16-Attachment K - DAAS Religious Activity guidelines for congregate meal sites 9-2019.pdf
PDF 136 KB Posted
- Attached to
- Operation of Senior Congregate Programs
- Solicitation number
- 2010
- Issued by
- Alexandria City, Virginia
About this file
This is a religious activity guidelines document issued by the City of Alexandria Department of Aging and Adult Services (DAAS) in coordination with the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS), establishing policies for Title III Older Americans Act-funded congregate meal sites. The guidelines clarify that while individual participants may pray silently or audibly at meal sites without staff prompting, congregate meal programs cannot use federal or local matching funds to support inherently religious activities such as worship services, religious instruction, or proselytization. Religious activities must be offered separately in time or location from OAA-funded programs, with participation entirely voluntary. The document applies specifically to the operation of senior congregate programs, including Senior Center I and Senior Center II, which provide meals to older adults through City of Alexandria-funded operations.
The City of Alexandria's specific guidelines prohibit religious-oriented activities in spaces provided and funded by the municipality, and staff paid by City funds are prohibited from leading, organizing, or encouraging religious activities. However, contractor organizations themselves may engage in religious activities provided they do not utilize OAA or local matching funds for such purposes. Contractors operating charitable or faith-based organizations must distribute and obtain signed Non-Discrimination Policy documents from each participant to maintain compliance with federal requirements. These guidelines, revised in September 2019, ensure that congregate meal programs remain accessible and welcoming to all older adults regardless of religious affiliation while protecting the secular use of public and federal funding.
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Text version
Religious Activities at Congregate Meal Sites
This information is from VDA/DARS, based on AoA (Administration on Aging) guidelines:
Is prayer allowed at Title III funded congregate meal sites?
The Older Americans Act does not forbid older adults from praying before a meal at a senior center or some other location that provides a meal with funding from the OAA. The AoA recommends that each nutrition program adopt a policy that ensures that each individual participant has a free choice whether to pray either silently or audibly, and that the prayer is not officially sponsored, led or organized by persons administering the Nutrition Program or the meal site.
Are bible studies and other religious activities allowed at Title III funded program sites?
Title III funded programs may not use OAA funds (or local matching funds) to support inherently religious activities, such as worship, religious instruction, or proselytization. If the organization engages in such activities, it must offer them separately, in time or location, from the programs or services funded with OAA funds, and participation must be voluntary.
This restriction does not mean that an organization that sponsors the Title III program (i.e., the contractor or grantee) may not engage in inherently religious activities, but only that the organization may not use OAA funds for such purposes.
City of Alexandria Specific Guidelines
• Religious oriented activities are not permitted at congregate meal programs in spaces provided by and funded by the City of Alexandria
• Staff that are funded by the City of Alexandria are not permitted to lead religiously oriented activities or encourage religiously oriented activities
• Participants may pray silently or audibly, but may not be prompted by or led by staff funded by the City of Alexandria
• Contractors that are charitable or faith based shall provide each participant a copy of the Non- Discrimination Policy for Congregate Meal Sites and request each participant sign the document and keep the document as part of the participant’s file
Revised 9/2019
Attachment K - RFP 2010 - DAAS Religious Activity Guidelines
File details come from the government source that posted it. Updated .