Department For Aging And Rehabilitative Services

The Department For Aging And Rehabilitative Services (DARS), a U.S. state government entity headquartered in Glen Allen, Virginia, is Virginia's designated State Agency on Aging and State Unit on Aging; it receives federal formula grants from HHS, the Department of Education, the Department of Labor, the Department of Agriculture, and other federal agencies as a prime recipient, administering and pass-through funding to sub-state organizations including Area Agencies on Aging, community rehabilitation providers, and nonprofit organizations across Virginia. DARS operates entirely in the grant-funded space rather than as a federal contractor — the organization holds no federal contracts and does not compete for procurement vehicles — and serves as the mandatory state recipient for entitlement-based formula grants under the Older Americans Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and related federal programs.

DARS's federal portfolio centers on aging services, disability services, and workforce development for vulnerable populations. The organization administers the full spectrum of Older Americans Act Title III programs, including congregate meals ($31.4 million, FY 2026, CFDA 93.045), home-delivered meals ($33.2 million, FY 2026, CFDA 93.045), supportive services ($43.3 million, FY 2026, CFDA 93.044), family caregiver support ($10.9 million, FY 2026, CFDA 93.052), preventive health ($1.5 million, FY 2026, CFDA 93.043), and nutrition services incentive funding ($3.1 million, FY 2026, CFDA 93.053). DARS also operates the Long-Term Care Ombudsman program ($1.2 million, FY 2026, CFDA 93.042), elder abuse prevention ($136,874, FY 2026, CFDA 93.041), and the Medicare Enrollment Assistance Program across three priority tiers (CFDA 93.071, totaling approximately $1.3 million for FY 2026). From the Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, DARS administers the State Vocational Rehabilitation Services program ($84.3 million, FY 2026, CFDA 84.126) and the Supported Employment Services grant ($187,752 per cycle, CFDA 84.187). The organization also receives formula grants for assistive technology services ($801,280, FY 2026, CFDA 93.464), independent living services ($629,187, FY 2026, CFDA 93.369), and block grants for adult protective services ($323,771, FY 2026, CFDA 93.698). From the Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration, DARS operates the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP, $1.69 million, FY 2026, CFDA 17.235), which provides part-time community service employment, on-the-job training, and occupational skills training to low-income individuals aged 55 and older. The Department of Agriculture supports the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program ($372,115, FY 2026, CFDA 10.576).

Customer concentration is extreme and dictable by statute. The Administration for Community Living (within HHS), the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, and the Food Distribution Division account for 83 percent of awards across DARS's recent portfolio. Over the past five years (2022–2026), DARS has received 105 awards annually on average, with stable volume — 30 awards in 2022, declining to 22 in 2023, then recovering to 24 in both 2024 and 2025, with five awards recorded to date in 2026. Combined obligated dollars across all 380 awards in the source data total $3.15 billion. All awards are formula-based entitlements or block grants distributed by statute to state agencies on aging and state units on aging; DARS does not compete for these awards and does not face recompete risk in the traditional sense. Twenty-two awards carry ultimate completion dates within the next twenty-four months, but these represent routine annual rollovers within the statutory grant cycle rather than competitive recompete events.

DARS appears in the source as a sub-recipient on three recent federal grants. In July 2026, DARS received a sub-award from the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services to develop and implement an Integrated Care for Duals platform providing multilingual educational modules and enrollment tools for dual-eligible seniors navigating Medicare and Medicaid. In September 2024, DARS served as a sub-recipient under a Commonwealth of Virginia Department award to expand provider capacity for customized employment services to individuals with disabilities in underserved areas. In December 2023, DARS participated as a sub-recipient under Virginia Commonwealth University's HEAR (Helping Elders Access Resources) grant. These sub-award roles are marginal relative to DARS's prime role and represent collaborative service-delivery arrangements rather than competitive procurement relationships.

DARS's federal footprint is entirely domestic, performing work in Virginia with administrative oversight centered at its Glen Allen headquarters. The organization's position in the federal ecosystem is structural — as Virginia's statutorily designated state agency on aging and unit on aging, DARS receives formula allocations by law and serves as the mandatory state pass-through entity for multiple federal aging and disability programs. Business development considerations that apply to federal contractors do not apply to DARS; the organization cannot bid on federal contracts, does not sit on procurement vehicles, and operates in a grant-administration role that is not subject to competitive procurement or recompete cycles. DARS's relevance to federal contractors lies in its role as a funding intermediary and service-delivery coordinator — contractors seeking aging or disability services work at the sub-recipient level in Virginia, or seeking to partner with Area Agencies on Aging and community organizations that receive DARS pass-through funding, may find DARS a useful intelligence point on state-level grant administration and sub-recipient contracting patterns.