quested as contrasted with earlier requests for information alone. Requests came from all 50 States except Alaska. In addition, requests came from 23 foreign countries and territories: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, England, Finland, Germany, Holland, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nova Scotia, Pakistan, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.S.S.R. The library The library collection now contains some 4,000 items. The emphasis in material is on the psychosocial and economic aspects of aging. Materials resulting from programs of government and voluntary organizations on local, State and National levels is particularly sought. National resource file The office of the National Committee on the Aging has assembled a card index file of some 3,500 individuals and organizations, geographically filed. This is used extensively in making referrals to local sources of help, in planning regional meetings, giving help to other groups in planning conferences, in answering requests for information about organizations in the field, etc. Regional meetings In order to stimulate interest and aid in developing local programs, the committee has conducted a series of regional meetings. The regional conferences held from 1957 to 1959, and their themes are listed below: May 1957, Detroit, Mich. : "Older People and the Industrial Community." March 1958, Washington, D.C.: "Aging-A Total National Effort-Everybody's Future, Everybody's Responsibility." June 1958, Portland, Oreg.: "Searchlight on Our Futures." October 1958, Houston, Tex.: Southwestern Regional Conference on Aging. April 1959, St. Louis, Mo.: "The Later Years Independent and Productive." October 1959, Durham, N.C.: "Needs of Older People in Small Communities and Rural Areas." Conference of national organizations For some time the National Committee on the Aging has been aware of the significant potential contribution to the field of aging of a wide variety of national voluntary organizations. A conference of nonprofit national service organizations, which serve older people or who have the potential of doing so, was held in May 1959. The purpose of this conference was twofold: to stregthen the interest of the national organizations in older people, and to explore methods of extending their programs to serve this age group. More than 200 representatives of major national organizations attended. At the close of the meeting, the workshops recommended that similar conferences should be convened annually by the committee, and that they should be supplemented by institutes on such subjects as housing, social services, and health. PUBLICATIONS The emphasis on publications under the Ford Foundation grant has been on pamphlets of a practical nature for selective distribution. "Older People and the Industrial Community" is a resource for many kinds of programs of industry, unions, and the community related to employment, retirement, pensions, insurance, etc. "Current Developments in Preparation for Retirement" was an attempt to answer the many requests for information on this subject of great current interest. "Guide Lines for Community Organization in the Field of Aging" is a practical aid to communities of all sizes, with varying degrees of social organization. "News Briefs and Staff Reports" is issued periodically by the consultant on employment and retirement. It goes, once a month, to about 1,000 persons half of whom are representatives of business and industry, others State employment office personnel, older worker specialists, members of State commissions on aging, labor representatives, etc. "News Briefs-Health Services Section" was inaugurated in 1959 to serve a similar function in the health field. These reports are brief, up-to-the-minute summaries of significant developments in these specialized fields. Scheduled for September publication by F. W. Dodge Corp. is a major book on institutional care entitled "Planning a Home for the Aged." It contains 11 chapters of text written by architects, administrators, and planners and is illustrated with designs from the architectural competition conducted by the National Committee on the Aging in cooperation with "Architectural Record" and "The Modern Hospital" under a grant from the Schimper Foundation. "Standards of Care for Older People in Institutions" is a basic document in the field and is now in its third printing. "Criteria for Retirement" and "Flexible Retirement," published by G. P. Putnam's Sons, contain summaries of the best industrial experience in these fields and recommendations for further action. INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE An international section of the committee was authorized by the executive committee in March 1959, and it is now being organized. Corresponding members will be asked to report on current events in the field of aging by mailing publications, published reports, speech material, books, and brochures to New York. The most interesting and valuable data received from overseas will be digested and printed in an international edition of Progress Report every 6 months. PUBLIC INFORMATION There have been two distinct objects of the committee's work in public information. The first of these was to make the country aware of the National Committee on the Aging and the services it can offer. Through the use of wire services, syndicated columns, and feature writers, thousands of articles have been published in leading newspapers, mass circulation magazines, medium-sized daily newspapers, and small weeklies throughout the country. The committee provides a regular flow of information to many magazines planning stories on aging, including Time, Life, The Rotarian, Hospitals, Today's Health, etc., and all periodicals specializing in the field of aging. Increasingly, writers and researchers from national magazines and television studios rely on the staff and library for guidance and authenticity. SPECIAL PROJECTS In addition to this basic program, the committee has carried on special projects. These are in areas considered to be of primary importance, but which for one reason or another do not fall within the appropriate sphere of interest or activity of any other group. The first in the fields of retirement and sheltered care were referred to in connection with the committee's material. At present the committee is engaged on three others. Standards for center and club program Although clubs are the most prevalent, and multiservice centers probably the fastest growing program for older people in the country, they are being de veloped without any material to serve as a guide for standards. A publication to be available in late 1959 will suggest goals for architectural standards, philosophy and purpose, program, and staff for centers. The second year will work especially on standards for club programs and the implementation of standards. Utilization of older scientific and professional personnel The purpose of this project is to explore the extent to which scientific and professional manpower is being wasted through retirement or unemployment of older personnel in these fields. The project is exploring this subject through professional associations, universities, and industrial management. It is financed by the Dorr Foundation. Guardianship and protective services This project hopes to pave the way for an imaginative breakthrough in the legal aspects of dealing with older persons who cannot plan appropriately for themselves. Numerous studies show that considerable numbers of older persons in the country today cannot handle their own affairs, financial and otherwise, because of mental and physical deterioration. According to the Bureau of Old-Age and Survivors Insurance, 80,000 bene ficiaries in the country today have been certified by physicians as incapable of managing their benefit money. In many instances commitment to a mental hospital is taken as the easy way out. However, the degree of mental and physical deterioration in elderly people is a relative matter, often fluctuating from week to week and month to month. Autopsy examination has shown that so-called senility is not necessarily correlated with brain damage and that the condition may be ameliorated with favorable environment, diet, or drug therapy. So far, neither legal sanctions nor social practice take cognizance of this situation. Guardianship laws vary in both content and administration, and often do not apply to the particular needs of older people. The public guardian is usually responsible only for the property and not the person. The current project is in the nature of a year's exploration of the subject. FILM PROGRAM ON PREPARATION FOR THE LATER YEARS As a result of the phenomenal response to its award-winning film, "A Place to Live," produced in 1955, the committee has wished to develop further its film program. It has recently announced the start of production of a series on "Preparation for the Later Years." Production of the total series is expected to take 2 years. The first film and its accompanying materials will be a general introduction to the problem of retirement with emphasis on the maintenance of financial independence in the later years. The scope of the series will include such subjects as physical and mental health, work and leisure time, different types of housing and living arrangements, and the relative responsibilities of the individual and the community. The first is being financed by a grant to the committee from Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Co. THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE ON THE AGING WHAT IT IS-WHAT IT DOES The growing proportion of older people in our population is one of the most important factors in the economic, social, and political structure of this Nation. Everyone is affected. The mission of the National Committee on the Aging is to help find ways to develop the physical, spiritual, emotional, and material resources older people will need so that each may live out his added years with dignity as a useful member of society.-G. WARFIELD HOBBS, Chairman, the National Committee on the Aging. WHAT IT IS The National Committee on the Aging is a central, national resource for planning, information, consultation, and materials. It is made up of 250 members representing the many interests and concerns of older people. One-fourth are from business and industry. The others are from organized labor, health professions, social work, the clergy, education, housing, research, Government, and State and local committees on the aging. In 1950 the committee was organized as a standing committee of the National Social Welfare Assembly, a nonprofit organization. The committee's support comes primarily from foundations and the assembly. In 1956 the Ford Foundation made an allocation to strengthen and broaden the basic program and to expand the information and consultation services. The committee staff includes consultants in health, social welfare, employment and retirement, a librarian, and special project personnel. WHY THE COMMITTEE The National Committee on the Aging was organized at the request of communities, professional and civic groups, agencies of Government, and others who faced the pressing problems created by the growing number of older people in this country, and who recognized the need for more adequate planning and resources. Questions facing such groups included: What are the needs of older people and their families? What part should older people have in our expanding American economy? When should workers retire from gainful employment? What economic and social protections are needed by older people and how should these be provided? How can older people be helped to retain status in their families and in the community? How important are part-time work and leisure hours activities? Do older people have special housing needs? What are the health needs and health potentials of older people? How can communities organize to find answers to these questions and to mobilize resources to meet the varied needs of older people? THE SITUATION TODAY Each year the number of people who are 65 or more increases some 400,000, or approximately 1,100 a day. Predictions to 1975 estimate that there will be more than 20 million who are 65 or over compared with 3 million in 1900 and nearly 15 million today. This means an increase of 47 percent in the 65 or over age group compared to 32 percent for the total population. Life expectancy today is 70 years, compared to 48 in 1900. Our youth-centered culture has not yet adjusted to these facts. Attitudes have kept older people from sharing fully in the social and economic life of the community and have kept the community from providing needed services. This represents a serious waste to this Nation. Today, 60 percent of the men 65 and over are not in paid employment; the proportion of women is even higher. For the most part, people are retired from productive work on the basis of age without reference to capacity, or the needs of the economy. The result is an estimated annual loss in production of goods and services of between two and three billion dollars. The cost to tax-supported and privately financed retirement systems amounts to many billions of dollars each year. Research is urgently needed to fill the gaps in our knowledge about the many aspects of aging and older people. A larger number of competent personnel, skilled in working with the aging, is essential. Guidelines to assist communities in thinking, planning, and acting to advance the well-being of older people must be laid down. The program of the National Committee on the Aging is designed to help groups and individuals find the understanding, knowledge, and skills needed for everyone to live out his life as a useful member of society. WHAT IT DOES The committee works with and through other organizations to develop concern for older people, as well as methods and resources for meeting their needs. Among the ways the committee works are the following: Provides a national information and consultation center. Maintains a special library. Keeps current on activities in the field. Holds conferences and workshops. Serves as a medium for interchange of information and ideas. Stimulates studies and research. Conducts special projects and studies. Presses for the training of professional personnel with competence in the field of aging. Prepares books and pamphlets based on committee activities. Produces films, exhibits, and other visual aids, alone or in cooperation with others. Lends kits of materials on specific problems. Works with media of mass communication to combat the stereotype of age and to publicize programs and needs. Gives field consultation within the limits of resources available. THE LIBRARY The National Committee on the Aging maintains a special library as a basic resource for staff and committee members, and for writers, researchers, students, and those who plan or provide services for older people. The collection includes reports and unpublished manuscripts not generally available. The library issues lists of major acquisitions and of significant new books and periodicals, and offers a classification system. Consultation is available on selecting materials for collections, and on ways community libraries may serve older people. CONFERENCES, MEETINGS, AND WORKSHOPS The committee conducts at least two national conferences each year and regional meetings by invitation. Regional meetings are designed to stimulate local interest, to point up major issues, and to help communities find practical solutions to their local problems. Workshops are one means of bringing expert opinion and experience to bear on specific and troubling topics. PROJECTS AND STUDIES The committee carries on special projects and studies of broad concern for which there seems to be no other appropriate group to assume responsibility. So far these have been in the general fields of sheltered care and the utilization of older workers. Standards of care for older people in institutions, developed by one project, have been commonly accepted by governmental and voluntary groups as the authoritative material in the field. To help implement standards and to provide basic information for architects and planners, the committee conducted an architectural competition on planning and building homes for the aged. The results provide the basis for a book on the subject. A film, "A Place To Live," is a sensitive portrayal of standards in action. This work in the various phases of standards for sheltered care has been financed by a series of grants from the Frederick and Amelia Schimper Foundation. A project on the utilization of older workers organized and conducted the first national conference on retirement. This conference together with further study resulted in two major books, "Criteria for Retirement," published by G. P. Putnam's Sons in 1953, and "Flexible Retirement," published in 1957 by the same company. This work was financed by the McGregor fund of Detroit. Projects now in progress include a study on the utilization of older scientific and professional personnel under a grant from the Dorr Foundation, and a study of standards for clubs and multiservice centers under a grant from the Frederick and Amelia Schimper Foundation. BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, AND FILMS An important part of the committee program is the preparation and distribution of printed materials and visual aids. Some are based on special projects, others on conferences and workshops. "Current Developments," a new series, reports a roundup of selected experience on specific subjects. A news bulletin is distributed periodically to committee members and others requesting it. AREAS OF SPECIAL CONCERN The committee has identified certain areas of special concern, to which particular attention is paid in gathering and disseminating information, defining areas needing further study and research, and encouraging action by groups and individuals. Employment: Development of objective criteria for employment and retirement which, in addition to age, will recognize and evaluate individual differences. Evaluation of actual experience in the employment of older workers. Experimentation in job reassignment, redesign, and retraining. Promotion of job opportunities for older people. Retirement: Experiences with flexible rather than age-based compulsory retirement. Effects of retirement on the individual in such matters as reduced income, lack of useful activity, loss of fixed status in society. Programs in preparation for retirement provided by employers, labor unions, universities, and communities. Businesses operated by or for retired people, and other organized means for providing useful activity. Pension plans, insurance provisions, and other matters affecting the economic security and health of retired workers. Health: The team approach to the health needs of older people, since they may stem from a combination of medical, social, and environmental factors. Awareness of the health potential of older people and the community facilities necessary to help the individual realize his potential. Programs in rehabilitation. Provision for medical care that is geographically accessible and within the financial resources of older people. Accident prevention and safety measures. Professional personnel, trained and motivated to care for the health needs of older people. |