Administration on aging programs and services for Indian elders.

Today, one in every twelve American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN), or about 166,000 persons, is 60 years of age or older. This number is expected to increase over 225% in the next 30 years. The Administration on Aging (AoA) is the federal focal point and advocacy agency for older persons. The Older Americans Act of 1965 (OAA), as amended, created the AoA as a primary vehicle for organizing, coordinating and providing community-based services and opportunities for older Americans and their families. The OAA also established the Office for American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Programs. This office is responsible for administering and evaluating grants to tribes, providing training and technical assistance to grant recipients, coordinating activities between other federal departments and agencies to assure a continuum of improved services, developing research plans, conducting and arranging for research in the field of AI/AN aging, and collecting and disseminating information related to problems experienced by Indian elders.