Virginia Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services — DARS Resources for Caregivers

You're trying to help your aging parent and every phone call sends you to a different agency. The hospital discharge planner mentions the Area Agency on Aging. The court clerk says something about mandatory guardian training through DARS. A pamphlet in the waiting room lists a Long-Term Care Ombudsman number. None of these names mean anything to you — yet.

Here's how Virginia's eldercare support system works, and which agency you actually need for each situation.

DARS — The State-Level Hub

The Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) is the state agency that coordinates services for older adults, people with disabilities, and their families. DARS doesn't deliver services directly to families in most cases — it funds and oversees the local agencies that do.

What DARS coordinates:

• Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) — the 25 local agencies that connect families with community services
• Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program — advocates for residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities
• No Wrong Door / ADRC — the single-entry-point system for accessing long-term care information
• Guardianship training — the mandatory online training for court-appointed guardians (new as of 2024)
• Public Guardian/Conservator Program — serves incapacitated adults who have no willing or able family members

Area Agencies on Aging — Your Local Starting Point

Virginia's 25 Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) are the front door to eldercare services. Each AAA covers a specific geographic region and connects families with:

• Information and referral: Help identifying the right services — home care, transportation, meal delivery, caregiver support groups
• Care coordination: Case managers who can assess your parent's needs and build a service plan
• Benefits counseling: Free assistance with Medicare, Medicaid, and Virginia-specific programs like the Auxiliary Grant for assisted living
• Caregiver support: Respite care, training, and support groups for family caregivers
• Legal assistance referrals: Connections to legal aid services for power of attorney, advance directives, and guardianship questions

To find your parent's local AAA, call the Virginia statewide helpline at 1-866-273-6278 or visit the No Wrong Door portal. The AAA serving your parent's locality is determined by the city or county where they live.

AAA services are free or sliding-scale. The agency can also help determine whether your parent qualifies for Medicaid-funded home care through Virginia's Cardinal Care/CCC Plus waiver — and walk you through the screening process.

Mandatory Guardian Training — The 2024 DARS Requirement

If you've been appointed guardian of your parent by a Virginia circuit court, you must complete training developed by DARS. This requirement was enacted by the Virginia General Assembly in 2024 and applies to every court-appointed guardian, whether you're a family member or a professional.

Deadlines:

The training is free and entirely online. It covers:

• Fiduciary responsibilities — what you can and cannot do with your parent's money and healthcare decisions
• Annual reporting requirements — Form CC-1644 (guardian report to DSS) and Form CC-1671/CC-1682 (conservator filings to the Commissioner of Accounts)
• Person-centered decision-making — the legal standard for making choices that reflect your parent's values and preferences, not just your own judgment
• Less-restrictive alternatives — the court's expectation that you preserve as much of your parent's autonomy as possible
• Medical advocacy — how to communicate with providers and make treatment decisions

Training completion must be disclosed on your next annual guardian report (Form CC-1644). If you hire a case manager or other professional to perform visiting or decision-making duties on your behalf, that person must also complete the training.

Long-Term Care Ombudsman — When a Facility Fails Your Parent

The Virginia Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program investigates complaints about nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and adult care residences. Ombudsman advocates are independent — they work for the resident, not the facility.

Contact the Ombudsman when:

• A facility threatens involuntary discharge. Nursing homes sometimes issue transfer notices when a resident transitions from private-pay to Medicaid. Residents have appeal rights, and the Ombudsman can intervene.
• Care quality is declining. Unexplained weight loss, medication errors, inadequate staffing, hygiene neglect — these are reportable complaints.
• Resident rights are being violated. Restricting phone calls, limiting visitors, confiscating personal belongings, or failing to accommodate dietary or religious needs.
• The facility won't communicate with the family. If you have legal authority (guardian or healthcare agent) and the facility is blocking your access to information, the Ombudsman can mediate.

Ombudsman services are free and confidential. Call the Virginia statewide Ombudsman hotline at 1-800-552-3402.

The Ombudsman's authority is limited to advocacy and mediation — they can't issue fines or remove a facility's license. For serious abuse or neglect, the Ombudsman coordinates with Adult Protective Services, the Virginia Department of Health (which licenses facilities), and law enforcement.

No Wrong Door — The Single Entry Point

Virginia's No Wrong Door system (also called the Aging and Disability Resource Connection, or ADRC) is designed to prevent exactly the frustration that brought you here — calling agency after agency trying to find the right service.

The idea: regardless of which agency you contact first — DARS, the AAA, the local Department of Social Services, the health department — they all use the same intake process and can route you to the right resource. In practice, the AAA is still the most direct path for most eldercare situations.

How These Agencies Connect to Legal Authority

If you're navigating legal authority for your parent — power of attorney, advance directives, or guardianship — these agencies play supporting roles:

• AAA can connect you with free legal assistance for document preparation
• DARS provides the mandatory training if you become a court-appointed guardian
• The Ombudsman becomes your advocate if your parent is already in a facility and the facility isn't recognizing your legal authority
• DSS receives your annual guardian report and conducts the LTSS screening that determines Medicaid eligibility for home care or nursing facility placement

The Virginia Power of Attorney & Guardianship Kit maps each of these agencies to specific steps in the legal authority process, with contact directories and filing instructions for the court forms these agencies intersect with.

See more Virginia guides →