Irene A. Gutheil

A Partnership Among a University, Foundation and Community Agencies for Training Gerontological Social Workers

Attention to preparing social workers for our aging society has increased with concern that there may be insufficient professionals to meet the need. Interest in training gerontologically-savvy social work students had led to the development of models to achieve this end. This article reports on a collaboration among a universitys school of social work, a foundation, and community agencies, to provide special training for students interested in aging. The model presented here offers locally-focused and smaller founders in aging an educational strategy to achieve their goals. The evaluation of the model and the findings of this evaluation are reviewed.

“They Touch Our Hearts”: The Experiences of Shared Site Intergenerational Program Participants

ABSTRACT This study examines the experiences of intergenerational program participants in a shared site intergenerational program. Four focus groups were held, one with each participant group: elders, children, caregivers (including parents of children and elder caregivers), and staff. Five major themes emerged from the groups: (a) emotions, (b) engagement challenges, (c) family environment, (d) relationships, and (e) respect/admiration. Each theme is discussed and illustrated with quotes. Implications of these findings are examined.

Rethinking Needs Assessment in Planning Services for Older Adults

ABSTRACT Needs assessments are widely used in the field of aging, and are considered valuable tools for planning service responses to unmet and undermet needs of older adults. This article describes a comprehensive needs assessment of Bermudas older population and presents some of its findings to illustrate concerns about needs assessments that emerged from this experience. We suggest that even when needs assessments are carefully planned and adhere to generally recognized best practice principles, they may not be able to fully provide desired information. A revision of key assumptions about needs assessment is offered for researchers, planners, and community workers.

Aging in the Undergraduate Curriculum: Faculty Perspectives.

This descriptive study of undergraduate faculty (N = 177) ascertained the extent to which aging content is taught and faculty are interested in aging. The research was the result of a collaboration among an area agency on aging, an alliance of academic and community leaders, and a university-based research center. While approximately 43% of the respondents were interested in the field of aging, two-thirds of the 474 courses they taught seldom or never included aging content. When asked what would stimulate them to include aging content, faculty focused on resources, time, media attention, student interest, older students, and their own aging. Faculty indicated an interest in fact sheets on aging and selected readings on aging, among other resources. Implications of these findings are discussed, and strategies to increase interest among faculty in aging content are presented.

Family Caregiving as a Service Niche for Agencies: Findings From a Study of Philanthropic Trends

Family elder caregiving is a relatively unsaturated and expanding service niche. The article reports on a national study of family elder caregiving initiatives that were funded by foundations between 1994 and 1999, and presents a sample of the diverse and innovative ways in which agencies have responded to the need of family members caring for older adult relatives. The authors suggest that there are many opportunities for family service agencies that wish to support family caregivers particularly since caregiving demands on families will continue to grow given our nations burgeoning older population and funding appears encouraging now that caregiving is on the national agenda.

Older Adults and Creative Arts: Personal and Interpersonal Change

Creative aging programs are recognized as an effective way to enhance the lives of older adults. This study examines creative arts programs offered through public libraries. Focus groups captured participants’ experiences. Themes that emerged from analysis of the focus group data generally clustered into two areas: Personal Change and Interpersonal Change. Personal change captured five perspectives: Healing; Safe Place/Freedom; New/Renewed Self; Creative; Joy/Fun. Interpersonal change entailed two perspectives: Connections and how they are Seen Differently by Others. The positive experiences of older adults who have engaged in organized creative arts programs suggest the potential life-changing possibilities of these programs.

Foundation Support for Aging in the 1990s: The Emerging Picture

This survey of grantmakers and experts in the field of aging gives a picture of where grantmakers say their funds will be targeted in the first half of the 1990s and where experts believe these funds should go. A review of the similarities between grantmakers and experts indicates that community-based support services geared toward traditional populations are a priority among both groups. The most dramatic difference is in how best to package these services. We discuss implications of the findings.

Using Personal Narratives for Curriculum Development about Substance Abuse and Older Adults

This article reports on a project to sensitize graduate social work students taking courses in substance abuse to the needs of older adults. Graduate social work students at a major urban school of social work in the Northeast were recruited and trained to interview older adults with a history of substance abuse problems regarding their life experiences. The authors developed educational vignettes based on the interviews and curriculum units based on these vignettes to be incorporated into the substance abuse curriculum. The challenges and rewards of engaging students in the process of developing educational vignettes based on older adults lived experiences are also discussed.

The Changing Times and Agencies Serving Older Persons: Early Responses to Anticipated Funding Reductions

As Congress moved to balance the budget, agencies serving older persons had to prepare for reductions in public funding and potential shift to block grants, in addition to contending with an increasing older population and the growing need for services. This article reports on a November 1995 study that examined how agencies in the New York metropolitan area dealt with the threat of loss of funding. Strategies agencies used in their early efforts to cushion the impact of anticipated funding cutbacks were analyzed. Results indicate that the agencies surveyed were taking steps in anticipation and using a wide range of strategies to continue providing service, modify programs, shift agency direction, and influence external agency environments. Virtually all engaged staff in processing the situation. While the literature documents that human service administrators handle cutbacks in ways that impact services delivered, this study of agencies serving older persons suggests that the threat of funding c...Abstract As Congress moved to balance the budget, agencies serving older persons had to prepare for reductions in public funding and potential shift to block grants, in addition to contending with an increasing older population and the growing need for services. This article reports on a November 1995 study that examined how agencies in the New York metropolitan area dealt with the threat of loss of funding. Strategies agencies used in their early efforts to cushion the impact of anticipated funding cutbacks were analyzed. Results indicate that the agencies surveyed were taking steps in anticipation and using a wide range of strategies to continue providing service, modify programs, shift agency direction, and influence external agency environments. Virtually all engaged staff in processing the situation. While the literature documents that human service administrators handle cutbacks in ways that impact services delivered, this study of agencies serving older persons suggests that the threat of funding c...