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Civic Engagement in an Older America E-Newsletter July, 2006 CONTENTS • 2005 Civic Engagement Paper Award Recipient Published in the Journal of Urban Health • Book Release: “Civic Engagement and the Baby Boomer Generation” • Nancy Morrow-Howell: Spotlight on “Civic Engagement in an Older America” Leader • Civic Engagement and Aging Resources ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PROVISIONS FOR CIVIC ENGAGEMENT INCLUDED IN PROPOSED CONGRESSIONAL BILLS TO REAUTHORIZE THE OLDER AMERICANS ACT
In 1945, the U.S. government passed into law the Older Americans Act (OAA). While this was not the first time that the federal government created legislation largely targeted toward older adults, the act was groundbreaking in creating several hallmark organizations and programs for older adults. For example, the 1965 OAA created the Administration on Aging (AoA)—the agency under the Department of Health and Human Services that today administers programs including nutrition programs, preventive health services, and the National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP). This year, the OAA is up for reauthorization. This reauthorization
gives lawmakers the opportunity to revise the act, which was most
recently amended in 2000. Current versions of the reauthorization
bills—one in the House (H.R. 5293) and one in the Senate (S.
3570)—both explicitly include provisions for fostering older
adults’ civic engagement. The House passed its version of the reauthorization bill at the end of June. The Senate HELP committee more recently passed its version, and it will be voted on by the entire Senate. Following that vote, the legislation likely will head into conference, where the House and Senate versions of the bill will be reconciled with one and other and then go back to the House and Senate for a final vote. To view the current version of the House bill, click here. To view the current version of the Senate bill, click here. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2005 CIVIC ENGAGEMENT PAPER AWARD RECIPIENT PUBLISHED IN THE JOURNAL OF URBAN HEALTH
Iveris Martinez (a research associate for the Center on Aging and Health at the Johns Hopkins University) and colleagues published their paper, “Engaging Older Adults in High Impact Volunteering that Enhances Health: Recruitment and Retention in the Experience Corps® Baltimore,” in the June, 2006, edition of the Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine. This article was based on the paper that received the prestigious Gerontological Society of America’s Civic Engagement Paper Award in 2005. The study presents information on Experience Corps Baltimore. Experience Corps is a national service program co-founded by GSA member Linda Fried that facilitates older adults’ volunteering with school-aged children. Experience Corps Baltimore specifically fosters older adults’ volunteering for 15 hours per week in kindergarten through third-grade classrooms. Drawing on data collected over a four-year period, the study provides an overview of volunteer recruitment and retention strategies and predictors. The study is noteworthy as it provides evidence that it is possible to recruit and retain a diverse pool of older adults in a high-intensity volunteer program, including those adults who are typically not targeted to volunteer (such as African Americans and individuals with low levels of income and education). The article—as well as an accompanying article that presents results from a field experiment on the physical health benefits of volunteering with Experience Corps Baltimore—can be purchased through the electronic data source of Springer Publications (www.springerlink.com). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ BOOK RELEASE: “CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND THE BABY BOOMER GENERATION”
Drs. Laura Wilson and Sharon Simson—leading researchers in the areas of healthy aging and civic engagement—recently edited and published an anthology titled “Civic Engagement and the Baby Boomer Generation” (Haworth Press, Inc.). Contributing scholars with diverse areas of expertise—from policy analysis to epidemiology to program evaluation to social gerontology—weigh in on why engaging baby boomers in civic life is crucial for the well-being of individuals of all ages, as well for the well-being of society overall. The book provides comprehensive descriptions of major national programs that facilitate older adults’ civic engagement, while also providing evidence of the programs’ effectiveness and ways in which they can be improved. Many of the chapters include thoughtful integrations of scholarship on civic engagement with scholarship in related domains, including intergenerational programming, service learning, leadership development, and global aging. The book concludes with a presentation of statements from major agency leaders regarding their priorities for research, policy, and best practices with respect to civic engagement and the baby boomer generation. This book can be purchased from the Haworth Press website at www.haworthpress.com. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ NANCY MORROW-HOWELL: SPOTLIGHT ON “CIVIC ENGAGEMENT IN AN OLDER AMERICA” LEADER
The National Academy on an Aging Society has convened a panel of eight experts to oversee its “Civic Engagement in an Older America” initiative: (1) Scott Bass, (2) Laura Carstensen, (3) Marc Freedman, (4) William Galston, (5) Phyllis Moen, (6) Nancy Morrow-Howell, (7) Rick Moody, and (8) Joseph Quinn. This e-newsletter, as well as the ones to follow, will ask one of each of the experts three questions to collect their insights on initiatives to promote civic engagement opportunities for older adults. This e-newsletter features Nancy Morrow-Howell, the Ralph and Muriel Pumphrey Professor of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. She is a leading expert in the areas of productive engagement, aging, and health. (1) What is one of your favorite examples of an innovative practice, policy, program, or piece of scholarship that addresses civic engagement in an older America? I am from St. Louis, where the OASIS program originated. This program is one of the oldest of its kind and now operates in cities across the country, bringing life-long learning and service opportunities to older adults. One of its service programs, Person-to-Person, was just recognized as a Program of Excellence by the National Council on Aging. Through this program, older adults are trained and supported as peer counselors. (2) What do you think is the greatest challenge to the creation of federal legislation that would increase support for efforts to promote civic engagement among older adults? I think our biggest challenge is creating bolder initiatives that are more than incremental changes to existing programs and structures. The demographic changes are radical, and innovative, ground-breaking ideas are needed.
In the next ten years, I want to see our employment and educational institutions take on new initiatives to increase civic engagement among older adults. And I want these initiatives to be fundamentally based on a life course perspective. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND AGING RESOURCES Have you checked out the National Academy on an Aging Society’s resources on civic engagement recently? The Academy has nearly doubled the number of links to reports, websites, and other useful documents on civic engagement and aging. Plus, the links are organized thematically and include brief summaries of the information behind each link. Visit this page at http://www.agingsociety.org/agingsociety/links/links_civic_engagement.htm. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The CE-Newsletter is the E-Newsletter of GSA’s Civic Engagement
in an Older America Project. The "Civic Engagement in an Older
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