[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3437 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3437
To amend the Social Security Act to authorize grants and training to
support area agencies on aging and other community-based organizations
in addressing social isolation among older individuals and adults with
disabilities.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 7, 2023
Mr. Casey (for himself and Mr. Murphy) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Social Security Act to authorize grants and training to
support area agencies on aging and other community-based organizations
in addressing social isolation among older individuals and adults with
disabilities.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Addressing Social Isolation and
Loneliness in Older Adults Act of 2023'' or the ``Addressing SILO Act
of 2023''.
SEC. 2. GRANTS AND TRAINING TO SUPPORT AREA AGENCIES ON AGING OR OTHER
COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS TO ADDRESS SOCIAL ISOLATION
AMONG OLDER INDIVIDUALS AND ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES.
Part II of subtitle B of title XX of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 1397m et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 2047. GRANTS AND TRAINING TO SUPPORT AREA AGENCIES ON AGING OR
OTHER COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS TO ADDRESS SOCIAL
ISOLATION AMONG OLDER INDIVIDUALS AND ADULTS WITH
DISABILITIES.
``(a) Grants.--The Secretary shall make grants to eligible area
agencies on aging or other community-based organizations for the
purpose of--
``(1) conducting outreach to older individuals and adults
with disabilities at risk for, or already experiencing, social
isolation or loneliness, through established screening tools or
other methods identified by the Secretary;
``(2) developing community-based interventions for the
purposes of mitigating loneliness or social isolation
(including evidence-based programs, as defined by the
Secretary, developed with multi-stakeholder input for the
purposes of promoting social connection, mitigating social
isolation or loneliness, or preventing social isolation or
loneliness) among older individuals and adults with
disabilities described in paragraph (1);
``(3) connecting such older individuals and adults with
disabilities with community social and clinical supports; and
``(4) evaluating the effect of programs developed and
implemented under paragraphs (2) and (3).
``(b) Training.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish programs
to provide and improve training for area agencies on aging or
community-based organizations with respect to addressing and
preventing social isolation and loneliness among older
individuals and adults with disabilities.
``(2) Prioritization authority.--For purposes of connecting
at-risk individuals with existing community social and clinical
supports, the Secretary may, in carrying out paragraph (1),
prioritize models that incorporate training and service
delivery in coordination with medical-legal partnerships.
``(c) Evaluation.--Not later than 3 years after the date of
enactment of this section and every 3 years thereafter, the Secretary
shall submit to Congress a written report that assesses the extent to
which the programs established under this section address social
isolation and loneliness among older individuals and adults with
disabilities.
``(d) Appropriation.--Out of any money in the Treasury not
otherwise appropriated, there is appropriated to the Secretary
$62,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028, to remain
available until expended, to carry out this section.
``(e) Coordination.--The Secretary shall coordinate with resource
centers, grant programs, or other funding mechanisms established under
section 411(a)(18) of the Older Americans Act (42 U.S.C. 3032(a)(18)),
section 417(a)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 3032f(a)(1)), or other
programs as determined by the Secretary.
``(f) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Adult with a disability.--The term `adult with a
disability' means an individual with a disability as defined in
section 372 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C.
3030s).
``(2) Area agency on aging.--The term `area agency on
aging' means an area agency on aging designated under section
305 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 3025).
``(3) Community-based organization.--The term `community-
based organization' includes, except as otherwise provided by
the Secretary, a nonprofit community-based organization, a
consortium of nonprofit community-based organizations, a
national nonprofit organization acting as an intermediary for a
community-based organization, or a community-based organization
that has a fiscal sponsor that allows the organization to
function as an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation
under section 501(a) of such Code.
``(4) Loneliness.--The term `loneliness' means subjectively
feeling alone, or the discrepancy between one's desired level
of social connection and one's actual level of social
connection.
``(5) Older individual.--The term `older individual' has
the meaning given such term in section 102 of the Older
Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3002).
``(6) Social connection.--The term `social connection'
means the variety of ways one can connect with others socially,
through physical, behavioral, social-cognitive, and emotional
channels.
``(7) Social isolation.--The term `social isolation' means
objectively being alone, or having few relationships or
infrequent social contact.''.
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