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Aging Workforce for an Aging Society
In This Issue:
Upcoming Deadlines
Announcements
Research & News
Funding Opportunities
Resources
Policy
Upcoming Deadlines
Indian Journal of Gerontology Abstracts Due April 10
The Indian Journal of Gerontology, a peer-reviewed publication, is seeking submissions for a special issue of the journal focused on gerontological social work with Dr. Barbara Berkman as a guest editor. This edition will have a special emphasis on international implications of social work. If you would like to submit an article about your policy or practice research, please contact Dr. Barbara Berkman at bb151@columbia.edu. Abstracts are due April 10, 2010 and the full manuscript would be required no later than September 1, 2010 for publication in early 2011. There are also plans to publish the accepted articles in book form.
Abstract Submissions for Senior Housing & Care Journal Due May 3
Mather LifeWays Institute on Aging and the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry have announced that article submissions for the 2010 edition of Seniors Housing & Care Journal are now being accepted. The deadline for submissions is May 3, 2010. For a copy of the 2010 manuscript guidelines of the Senior Housing & Care Journal, applicants should contact Scott King, Senior Research Associate, Mather LifeWays Institute on Aging, and Associate Managing Editor of the Journal at: sking@matherlifeways.com.
IAGG Call for Symposia Abstract Submission
The International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics Scientific Committee invites individuals or groups to organize a thematic Symposium to submit abstracts for presentation at the VII European Congress. If you are interested, please submit an abstract presenting your proposed symposium. Instructions for a correct submission can be found on the website; please remeber to submit the abstract before June15, 2010.
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Announcements
GSWI Featured in Social Work Today
The decade of achievements of the Geriatric Social Work Initiative (GSWI) and the CSWE Gero-Ed Center are extensively featured in the January/February issue of Social Work Today.
Hartford Pre-Dissertation Awardee Nicole MacFarland Receives Social Worker of the Year Award
This month, Nicole MacFarland, a Harford Pre-Dissertation Awardee, will be awarded “Social Worker of the Year” for New York State at the annual National Association of Social Workers (NASW) conference in Albany, New York. This award recognizes the commitment and achievements of an outstanding member of the social work profession, distinguishing individuals who demonstrate exceptional professional qualities surpassing job expectations. In addition to being a member in good standing of NASW and a representative of the professional ethics of social work as defined by NASW Code of Ethics, the recipient of this award effectively integrates experiences with education in an outstanding effort to help people; shows a willingness to take risks for improved social services; enlists public support for improved social services; and contributes to the public’s knowledge of social work.
Celebrate Careers in Aging Week April 4-10
GSA and its educational branch, the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education, are now gearing up for Careers in Aging Week 2010, which will take place from April 4 to 10. This annual venture is intended to bring greater awareness and visibility to the wide-ranging career opportunities in aging and aging research. Universities and colleges around the world participate by sponsoring events at their schools or in their communities. Participants sponsor events such as networking receptions, panel discussions, job fairs, exhibits, and aging-related film screenings. For more information, visit www.careersinaging.com or send an e-mail to ciaw@geron.org.
Profiles in Social Work - Marie Savundranayagam
The latest in our series of Profiles in Social Work highlights the career of Marie Savundranayagam. Dr. Savundranayagam talks about what attracted her to geriatric social work, the gift of mentorship, and her future career goals.
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Research & News
Preparing for the Future: A Career in Gerontological Social Work
Karen Graziano wrote an article for the New Social Worker on the importance of preparing for a career in gerontological social work. She outlines why this work is important, what it can accomplish, and just how much it means to the wider community. In addition, she gives suggestions about how to get started, which areas need workers and what types of skills the profession always looks to improve upon.
Hartford Highlights Issue of Geriatrician Shortage
The John A. Hartford Foundation's blog health AGEnda recently featured an article on the importance of geriatric care and caregivers. Corinne Rieder highlights an article from the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel entitled Quality of Life Entering a Gray Area: Geriatrician shortage will jump as number of seniors explodes. For more features and links to articles about related issues, be sure to follow the Hartford blog.
Starting Over at 55
Over 5 million Americans aged 55 and older run their own businesses or are self-employed. The Small Business Association says that the number of self-employed between age 55 and 64 has grown by 52 percent from 2000 to 2007. With years of experience and expertise, older Americans are enjoying the freedom of setting their own hours and the benefits of business. Entreprenuership, however, is not to be entered into, lightly, the article from the New York Times advises. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, self-employed people aged 55-64 grew by 93,000 and the self-employed over 65 grew by 213,000.
Volunteering May Prevent Frailty
Researchers in California have completed a three-year study that found older participants in volunteer activities, paid work, and child care were less likely to become frail. However, after accounting for levels of physical and cognitive function, only volunteering was associated with lower rates of frailty.
Engaged as We Age Issue Brief
Older adults are productively involved in society, contributing over $160 billion a year to the gross national product. Yet antiquated perceptions regarding older adults and retirement could be keeping these contributions artificially low. The negative stereotypes that create barriers for older adults can impede engagement in a variety of activities, including:
age-specific volunteer opportunities;
availability of adequate training;
available transportation; and
the skill level required of volunteer work. If you would like to read more about this, please see the Sloan Center on Aging and Work's issue brief, which addresses how older adults’ activities can be perceived as successful, productive and meaningful.
Boomers Driving Up Volunteer Workforce Statistics
Boomers aged 45 to 64 are now driving up volunteer statistics while they gather meaningful experience. Instead of helping wherever they are needed, they strategically commit their time to help in capacities that will benefit them, as well as the organization they are serving. " Instead of mailing letters or doing basic office or administrative work, boomer volunteers at nonprofits are serving on boards, identifying new clients, helping with marketing and fundraising and even taking on management roles," reports the New York Times article on older volunteers.
Work-Life Balance Important, NPR Reports
National Public Radio published an article on the increasing importance of a work-life balance for employees of all ages.
In addition to young mothers and fathers and Millenials, who are used to flexibility in the workplace, older workers are increasingly demanding of flexible hours and work locations. University of Minnesota sociologist Phyllis Moen
says as baby boomers grow older, many will want or need to keep working well past traditional retirement age.
"And older workers who you may want to keep on because of their skills or contacts will want to work differently— more flexibly and less,"
she says.
Boomers' Retirement Means Change for Canadian Workforce
The looming retirement of the baby boomer generation is a key development in the face of Canadian work force issues. With a third of all workers retiring in the next twenty years, employers will be faced with dwindling applicant pools and the need for innovation in utilizing the current work force and their talents. Anticipated changes in the work force include utilization of women, immigrants, and older workers who are currently under-represented. For more on the changing face of the Canadian work force, please see the original article from the Star. The Montreal Gazette also reported on this issue.
More Work, No Play for Australian Baby Boomers
In Australia, underfunded baby boomers can look forward to more work and no play. According to an article in the Sydney Daily Herald, those in their forties and older have little chance of reaching retirement age with adequate funds to support themselves. The Australian government is projecting that in 40 years, 80 percent of the population will still be receiving the age pension, but that the number of people receiving only part, instead of full, pensions will rise. Only about 20 percent are fully self-reliant and that number is not likely to increase.
Earthquake in Haiti Leaves Elderly Out in the Cold
Roughly seven percent, or 84,000 people, of those displaced by January's earthquake in Haiti are over 60 years old. The United Nations reports that despite the problems facing women and children, the population most at risk is the elderly; they have been overlooked because they are less vocal, less mobile, and more frail. For more about how the earthquake is affecting Haiti, and particularly affecting older Hatians, read the original article from the New York Times here. The Washington Post also covered this issue in depth.
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Funding Opportunities
New Funding Opportunities from NIH
The National Institute of Health has a number of grant opportunities, which include, but are not limited to the following:
Network Infrastructure Support for Emerging Behavioral and Social Research Areas in Aging
Mechanisms, Measurement, and Management of Pain in Aging: from Molecular to Clinical
Medical Management of Older Patients with HIV/AIDS
For a more complete listing on the NIH funding available for aging-related research, please click here.
Women and Retirement Planning
The National Education and Resource Center has released a Program Announcement and Grant Application Instructions for Women and Retirement Planning. Through the Center, the grantee will partner with the Administration on Aging to assist the National Network on Aging to implement objectives in support of the White House Council on Women and Girls. The mission is to provide a coordinated federal response to the challenges confronted by women and girls. Among its objectives, the Council is charged with “improving women’s economic security by ensuring that each of the [Federal] agencies is working to directly improve the economic status of women.”
2010 Community College Caregiver Training Initiative
The International Longevity Center and the Caregiving Project for Older Americans, with support from MetLife Foundation, invites proposals from community colleges and other 2-year institutions under the 2010 Community College Caregiver Training Initiative. The purpose of the initiative is to encourage the development of new and novel programs to train both family caregivers and in-home care workers, promote skill development, advance the quality of care, and provide opportunities for career development.
The caregiver training program awards under this initiative may either be to fund a new program or for building upon existing programs. Up to 13 grants of up to $15,000 will be awarded.
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Resources
NIA Releases Health and Retirement Study
The National Institute on Aging has released a Health and Retirement Study. Version 3.0 is a data set on the Prospective Social Security Wealth Measures of Pre-Retirees. The public version of this data set includes the following main variables: respondent's predicted social security wealth at different ages based on own retirement insurance benefit; spouse's predicted social security wealth at different ages based on own retirement insurance benefit; and the household predicted social security wealth at different ages based on both respondent's and spouse's own retirement insurance benefit, incremental spouse benefit and incremental widow benefit. For more information, please see the announcement on the Regents of the University of Michigan webpage.
Connecting and Giving: An AARP Report on How Mid-Life and Older Americans Spend Their Time, Make Connections, and Build Communities
AARP has released a new report concerning volunteering, giving, and civic engagement activities. This report includes information on Social Activities, Interests and Connections; Community Engagement and Civic Participation; and Giving Time and Money: Volunteering and Contributing. You can download the report here.
Rural Direct Service Workers Face Challenges
The Direct Service Workforce (DSW) Resource Center has released an issue brief on the challenges facing those in rural areas, including geographic isolation; lack of accessible transportation; and a shortage of direct service workers.
Fact Sheet: Entreprenuership and the Older Worker
The Sloan Center for Aging and Work has released a fact sheet on Entreprenuership and the Older Worker. Workers aged 50+ are significantly more likely than their younger counterparts to be self-employed or small business owners. Rather than retire, most small business owners plan to continue working indefinitely, cutting back on their work hours if needed. This brief includes information about older vs. younger workers and how entreprenuership affects plans for retirement.
Social Security
Programs Throughout the World: the Americas
socialsecurity.gov has just released a new report on social security in the Americas. The report contains summaries by country with information on types of social security programs, types of mandatory systems for retirement income, demographic and other statistics related to social security (2007), and contribution rates for social security programs (2007). For more information, please see the announcement page.
How Did Older Workers Fare in 2009?
The Urban Institute released a fact sheet on the older worker in 2009. On average, 1.5 million workers age 55 to 64 and 421,000 workers age 65 and older were unemployed each month in 2009, more than double the number in 2007. Older unemployed workers spent more time out of work in 2009 than their younger counterparts. More than two-fifths of out-of-work men age 62 to 69 in 2009 were unemployed for more than six months, compared with just less than one-third of out-of-work men age 35 to 44. To find out more, see the Urban Institute's website or download the .pdf directly.
50+ Hispanic Workers: A Growing Segment of the US Workforce
From AARP and the Urban Institute comes new research: 50+ Hispanic Workers: A Growing Segment of the US Workforce.This report includes detailed findings regarding the older Hispanic population and labor market experiences and discussion of implications for employers and policy options to boost older Hispanics' employment and earnings.
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Policy
US Senate Rejects $250 Checks for Elderly
Earlier this month, the United States Senate rejected a measure that would have provided 57 million older Americans, persons with disabilities, and veterans with checks in the amount of 250 dollars. President Barack Obama pushed for this measure due to rising costs not aided by federal funding.
Nursing Home Residents Unknowingly Sign Away Rights to Sue
In Massachusetts, many seniors are unknowingly signing away rights when they enter into the care of a nursing home. Officials in Washington are seeking ways to ban this practice, which waives the resident's right to sue for poor medical care or neglect. For more on this issue, please read the original article from the Boston Herald, posted on the Global Action on Aging Network's website.
Empowering Direct Care Workers to Improve Care
The National Citizen's Coalition for Nursing Home Reform, the Pioneer Network, ombudsmen programs, citizen advocacy groups, and others around the country are working to spread culture change principles and practices in nursing homes around the country. These principles aim to improve quality of life and care for residents by making nursing homes into true homes. Rebecca Livesay, a program associate from NCCNHR, writes about why dis-empowering workers hurts residents, how empowerment looks and feels, and what employers can do to improve job conditions and care quality in her article for the Direct Care Alliance.
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