Arnett
Legal Services of Northern California, Inc. v. Arnett
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Scannlain, J.
We must determine whether a community-legal services provider suffered a deprivation of federal statutory rights under the Older Americans Act when a State agency awarded a grant to a rival applicant.
I
Legal Services of Northern California, Inc. (“LSNC”) is a non-profit California corporation whose mission is to provide civil legal services without charge to the disadvantaged throughout Northern California.
The Older Americans Act of 1965 (“OAA” or “the Act”) established a program of federal grants for State and community social services designed to assist needy older persons. 42 U.S.C. §§ 3001 et seq. A State is eligible for federal funding under the OAA if it designates an agency to develop and to administer a statewide plan for the provision of social services to the elderly. California designated its Department of Aging (“CDA”) 1 to meet this requirement, which, as further mandated, divided the State into distinct planning areas. The Area II Agency on Aging (“Agency”) is CDA’s designated sub-state agency for the local administration and distribution of OAA funds for most of northern California, including Lassen, Mo-doc, Shasta, Siskiyou and Trinity counties.