Graying America

We asked Jeanette C. Takamura, head of the Federal Administration on Aging, to talk about the graying of America. Here's what she wrote:

Our nation is experiencing a growth in our aging population, and we know that those figures will only continue to grow over the next several years, and certainly into the next century when the 77 million baby boomers begin to retire. With advanced age comes an increase in chronic disease, leading to significantly higher disability levels, and therefore a greater need of assistance. While the population is changing, the structure of the American family is also changing. More women are employed in the workforce; family mobility has increased and family size has decreased adding to the complexity of the issue.

Over seven million Americans, mostly family members (women, spouses, daughters), provide 120 million hours of informal care to approximately 4.2 million disabled older adults each week. Half of our caregivers are over the age of 65. Programs and services provided through the Older Americans Act administered by the Administration on Aging provide critical services to older persons, in particular the most frail and vulnerable, enabling them to live independently within their homes and communities with their families and friends.

These services, which include home-delivered meals (meals on wheels), transportation, physical and social activities at senior centers, adult day care, legal assistance, in home services including respite care, often alleviate the burden placed on those providing eldercare for their loved ones.

American families want to take care of their own, and they want accurate, reliable and timely information so that they can make critical decisions for and with their family members.

To learn about services that might be available in your community or communities across America, call the Administration on Aging's National Eldercare Locator, at 1-800-677-1116, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday.

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