Social Policy for an Aging Society

The issues evoked by an aging world pose new challenges with regard to employment, health, retirement, families, and the economy. Societies respond to these challenges in varying ways and these responses can be subsumed under the rubric of social policies. Human rights apply to everyone; they do not diminish with age. This book discusses many of the key issues and concerns confronting older adults in the United States and the policies formulated to deal with them. The ways in which these policies reflect human rights is key in each chapter. The first chapter presents the background on social policy and human rights and how they pertain to and impact older adults. The second chapter focuses on the Older Americans Act (OAA), the foundation of aging policy in the United States, as well as on the federal government involvement by discussing the White Housing conferences on aging. While the third chapter addresses economic supports for older adults, the fourth chapter examines policies associated with liberty and security. The fifth and sixth chapters discuss physical and mental health, and focus on employment and the workplace. This is followed by a discussion on the social policy and the family and by examining how policy relates to vulnerable populations of older adults. The penultimate chapter of the book explores the ways in which various countries are developing policies for their older population and how these reflect human rights. The last chapter looks at the future policy challenges that must be met in order to ensure that rights of older adults are addressed.