The Commissioner shall have the following powers and duties:

1. To employ such personnel, qualified by knowledge, skills, and abilities, as may be required to carry out the purposes of this chapter relating to the Department;

2. To make and enter into all contracts and agreements necessary for or incidental to the performance of the Department's duties and the execution of its powers under this title, including but not limited to contracts with the United States, other states, agencies, and governmental subdivisions of the Commonwealth;

3. To accept grants from the United States government and agencies and instrumentalities thereof and any other source and, to these ends, to comply with such conditions and execute such agreements as may be necessary, convenient, or desirable;

4. To perform all acts necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes of this chapter;

5. To develop and analyze information on the needs of older Virginians and persons with disabilities;

6. To establish plans, policies, and programs for the delivery of services to older Virginians and persons with disabilities for consideration by the Governor and the General Assembly. Such policies, plans, and programs for services for those who cannot benefit from vocational rehabilitation shall be prepared over time and as funds become available for such efforts;

7. To operate and maintain the Wilson Workforce and Rehabilitation Center and to organize, supervise, and provide other necessary services and facilities (i) to prepare persons with disabilities for useful and productive lives, including suitable employment, and (ii) to enable persons with disabilities, to the degree possible, to become self-sufficient and have a sense of well-being;

8. To develop criteria for the evaluation of plans and programs relative to the provision of long-term services and supports for older Virginians and persons with disabilities;

9. To investigate the availability of funds from any source for planning, developing, and providing services to older Virginians and persons with disabilities, particularly those not capable of being gainfully employed;

10. To coordinate the Department's plans, policies, programs, and services, and such programs and services required under § 51.5-123, with those of the other state agencies providing services to persons with disabilities so as to achieve maximum utilization of available resources to meet the needs of such persons;

11. To compile and provide information on the availability of federal, state, regional, and local funds and services for older Virginians and persons with disabilities;

12. To accept, execute, and administer any trust in which the Department may have an interest, under the terms of the instruments creating the trust, subject to the approval of the Governor;

13. To promulgate regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of the laws of the Commonwealth administered by the Department;

14. To work with the Department of Veterans Services and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to establish a program for mental health and rehabilitative services for Virginia veterans and members of the Virginia National Guard and Virginia residents in the Armed Forces Reserves not in active federal service and their family members pursuant to § 2.2-2001.1;

15. To promote the use of technologies to realize communication access and increase livability across the Commonwealth; and

16. To perform such other duties as may be required by the Governor and the Secretary of Health and Human Resources.

Code 1950, §§ 2.1-580, 22-330.4:3; 1978, c. 635; 1980, c. 559; 1982, c. 12; 1985, c. 421, §§ 51.01-14, 51.5-14; 1989, c. 176; 1992, c. 755; 2008, cc. 584, 754; 2009, cc. 813, 840; 2012, cc. 803, 835; 2015, c. 542.