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FROM THE BLOG
Alison Barkoff, Acting Administrator and Assistant Secretary
for Aging
Each year during Older
Americans Month, we celebrate the vital contributions of the
older adults whose knowledge, expertise, and talents make our communities
stronger. We also celebrate the aging services network that works in every
community across the country to empower older people to live independently,
remain engaged, and participate in community life.
As part of our celebration of Older Americans Month, today we
are publishing our annual Profile of
Older Americans report, which sheds light on the
demographics and experiences of older adults living in the community. Most
of the report is based on information from 2019 (the most recent year from
which we have complete data), but it also pulls data from a variety of
sources to look at the catastrophic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on
older Americans.
For example, the report captures the mental health toll of the
pandemic on older Americans, especially toward the end of 2020, with people
over the age of 80 reporting the largest increase in symptoms of anxiety
and depression. Unemployment increased, and workforce participation
decreased, for older adults during the pandemic. Most staggering, nearly
80% of those we have lost to COVID-19 have been older adults.
Older adults have persevered through the disproportionate
challenges they have faced during the pandemic, and they have played an
important role in helping our nation weather this crisis. The aging
services network has been nothing short of heroic throughout the pandemic,
as well. On the front lines of a national health crisis, the network put
themselves at risk, formed new partnerships, and developed new ways to
deliver services in order to meet ever-increasing needs for services.
Across the country, the aging network has been helping older adults get
vaccinated, developing innovative programs to combat social isolation,
ensuring that the voices of older adults are heard by local leaders, and so
much more.
As we consider the last 16 months, example after example
illustrates that older adults, and the aging services network, are crucial
to keeping our nation strong. This year’s theme for Older Americans Month
is “Communities of Strength,” and it is clear that we could not have chosen
better.
As vaccination numbers increase, we can see glimpses of life
returning to normal. As we look forward to older adults being able to
safely resume their important roles in families and communities, and as we
work to build back better, we have an unprecedented opportunity to
strengthen the programs and systems that help older adults stay active and
connected in the community. We have an opportunity to advance policies that
increase access to home and community-based services and to better support,
and value, family caregivers and direct support professionals. And we are
seizing those opportunities.
The American Rescue Plan included $1.4 billion
in additional funding for Older Americans Act programs, as well as $12.7 billion
in additional funding to states for Medicaid home and
community-based services that help people with disabilities of all ages
avoid nursing homes and other institutions. And ACL has partnered
with CDC to provide $100 million in funding for the disability
and aging networks to promote vaccine access.
In addition to the impact of COVID-19, the Profile illustrates that
older Americans are a diverse population that is growing even more diverse.
In 2019, nearly one in four older Americans identified as a racial or
ethnic minority. We know that diversity of experiences is one of the great
sources of a community’s strength. We also know that people from racial and
ethnic minority populations often are marginalized and face
disproportionate financial hardships, and this year’s Profile reflects that
reality. Among older adults, 18% of African Americans, 17.1% of Hispanic
Americans, and 9.7% of Asian Americans lived in poverty, compared with 6.8%
of non-Hispanic white Americans. And the median annual income of older
women was more than $15,000 less than that of older men.
Populations who face multiple forms of marginalization can
face even higher rates of poverty. For example, almost a third of older
Black and Hispanic women who lived alone experienced poverty. We also have
witnessed the devastating consequences of inequity over the past year as
communities of color have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19
pandemic.
That’s why ACL, and the entire administration, are committed
to addressing these long-standing disparities and building a commitment to
equity into every aspect of our work and advocacy.
Finally, as it does every year, this year’s Profile reinforces the
importance of the work we all do together to support the health and
independence of older people.
- More than 40% of the baby
boomers are now 65 and older, and the total number of older adults has
increased by 36% in the last ten years. By 2040, that number is
expected to grow by nearly 50% more.
- The overwhelming majority
of older adults live in the community -- only about 2% of people over
the age of 64 live in nursing homes.
- Most have at least one
chronic health condition, and many have more than one.
- Nearly 20% reported that
they had a lot of difficulty with seeing, hearing, mobility,
communication, cognition, and/or self-care.
- While many receive support
from family and other informal caregivers, this year’s Profile shows that
many also are caregivers themselves – more than one million
grandparents ages 60 and older were responsible for the basic needs of
at least one grandchild under the age of 18.
That’s why we are working so hard to expand and improve our
country’s system of providing the support people need to live
independently, participate in communities, and maintain economic
self-sufficiency. And it’s why I am so excited by the possibilities offered
by the American
Jobs Plan, which includes an investment of $400 billion to
expand the services that make community living possible and to support
well-paying jobs with benefits for the workforce that provides that direct
care.
I hope you will take a moment to read through this year’s Profile of
Older Americans, and I encourage everyone in our
networks to consider how the data can inform and advance our advocacy for
older adults, and for continuing to build and support communities of
strength.
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