headquarters address or one of the regional office addresses indicated above. Records relating to any local community action program will generally be located in the regional office serving the State in which the program is being carried on; records relating to the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) or Job Corps programs will very commonly be located in headquarters. If the person making the request is uncertain whether the record is located in a particular office, he should write to the records officer in the headquarters office. The request should identify the records of which copies are sought as provided in § 1005.7, and should indicate the number of copies desired. As indicated in § 1005.13, fees may be required in some cases, in which event they must be paid in advance. If the person making the request is uncertain as to whether a fee will be required, or its amount, his letter should so indicate, and he will be advised as to the fee, if any, as promptly as possible.

§ 1005.9 Statutory exemptions.

(a) The provisions of 5 U.S.C. section 552 which require that agencies make their records available for public inspection and copying do not apply to matters which are:

(1) Specifically required by Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of the national defense or foreign policy;

(2) Specifically exempted from disclosure by statute;

(3) Related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency; (4) Trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged and confidential; (5) Interagency or intra-agency memorandums or letters which would not be available to a party other than an agency in litigation with the agency;

(6) Personnel and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;

(7) Investigatory files compiled for law enforcement purposes except to the extent available by law to a party other than an agency;

(8) Contained in or related to examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for

the use of an agency responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institutions; or

(9) Geological and geophysical information and data, including maps, concerning wells.

(b) of the various exemptions set forth in paragraph (a) of this section, those considered most likely to be applicable to records of the Office are listed in subparagraphs (3), (4), (5), (6), and (7) of paragraph (a). These, generally, pertain to: Records setting forth such internal personnel rules and practices as instructions to staff on inspection or contract negotiation tactics; records, including records of commercial and financial data, which contain information which is subject to some established or generally recognized privilege or is otherwise confidential because of the circumstances under which it was acquired; records in the form of communications by which officials or staff of the Office or another agency undertake to advise one another of their views on proposed official actions; records concerning the personal or family affairs of employees, prospective employees, or participants in programs which the Office assists or is responsible for; and records, including inspection reports, which the Office compiles and maintains for use in connection with pending or prospective enforcement proceedings. The Office will invoke these exceptions as sparingly as possible, consistent with its obligation to administer the laws for which it is responsible fairly and effectively and its obligation to assure that the governmental powers and facilities available to it for collecting and maintaining information relating to the private needs, problems or affairs of the families and individuals are not used for other than their intended official purpose.

§ 1005.12 Records of other agencies.

In any case where a request is determined to relate to records which are of paramount concern to another agency, the Office will forward the request to that agency. The person making the request will be promptly notified of this action. For purposes of this section, records produced by or for another agency which pertain to program powers exercised by it under delegation or agreement from the Office will, subject to any interagency understandings covering

[blocks in formation]

It is the policy of the Office of Economic Opportunity, pursuant to section 613 of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. sec. 2963), to encourage the widest possible distribution of information concerning programs under the Act. To the extent practicable, that policy will be applied under this part so as to permit requests for inspection or copies of records to be met without cost to the person making the request. Fees will be charged, however, in the case of requests which are determined to involve a burden on staff or facilities significantly in excess of that normally accepted by the Office in handling routine requests for information. In determining whether a fee will be charged, the Office will consider costs of identifying and locating records, as well as costs of copying and mailing. While the fee for copying will in no event exceed 10 cents per page, the Office reserves the right to limit the number of copies that will be provided of any document to any one person, or to require that special arrangements for copying be made in the case of bound volumes or other records presenting unusual problems of handling or reproduction.

§ 1005.15 Officials authorized to grant or deny requests for records or copies of records.

The Assistant Director for Management shall be responsible for advising Office officials and staff as to their obligations under this part and for taking such other actions as may be necessary or appropriate to assure a consistent and equitable application of the provisions of this part by and within the Office. He may, for this purpose, require other officials of the Office to clear with him prior to denying requests under this part, or prior to granting requests for categories of documents which he determines may present special or unusual problems. Subject to this authority, each Assistant Director of the Office, the General Counsel, the Executive Secretary and each Regional Director is authorized, directly or through his designee, to grant or deny requests under this part which pertains to records within his area of responsibility.

gram shall provide for the inservice training of personnel for the purpose of providing a high quality of services to older persons. If the staff development program includes leaves of absence for institutional or other organized training for professional personnel, the State plan shall specify the policies governing such educational leave.

§ 903.17 Nondiscrimination and civil rights.

Attention is called to the requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Section 601 provides that no person in the United States shall, on the grounds of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance (42 U.S.C. section 2000d). The regulation implementing such Title VI has been issued by the Secretary with the approval of the President (Part 80 of this title) and is applicable to Federal financial assistance extended under this part.

THE STATE PLAN-THE AGING PROGRAM § 903.18 Financial participation.

The State plan shall provide for such financial participation by the State, or communities, with respect to activities and projects under the State plan as to assure continuation of desirable activities and projects after termination of Federal financial support under Title III of the Act. Financial participation may also be derived from agencies or organizations conducting projects and from other non-Federal sources. Such financial participation on the part of the State, communities, or other non-Federal sources, may be in the form of monies, facilities, or services for carrying out the activity or project approved under the State plan.

§ 903.19 Development of programs and activities.

(a) The State plan shall provide for development of programs and activities for older persons for carrying out the purposes of the Act, including an identification of the types and kinds of activities and projects relating to community planning and coordination, demonstrations, training, and the establishment of new or expansion of existing programs (including centers).

(b) The State plan shall also provide for the furnishing of consultative, technical, and information services to public and nonprofit private agencies and organizations engaged in activities relating to the special problems and welfare of older persons, and for coordinating the activities of such agencies and organizations to the extent feasible.

§ 903.20 Cooperation with other agencies and organizations.

The State plan shall provide for consultation with and utilization, pursuant to agreement with the head thereof, of the services and facilities of appropriate State or local public or nonprofit private agencies and organizations in the administration of the plan and in the development of such programs and activities.

§ 903.21 Principles and priorities of State projects.

The State plan shall set forth principles for determining the priority of projects in the State, and provide for approval of such projects in the order determined by application of such principles.

§ 903.22 Eligibility of applicants.

The plan shall provide for approval of projects of only public or nonprofit private agencies or organizations. § 903.23 Approval of projects.

The State plan shall provide that, after review and recommendation by a technical review committee, the project will be submitted to the State agency for action.

§ 903.24 Opportunity for hearing.

The State plan shall provide for an opportunity for a hearing before the State agency for any applicant whose application for approval of a project is denied.

[blocks in formation]

ALLOTMENTS AND FEDERAL FINANCIAL PARTICIPATION

§ 903.26 Allotments to the States.

The funds appropriated pursuant to section 301 of the Act for any fiscal year for grants to States shall be allotted among the States in the following man

ner:

(a) From the sum appropriated for a fiscal year under section 301, (1) the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa shall be allotted an amount equal to onehalf of 1 per centum of such sum, and (2) each other State shall be allotted an amount equal to 1 per centum of such sum.

(b) From the remainder of the sum so appropriated for a fiscal year each State shall be allotted an additional amount which bears the same ratio to such remainder as the population aged 65 or over in such State bears to the population aged 65 or over in all the States.

(c) A State's allotment for a fiscal year under this part shall be equal to the sum of the amounts allotted under paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section.

§ 903.27 Reallotments to the States.

The amount of any allotment to a State under § 903.26 for any fiscal year which the State notifies the Secretary will not be required for carrying out the State plan (if any) approved under this title shall be available for reallotment from time to time, on such dates as the Secretary may fix, to other States which the Secretary determines (a) have need in carrying out their State plans so approved for sums in excess of those previously allotted to them under § 903.26, and (b) will be able to use such excess amounts for projects approved by the State during the period for which the original allotment was available. Such reallotments shall be made on the basis of the State plans so approved, after taking into consideration the population aged 65 or over. Any amount so reallotted to a State shall be deemed part of its allotment under § 903.26.

§ 903.28 Federal financial participation. The allotment of any State under Title III of the Act for any fiscal year shall be available for grants to pay part of the costs of projects in such State described in § 903.1 and approved by such State, in accordance with its approved State plan, prior to the end of such year or, in

the case of allotments for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1966, prior to July 1, 1967. To the extent permitted by the State's allotment under this section, payments with respect to any project shall equal 75 percentum of the cost of such project for the first year of the duration of such project, 60 per centum of such cost for the second year of such project, and 50 per centum of such cost for the third year of such project; except that (a) at the request of the State such payments may be less than such percentage of the cost of such project stated above, and (b) grants may not be made under this Title for any such project for more than 3 years or for any period after June 30, 1972.

§ 903.29 Expenditure of grant funds.

(a) The provisions of State or local law which are applicable to the expenditure of moneys appropriated by State or local subdivisions respectively shall apply respectively to Federal moneys paid to the State under Title III of the Act.

(b) Unless otherwise covered by State law, all encumbrances of grant funds by project grantee of such State agency shall be liquidated within 2 years after the end of the fiscal year in which the encumbrance was incurred unless otherwise authorized by the Secretary except that encumbrances of grant funds under projects approved in fiscal year 1966 must be liquidated by June 30, 1969. Grant funds as used in this section means Federal funds and all other resources used to earn Federal matching funds for the purposes of implementing the State plan under the Act.

§ 903.30 Costs of administration.

From the State's allotment under § 903.26 for a fiscal year, not more than 10 percent or $15,000, whichever is larger, shall be available for paying one-half (or such smaller portion as the State may request) of the costs in administering the approved State plan, including the costs of carrying out the functions referred to in § 903.19.

§ 903.31 Audit.

All fiscal transactions by the State agency, any other agency (if any) administering part of the plan, and any project grantee under the Act are subject to audit by the Office of Audit of the Department to determine whether

T

whether or not assistance has been suspended, he shall so advise the recipient in writing or by telegram. The notice shall state that the Office intends to terminate assistance, the specific reasons therefor, ? and shall either (i) fix a date not more than 30 days from the date of such notice within which the recipient may request of the responsible Office official that the matter be scheduled for hearing, or (ii) advise the recipient that the matter has been set down for hearing at a stated time and place, in accordance with § 1009.5.

(2) Hearings shall be scheduled for the earliest practicable date and consideration shall be given to a request by the recipient to advance the date of a hearing scheduled by the Office.

(3) A recipient may waive a hearing and submit written information and argument for the record. The failure of a recipient to request a hearing, or to appear at a hearing for which a date has been set, unless excused for good cause, shall be deemed a waiver of the right to a hearing and consent to the making of a decision on the basis of such information as is available.

(4) The responsible Office official shall attempt, either personally or through a representative, to negotiate with the recipient and to resolve the issues in dispute by informal means prior to the date of hearing.

(5) Any order suspending assistance shall remain in full force, notwithstanding the fact that the recipient has requested a hearing, or a hearing date has been fixed by the Office. However, the responsible Office official may rescind or stay such order, if and to the extent that he believes that such action is warranted. In the event such order is fully rescinded or stayed, the responsible Office official may postpone the hearing to such later date as is reasonable under the circumstances.

[blocks in formation]

and the Office shall have the right to be represented by counsel, or other authorized representatives.

§ 1009.7 Hearing procedures.

(a) General. The hearing, decision, and any review thereof shall be conducted in accordance with the rules of procedure set forth in this section, and § 1009.8, relating to the conduct of the hearing, giving of notices subsequent to those provided for in § 1009.4(b) (1), taking of testimony, exhibits, arguments, briefs, decisions, and other related matters. Both the Office and the recipient shall be entitled to introduce evidence on the issues as stated in the notice of hearing or as framed at a prehearing conference, or as agreed to by the parties.

(b) Presiding officer. The presiding officer at a hearing shall be the responsible Office official or, at his discretion, a designee (including a hearing examiner designated in accordance with section 11 of the Administrative Procedure Act) who has not personally participated in the matter. The presiding officer shall conduct a fair hearing, avoid delay, maintain order, and make a sufficient record for a full and true disclosure of the facts at issue. To accomplish these ends, the presiding officer shall have all powers authorized by law, and he may make all procedural and evidentiary rulings necessary to the conduct of the hearing.

(c) Participation. (1) The presiding officer may permit the participation in the proceeding of such persons as he deems necessary for a proper determination of the issues involved. Such participation may be limited to those issues or activities which the presiding officer believes will meet the needs of the proceeding, and may be limited to the filing of papers, motions or other documents.

(2) Any person who wishes to participate in a proceeding shall file a petition within 10 days after the notice of suspension or proposed termination has been received by the recipient requesting permission to participate. Such petition shall state (i) petitioner's interest in the proceeding; (ii) the evidence or arguments petitioner intends to contribute, and (iii) the necessity for the introduction of such evidence or arguments.

(3) The presiding officer shall, within 10 days after a petition for participation is received, permit or deny such participation and shall give notice of his decision to the petitioner and the recipient

« PreviousContinue »