This keynote address speaks to problems faced by the elderly, particularly in the areas of finances and social services. The public concerns over the viability of the social security system are briefly examined and confronted. The speaker, U.S. Commissioner on Aging, stresses the need for his peers to become acquainted with, and use, the many…

For more than a quarter of a century, both human service agencies and religious organizations have provided for the needs of the elderly. In order to study the relationship between these groups, clergy from mainline Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish churches and synagogues (N=34) and social service agency administrators in a midwestern suburb were…

A measurement model was developed and refined in two successive need assessment surveys of samples representative of statewide populations. The first was the Kentucky Elderly Need Assessment (KENA) which was administered to 570 persons, age 60 and older, across Kentucky. The second was the Kentucky Social Services Need Assessment Project (SNAP),…

The population of older black Americans is a growing, underutilized resource. Research on the status of older black Americans suggests that race is among the major factors influencing economic status and social mobility. Recent census data and projections confirm that to be old and black is a liability rather than an asset. As this population…

This study considered broadly the problem of homelessness by examining the housing difficulties of one at-risk population, the elderly, who presented needs to one city emergency service agency. A random sampling of some 500 emergency case files identified the prevalence of a wide range of emergency situations affecting the city's elderly. At least…

An innovative effort in problem-solving has resulted in mutual cooperation between community volunteers, social service agencies, interested individuals, and private enterprise in funding the provision of social services to senior citizens living in a downtown Cleveland resident hotel, the Carter Manor. The cooperative effort began with the…

Existing data are summarized and original data provided on minority participation rates in alternative services among the elderly. Data from several federally-funded programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, are presented. A group of 32 counties in the US, representing a universe of counties in which minorities constitute a large proportion of…

The Area Agencies on Aging are the primary federally funded units charged with delivering basic services to older adults. A study of 145 older adults was conducted to determine the extent and effectiveness of services provided by a southern Area Agency on Aging (AAA) to an urban, black, elderly population in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Interview results…

Little is known about the roles of the family, kin and non-kin support networks in determining the use of social services by the elderly. An examination of the role of the formal and informal support systems to explain social service utilization by black and white older adults used path analytic procedures to test an explanatory model of…

In the past few decades, senior centers have developed at an exponential rate. To investigate elderly citizens' knowledge of senior center activities and services, 250 white older adults (125 center users and 125 nonusers) from a small urban community were personally interviewed about the services and activities provided by their local senior…

In 1979-80, a national study used a combination of the Older Americans Resources and Services Functional Assessment Questionnaire and the Subjective Distress Scale of Psychiatric Status Schedule to assess the service needs of the Hispanic elderly. Thirty variables were selected from this data and categorized using Anderson and Newman's (1973)…

This collection of abstracts, designed to assist White House Conference on Aging delegates involved with research on aging, presents information from 16 Technical Committee Reports which focus on implications of an age-integrated society, employment, support systems, health issues and services, the family, long-term care, older Americans as a…

The status and problems of aged widows have, to some extent, been camoflaged by the more general concern about older adults. A pilot project was undertaken to identify the existing support networks for aging urban and rural widows and the details of the operation of those systems in order to relate the findings to social and educational policy.…

The well-being of poor older people is a concern for society. Two random samples of people, 65 years old and older, were taken in Cleveland, Ohio--1,300 from the general population and 194 Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients. Both samples were interviewed in 1975 and 1976, and a well-being status was developed for each person in the…

Health policy researchers have long been interested in the extent to which the provision of formal supports replaces or undermines the informal support system. This study examined the linkages between the formal and informal support system as they are mediated by a health care setting which readily provides patients with access to social services.…