F L O R E N T I N A P E T I L L O

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D R . L I N D A J U S T U S

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The Future of Community-

Based Services and Education

Where will we be 15 years from now?

US senior population will be the largest in history

It will be one of the most diverse in the world

The members of this senior cohort: Will have a longer lifer expectancy than past

senior populations Will stay active longer and more engaged in the

community Will have one of the highest literacy level in

history Will be the first senior population in history

savvy in digital mediaWill continue to work and learn well into

retirement

Response of the Public and Private Sector

Congress will have to amend, adapt, add or change the legislation of the Older American Act of 1965 to keep up with the change of times.

Community-based businesses, who want to remain competitive on the market, will have to take advantage of the professional and life experience of the seniors. They will have to be flexible and recruitment savvy if they want to attract senior talent.

Education institutions will have to offer programs based on: the demographic make up of the elderly cohort; the economic reality of these seniors; employment opportunities for the low-income ones; other needs and desires of the still active or retired seniors.

Funds Resources

Federal funding is guaranteed by the OAA: Supportive Services and Senior Centers (Title III-B) Nutrition Services (Title III-C) National Family Caregiver Support Program (Title

III-E) Senior Community Service Employment Program

(Title V, SCSEP)

Examples of Federal Grants: The Foster Grandparent Program Retired and Senior Volunteer Program Capital Assistance Program for Elderly Persons and

Persons with Disabilities Mortgage Insurance-Rental Housing for the Elderly

Funds Resources (continuation)

Private funding is done through foundations, grants, fund raising events.

Examples of private grants: The AARP Foundation The Robert Wood Johnson

Foundation The MetLife Foundation The Henry and Jeannette

Weinberg Foundation, Inc.

Promoting and Valuing Diversity

1. Distance learning is ideally suited to include all segments of population:

“Distance learning not only has the potential to promote community building and cooperation among students, it also allows for considerable diversity. Disabilities or family commitments, for example, that might prohibit campus attendance can be overcome in the online environment.” (Schneider et all, 1997).

Promoting and Valuing Diversity

2. All inclusive policy should be the norm for adult education institutions:

“The recommendation for curriculum developers is to incorporate the cultural knowledge of adult learners so as not to marginalize them from the subject matter and thus to foster a more inclusive, democratic learning environment.” (Kubow, 2009)

Promoting and Valuing Diversity

3. Diversity - promotes community well being, community economic growth and financial growth of learning institutions, by an increase in student enrollment.

The quality of future education and the law

1. Community Higher Education institutions have to keep on maintaining high standards for the future in order to maintain their validity. This is true especially for distance education.

The quality of future education and the law

2. President Obama’s FY2013 budget proposes a new $1 billion competitive fund to increase the number of high-quality career academies across the country (Federal Adult Education, 2013)

The quality of future education and the law

3.“Online education provides the best prospect for the future of HE as long as the following barriers are conceded and addressed: methods of faculty assessment and course design” (Nash, 2015)

References

  Schneider, E. L., Glass, S., Henke, M., & Overton, J. (1997). Distance learning

in gerontology: The future is here. Generations,21(3), 46-49. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/212215125?accountid=35812

Kubow, P. K. (2009). GLOBALIZATION, DIVERSITY, AND THE SEARCH FOR CULTURALLY RELEVANT MODELS FOR ADULT EDUCATION. International Education, 39(1), 79-86. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/198674508?accountid=35812

US Department of Education, (2013). Federal Adult Education. A legislative History 1964-2013. Retrieved from https://lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/Adult_Ed_History_Report.pdf

Nash, J. A. (2015). Future of Online Education in Crisis: A Call to Action. Turkish Online Journal Of Educational Technology - TOJET, 14(2), 80-88. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1057370.pdf