ACL webinar urges stronger fiscal stewardship as Older Americans Act grantees prepare for new regulatory thresholds

The Administration for Community Living hosted an Older Americans Act fiscal training webinar for state units on aging, area agencies on aging, providers, tribal entities and national organizations to review grant administration basics and compliance expectations.

Alice Kelsey, deputy director of the Administration on Aging, opened the session and framed stewardship as the day’s central message, saying the training aims to “strengthen your understanding of fiscal responsibilities across the aging network” and to promote appropriate, transparent use of federal funds. Kelsey noted unusually large participation, reporting the webinar reached more than 550 attendees.

The presentation walked attendees through how Older Americans Act formula funds flow from Congress to ACL and then to state units on aging (SUAs), with SUAs generally distributing title 3 funds to local area agencies on aging (AAAs). Presenters described the notice of award (NOA) as ACL’s legally binding grant document that establishes award amounts, project and budget periods, and the timing for obligations and liquidations.

Speakers also outlined practical grant administration items that state and local fiscal staff commonly encounter: decoding grant numbers on NOAs, maintaining adequate internal controls (separation of duties, approval processes, reconciliation of invoices to services), documenting allowable costs, and the procedural steps for requesting no-cost extensions (NCEs).

The webinar reiterated where to find ACL’s materials and forms, directing participants to the Older Americans Act implementation web page for NOA examples, forms (including the SF-425 federal financial report and the title 3 supplemental form), recorded trainings and additional guidance. For fiscal inquiries, presenters provided a grants mailbox (AOA.grants@acl.hhs.gov) and a program inbox.