§ 202 — General powers and duties of office

§ 202. General powers and duties of office. The office shall have the\nfollowing powers and duties:\n 1. to advise and assist the governor in developing policies designed\nto help meet the needs of the aging and to encourage the full\nparticipation of the aging in society;\n 2. to coordinate state programs and activities relating to the aging;\n 3. to stimulate community interest in the problems of the aging;\n 4. to promote public awareness of resources available for the aging,\nand to refer the public to the appropriate departments and agencies of\nthe state and federal governments for advice, assistance and available\nservices in connection with particular problems;\n 5. to cooperate with and assist political subdivisions of the state in\nthe development of local programs for the aging;\n 6. to consult and cooperate with universities, colleges and\ninstitutions in the state for the development of courses of study for\npersons engaged in public and private programs for the aging;\n 7. to make such studies of needs of the aging as the director may deem\nappropriate or as may be requested by the governor;\n 8. to foster and support studies, research and education relating to\nproblems of and services for the aging;\n 9. to serve as a clearinghouse for information relating to the needs\nof the aging;\n 10. to sponsor conferences relating to problems of and services for\nthe aging;\n 11. to enter into contracts, within the amount available by\nappropriation therefor, with individuals, organizations and\ninstitutions, in the exercise of any of its powers or the performance of\nany of its duties;\n 12. to make recommendations to the governor for the presentation of an\nannual award to a senior citizen for outstanding and unusual\ncontribution to his or her community;\n 13. to conduct a program of education and information on age\ndiscrimination and the preparation and filing of complaints relating to\npersons sixty years of age or older;\n 14. to, in cooperation with the department of state:\n (a) prepare or cause to be prepared and made available to cities,\ntowns and villages model zoning and planning guidelines that foster\nage-integrated communities including provisions to allow for accessory\nsenior citizen units in areas zoned for single family residences and for\nmixed-use development accommodating senior citizen residential housing;\nand\n (b) make recommendations, in consultation with the division of housing\nand community renewal, to the governor and legislature for assisting\nmixed-use age-integrated housing development or redevelopment\ndemonstration projects in urban, suburban and rural areas of the state.\nThe director of the office for the aging and secretary of state shall\nestablish an advisory committee for purposes of this subdivision. Such\ncommittee shall include, but not be limited to, top representatives of\nlocal government, senior citizen organizations, developers, senior\nservice providers and planners;\n 15. to periodically, in consultation with the state commissioner of\nveterans' services, review the programs operated by the office to ensure\nthat the needs of the state's aging veteran population are being met and\nto develop improvements to programs to meet such needs;\n 16. to the extent appropriations are available, and in consultation\nwith the office of children and family services, conduct a public\neducation campaign that emphasizes zero-tolerance for elder abuse. Such\ncampaign shall include information about the signs and symptoms of elder\nabuse, identification of potential causes of elder abuse, which includes\nidentity theft, resources available to assist in the prevention of elder\nabuse, where suspected elder abuse can be reported, contact information\nfor programs offering services to victims of elder abuse such as\ncounseling, and assistance with arranging personal care and shelter.\nSuch campaign may include, but not be limited to: printed educational\nand informational materials; audio, video, electronic, other media; and\npublic service announcements or advertisements; and\n 17. subject to an appropriation, make available to designated agencies\nas defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section two hundred\nfourteen of this title, a training program for the purpose of raising\nawareness, removing barriers and improving services for older adults\nbased on their sexual orientation and gender identity or expression as\ndefined in section two hundred ninety-two of the executive law. Such\ntraining program may include:\n (i) an overview of the history, unique needs, and concerns of lesbian,\ngay, bisexual, transgender, asexual, gender non-conforming and gender\nnon-binary older adults;\n (ii) reasons why lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, asexual, gender\nnon-conforming and gender non-binary older adults may choose not to\nself-identify; and\n (iii) tools that may be used to incorporate lesbian, gay, bisexual,\ntransgender, asexual, gender non-conforming and gender non-binary older\nadult concerns into direct care and steps that may be taken to improve\nthe quality of services and support provided.\n