needs of older Americans of these special populations and to work toward eliminating the many obstacles confronting them. To address the unique problems facing older women and the rural older population, the Committee maintains two task forces focusing on their special concerns: The Task Force on Women and Social Security, chaired by Congresswoman Mary Rose Oakar (DOH) and the Task Force on the Rural Elderly, chaired by Congressman Mike Synar (D-OK).

Comparatively, members of minority groups make up a relatively small portion of the overall aging population. Due to significantly lower life expectancy as well as recent trends in immigration, the age structure of most minority populations tends to be younger than the population as a whole. While 11 percent of the general population is over age 65, over 7.9 percent of Blacks, 4.9 percent of Hispanics, 5.3 percent of Native Americans, and 6 percent of Pacific Asians are over age 65.

Information gathered by the Committee shows that today's cohorts of older minority persons (those now in their 60s, 70s and 80s) have low educational levels, lower life expectancy rates than whites, relatively high morbidity rates and low incomes. Older minority individuals have low rates.of pension coverage; they underutilize public services and benefits; and they are more likely to live in neighborhoods with serious crime and transportation problems. With much higher poverty rates than the older population as a whole, older minorities are clearly at-risk. (See figure 1)

An examination of pension cover. age further illustrates the financial security disadvantage for aged and aging minority populations. Among workers participating in private pen. sion plans, Hispanic and Black workers are less likely to have vested benefit rights than their white counterparts. The difference is particu. larly large among participants near retirement age. For workers over age 45, recent statistics show 44 percent of Hispanics and 58 percent of Blacks with vested pension rights as compared to 66 percent for whites.

Race, ethnicity and gender were not initially incorporated in the development of most of our policies for

the older adult. Our first efforts to respond to the serious problems af. fecting older individuals required a universal set of programs such as Social Security and Medicare that addressed the income and health needs of all older persons. The introduction of means-tested programs such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income, although not directed at special age or ethnic groups, espe cially assisted minorities and women who are most likely to be among the poor.

During the 1970s, a healthy trend emerged toward incorporating gender, race, language and culture in programs and services for the older adults. The Administration on Aging. which oversees all Older American Act programs, incorporated "set asides" for research and demonstration projects targeted to special populations. Included in the Act were preferences for targeting to those with the "greatest economic and social needs." This helped to direct resources to minority older populations. We began to see more bilingual and bicultural features in many public benefits and services including senior centers and nutrition sites. This type of progress has since been scaled back in the 1980s.

The life prospects for future older minorities and women will be tied to current policy changes in pension laws, Social Security, education, child support, and health

care...

I am greatly troubled by the apparent retreat of the federal government during the past 6 years from meeting the needs of our most disadvantaged. The government's ability to focus on needy sub-groups of the older popu lation has been weakened by deficits, by funding reductions, by the consolidation of programs through block grants, and by a reduction in the collection of the data necessary for us to make well informed decisions about the allocation of resources.

Equally distressing has been the Administration's move away from en forcement of the Civil Rights Act and a reduction in the effectiveness of the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission. These disturbing trends have undermined the rationale for "set asides," targeting, and affirmative

action policies for women and minorities. The Administration has become less willing to use race, gender and ethnicity in determining how and where services are to be delivered.

Throughout this recent period of "fiscal retrenchment," Social Security, Medicare and the Older Americans Act have retained their basic structure and benefits. It is those programs which target the low income older individuals which have taken the deepest cuts. Despite the stated aim of restricting social welfare benefits to the "truly needy," budget cuts at the federal level have hit hardest on those means-tested programs crucial to the poorest older adults, largest numbers of whom are minorities. These programs have been scaled back at a time when they are more in demand due to the increase in poverty among some groups of the minority older popula.

tion.

As we in Congress look at aging in minority populations, we need to look at two separate, but not totally distinct, sets of policies. First is that set of policies which will best improve the condition and well-being of today's minority older population Second, are those policies which will ensure the security and well-being for the future older adult-today's young and middle aged minorities.

We know that social class and economic resources as we age are largely determined by lifetime condi. tions and labor force participation established before retirement. Individuals who have been casually employed or who had low lifetime earnings under Social Security-chiefly women and minorities-are espe cially vulnerable. In order for us to get a sense of the future status of the minority older population, it is necessary to identify those salient factors so as to determine whether the future minority older adult will confront the same multiple jeopardies faced by today's older minorities.

Minority elders have particular and special needs. By asserting that older

people be treated equally, our system of services in many ways denies the reality that minority older individuals differ from the white majority in the degree to which they have been afflicted by those problems related to a life history of underclass status. Testimony received by the Aging Committee has documented that race and ethnicity are factors that affect utilization of services. Lower levels of service utilization by minorities is found even when ability to pay is not a factor. Complex eligibility requirements and difficulties with procedures are frequently cited as primary reasons for problems with receiving public benefits.

It has been suggested that an effective system of service delivery that will appeal to minority older individuals must be based on a concerted effort to create culturally responsive programs sensitive to the uniqueness of diverse groups. This requires that policy makers critically examine the realities facing minority families and that practitioners be sensitized to the needs and strengths of the minority older population. We need to encourage modifications in our service delivery system which will enable it to establish supportive alliances with the existing informal support systems already within minority communities such as churches and synagogues.

It will be important for us to try to articulate these needs into legislation as we deal with the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act this year. As the primary vehicle for delivering supportive, social and nutritional services to the older individuals, it is vital that we keep the program sound and adequately funded.

The Select Committee on Aging began hearing testimony on reauthorization of the Act at two hearings held last fall. A third hearing is scheduled for late February. In September, the Committee received testimony from the Commissioner of the Administration on Aging and representatives of several aging organi. zations including the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), the National Hispanic Council on Aging, and the National Pacific/Asian Resource Center on Aging. They emphasized the need to make the programs and services under the Act more responsive to the needs of the minority older population and the need for better outreach efforts to inform minority older adults of the availability of services.

Of special concern to our Committee is data which includes decreasing minority participation rates in social service programs in general and in Older Americans Act programs in particular. According to the Administration on Aging, minority participation rates in Title III supportive services declined 25 percent during the past 5 years. This trend is most alarm

ing as the need for services among the minority older population has increased significantly over that same period. It is crucial that we understand the causes of this trend and that we undertake steps during the current reauthorization to make the Act more responsive to the needs of our minority older population.

The current Administration has been committed to reducing the role of the federal government and has reduced funding for federal programs in general and has consolidated many categorical programs through block grants to states. State governments, in turn, have been forced to choose between across-the-board cuts or selective targeting between groups most in need. We know that most public programs that deal with the poorest older population, including many minority older individuals, involve state-level policy. This places many minority older adults at additional risk because of the wide variation in both the willingness and the capability of the states to provide appropriate benefits and services.

This trend to decentralization and a reduced federal role points up a dilemma which constantly faces policy makers at the federal level. It is necessary for us to distinguish between those needs which are best met by greater state and local control over the allocation of resources and those needs which are so significant that they may not be met in the ab sence of federal control and oversight and thus require definitive na tional commitment. This dilemma is especially evident when we discuss the provision of services to the minority older population.

On the one hand we are told that by giving greater discretion to state' and local jurisdictions over the allo. cation of funds, the services provided will most likely meet the particular needs of older adults residing in that community. On the other hand we have clear evidence which suggests some states and localities may scale back their efforts to reach needy minorities in the absence of clear federal guidelines and oversight. Our constant challenge is to develop policies which strike the proper bal

ance.

I have suggested some of the challenges which confront us in attempt. ing to meet the needs of today's minority older population. But what of tomorrow's? While we can predict the numbers of older adults in the near future, the economic, social, and health characteristics are more difficult to come by. The well-being of the older adult in the future will depend not just on future social trends but on those decisions we make today regarding the allocation of resources.

We can expect significant growth in our minority older population in the near future. The aging populatih in general is predicted to double fa

the next 50 years. The numbers of non-white older adults, however, are expected to increase fourfold over the same period. What should concern us most is that those segments of the aging population growing most rapidly (old-old, women, minorities) are the same groups who have traditionally suffered most from poor health, isolation, and poverty in the past.

The life prospects for future older minorities and women will be tied to current policy changes in pension laws, Social Security, education, child support, and health care as well as to the long-term effects of antidiscrimination laws and affirmative action policies. While we know that current policies are exacerbating the economic and social hardships faced by today's minority older adults, it is unclear what the effects will be on future cohorts. Their future status will depend on the extent of public and private sector investment in the economic, educational, and social needs of today's younger minorities.

It is known that the single most important factor affecting economic well-being in retirement is one's economic condition over the life course. To ensure the security of the minority older population in the future, our best strategy is to improve the education and employment chances for today's young minorities. The future for aging Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native Americans can be brighter.

What we cannot allow is for the federal government to shirk its responsibility to meeting the needs of the most vulnerable in society or to reneg on its commitment to equal rights and equal opportunities. All Americans deserve the right to participate in the mainstream of our national life and all deserve the right to a secure and dignified old age. We have justification to pause for a moment and to be proud of all that has been accomplished for our older adults and minorities over the past 50 years. We should not pause too long, however. We can and we will do better.

Congressman Edward R. Roybal (D-CA) is Chairman of the Select Committee on Aging of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Aging Network News, March 1987