An Area Agency on Aging is a public or private non-profit agency designated by the state to administer the Older Americans Act at the regional level per the 1973 amendment to the Older Americans Act. Having regional oversight of the programs and funding allows the state to be more responsive and to be better able to assess local needs and concerns.

North Carolina has seventeen Area Agencies on Aging (AAA). Each is located within a multi-county Planning and Service Area served by a public, non-profit organization typically known as a Council of Governments or Planning Commission. All 100 counties in North Carolina are covered by an Area Agency on Aging. In a west-to-east lettering system from A through R, our region is designated as "J" and covers seven counties.

AAAs are charged with developing comprehensive and coordinated service and resource systems for older adults which address their needs and are appropriate for the local communities. They create multi-year plans which are implemented with Older Americans Act and other applicable funds that the AAA administers. Their "bottomline" purpose, in North Carolina, is to help older adults live in their communities in the least restrictive environment with maximum dignity and independence. They perform this service through a variety of means such as:

• entering into grant agreements with each county to provide aging services
• serving in an advisory capacity
• providing feedback to the state on aging issues and service delivery
• strategic planning that addresses issues and needs of the older population
• technical assistance to local aging services providers
• technical assistance to counties
• education
• training
• performance assessment (management, fiscal, service)
• quality assurance
• advocacy(federal, state, local)
• program administration (federal, state, and local dollars)
• facilitation of cooperative relationships
• information gathering and dissemination
• referrals
• problem resolution
• creative solutions

Click on a Region for a direct link to that Region's Area Agency on Aging. If an AAA doesn't have a website, the link will take you to the N.C. Division of Aging's website, AAA Contact Section.

If you need additional statewide AAA contact information, the N.C. Division of Aging and Adult Services has an AAA Contact Section on their website.