Increased longevity continues to become more prevalent in American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian communities.

This trend has placed greater demands on service delivery systems, which are even more complex and fragmented than in non-Indian communities.

In recognition of this,

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under the Older Americans Act Amendments of 2006, Congress has mandated the support of at least two (2), and not more than four (4), Resource Centers that will focus on issues and concerns affecting individuals who are older Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians.

The primary goal of these Centers is to enhance knowledge about older Native Americans and thereby to increase and improve the delivery of services to them.

With this goal in mind, the Centers will concentrate on the development and provision of technical information and expertise and best practices to Indian tribal organizations, Native American communities, educational institutions including Tribal Colleges and Universities, and professionals and paraprofessionals in the field.

Each Center must have a national focus and direct its resources to one or more of the areas of primary concern specified below.

Applicants must specify at least two (2) areas of primary concern on which the Center will focus.

These areas shall be:
health issues; long term care, including in-home care; elder abuse; and other problems and issues facing Native communities.

Each Center is expected to incorporate the concepts and principles and cultural competencies into all aspects of their staffing, program, and activities.

Additionally, each Center's activities should promote one or more of the AoA priority areas.

These priority areas are:
1) make it easier for older people to access an integrated array of health and long term care services, 2) help older people to stay active and healthy, 3) support families in their efforts to care for their loved ones at home and in the community, 4) ensure the rights of older people and prevent their abuse, neglect and exploitation, 5) training and technical assistance, and 6) coordination within the university structure.

Each Center is expected to develop special activities and best practices within its areas of primary concern which will address the special needs of different Indian communities.

The application must contain a description of anticipated outcomes for the activities, how these outcomes will be measured and how the overall success of the program/activity will be determined.

For instance, staying active and healthy focuses on the identification and use of evidence-based health promotion and disease prevention interventions that can be applied by non-clinical personnel in a community setting.

The Stanford Model and the Chronic Care Initiative utilized by IHS are examples of such interventions.