The dramatic growth of the older population, especially among populations of color, has resulted in a corresponding increase in the number and diversity of multigenerational families, with four or five generations often assisting one another financially, emotionally and physically. Social workers in all practice settings and with all age groups increasingly encounter older family members: in the child welfare system or schools where they work with grandparents who are assuming the primary care of grandchildren; in hospitals or community-based health settings where middle aged children are simultaneously caring for older parents, grandparents and younger dependents; in mental health centers where multigenerational families may seek assistance with decision-making or addressing issues of grief and loss across the life span; and among the homeless and most vulnerable members of our society. Social workers also encounter inequities and health disparities that increase across the life span, with older women of color forming the poorest and most functionally disabled group in our society.
A strengths-based, multigenerational family and community- focused framework, that values diversity, resiliency and empowerment, underlies the course objectives and content. This framework derives from the School's mission related to social justice, multiculturalism, community linkages and social change.
The growing number of elderly worldwide presents distinct challenges. In the United States, the looming issue is the aging of the baby boom generation. Employers face the possibility of a sustained retirement of an unprecedented magnitude of their most experienced and knowledgeable employees over the next several years. The public sector appears to be even more vulnerable with an older than average workforce as well as a more traditional retirement system that encourages early retirement. The possibility exists of occupation-specific labor shortages, if not an overall labor shortage, as the baby boomers reach retirement age...................
