Baby Boomers of Color: Implications for Social Work Policy and Practice

Policy, Practice, and Research Implications

EMBRACING A VIEW OF BOOMERS of color as possessing assets and strengths that can be incorporated into practice opens up a new world for social workers, along with numerous corresponding challenges. The future relevance of the social work profession lies in responding to emerging issues and opportunities, such as how the field addresses a “graying and browning” population.

The field will be ill prepared for the multitude of challenges in reaching and engaging boomer subgroups if it views the entire generation as a monolithic cohort. The profession’s ability to position itself strategically, including its willingness to take an open-minded and collaborative approach to boomers of color, opens up countless opportunities for innovative practice. This chapter outlines the implications and challenges for social work in meeting the projected needs of baby boomers of color over the next decade, and doing so while tapping their strengths and assets through an embrace of democratic participatory principles associated with social justice.

Gillick (2007) identifies the potential contributions that boomers can make to society, and themselves, if they enter retirement with the right frame of mind and requisite competencies/resources. If retirement is viewed as an end-stage without concrete plans for life beyond, the potential outcomes are negative. However, if soon-to-retire boomers embrace a paradigm that views this stage as an opportunity to reinvent themselves and embark on a new personal mission, then they are much more likely to realize positive outcomes. Boomers of color with lifelong low-wage jobs that provided an income, but minimal or no job satisfaction, are provided with an opportunity to engage in a new mission that is self-satisfying and rewarding for others.

The following recommendations for policy, practice, and research are an attempt to identify and support the potential key contributions of baby boomers of color. Finally, a special section on nursing homes will address the potential role they can play in being ready for future residents of color. These recommendations must be addressed and viewed with the classification and criteria covered in chapter 10.

COMMUNITY AS A FOCUS

The role and importance of community must be recognized and supported when attempting to tap boomer assets and increase their well-being (Kroff, 2012). The initiatives covered in this chapter all have community as a central context in mobilizing boomer assets. However, this centrality does not diminish the conceptual and practical challenges associated with incorporating community into initiatives (Delanty, 2003).

McDonough and Davitt (2011) emphasize the important role community can take in reaching boomers and older adults and advocate for the use of a “takes a village” model of community:

Not all aspects of aging in place can be addressed via volunteer services or at the community-level. Likewise, not all older adults will choose to remain in a particular community and thus a continuum of options is needed. We are not proposing a devolutionary response to long-term care services, whereby the community becomes the focal point and main provider of service. Rather, we are suggesting that Village initiatives have a role to play in supporting aging in place by expanding access to critical resources within communities and raising awareness of the need for long-term care. The rapidly-growing Village movement has presented a new community-based service medium for older adults who choose to age in their communities.

(McDonough & Davitt, 2011, 539)

Killett and colleagues (2010) identify the need and challenge of providing cost-effective community-based long-term care systems for boomers and older adults with mental illness, for example. These community-based services help minimize the social isolation associated with the stigma of having a mental illness diagnosis. Bartley and Bartley (2011), in a Canadian study of quality-of-life outcomes among Alzheimer’s disease family caregivers, found community-based interventions to be promising in meeting the multifaceted needs of caregivers.

Kerz, Teufel, and Dinman (2013) describe the impact of OASIS, a national nonprofit organization that stresses community-based programs focused on successful aging for boomers and older adults. Community is not only a context for services (Rowan, Faul, & Birkenmeier, 2011), it is also a context for research informing services. Valle, Garrett, and Velasquez (2013), for example, address dementia and the need for locally derived data on Latino/as for development of community-centered programming and services. Regardless of the need being addressed, community must take a prominent role whenever possible because it increases the likelihood of assets being mobilized in service to boomers—and for having boomers play important roles in these initiatives.

PREVENTION

There is a national and international call to increase prevention programs for baby boomers (Buckley et al., 2013). While prevention programs typically center around health issues (such as preventing obesity and thus hopefully avoiding the diseases that it can cause, for example), for the purposes of this discussion prevention will go beyond a narrow definition of health. Prevention can also apply to maintaining adequate housing, income, and companionship, for example. These areas wield considerable influence in shaping boomer well-being. Prevention programs can help address future boomer health care costs, as evidenced by the initiatives launched by the Administration on Aging (Tilly, 2010). However, a focus on financial costs should not come at the expense of humanitarian costs, for boomers, their families, and their communities.

Waidmann, Ormond, and Bovbjerg identified five prevention strategies that have a potential impact on boomers (as well as younger populations): (1) diabetes prevention, (2) smoking cessation, (3) HIV prevention, (4) multifactorial community initiatives (nutrition and physical activity), and (5) targeting health disparities. The authors, however, go on to issue a caution that bears noting: “It is important to note that we do not purport to reduce disease prevalence from current levels, but rather to simply slow the current rate of growth largely by preventing some fraction of new cases. Even with reductions … by 2030 each disease will have increased in prevalence, albeit by less than would have been the case without modeled reduction” (Waidmann, Ormond, & Bovbjerg, 2011, p. 3).

Prevention programs can tackle a vast number of quality of life issues. Buckley and colleagues (2013) stress the importance of prevention in reducing obesity and sedentary behavior. Kim, Szabo, and Marder (2012) highlight the importance of prevention of fractures, a common occurrence in aging groups. Hebert et al. (2013) focus on the importance of early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. McCullion, Ferretti, and Park (2013) draw attention to preventing financial abuse and exploitation of boomers and older adults. Finally, prevention of prescription medication and alcohol abuse is an important issue for many boomers (Benza, Calvert, & McQuown, 2010). Prevention takes on great prominence in the lives of boomers of color with health disparities.

FINANCIAL LITERACY AND RETIREMENT COUNSELING

Many boomers require assistance with the economic aspects associated with retirement, including financial guidance. This assistance takes on even greater importance in the case of boomers of color with lifetime low wages who, unlike their middle-class and upper-middle-class counterparts, have never had the benefit of financial counseling. The broadening of social work practice to encompass financial guidance represents a new dimension to practice.

This is not to say that social workers must become financial advisers. However, they must possess a working knowledge of this field and have access to financial adviswrs who can provide in-depth advice. Financial-related services can encompass one or more of the following: (1) development of user-friendly software to explore retirement planning, (2) improvement of financial literacy education to increase understanding and motivation, and (3) creation of programs to encourage greater savings (Brucker & Leppel, 2013). Other helping professions are assisting boomers with their retirement decisions. Adams and Rau (2011), for example, address the role that psychologists can play in helping boomers better prepare for transition to retirement.

Wilson and colleagues (2009) argue for social workers to play important broker and advocate roles in helping boomers navigate financial spheres. Social workers are in an excellent position to aid in this retirement transition because of our knowledge of community, and community resources, which can be marshaled to aid boomers. Birkenmaier, Sherraden, and Curley (2013) stress the importance of social workers being financially literate, with implications for work with marginalized groups such as boomers of color.

SUPPORTING CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

Social workers and human service organizations would be irresponsible if they did not actively provide boomers of color with meaningful options for further serving their communities and society. Supporting civic engagement also means supporting lifelong learning because of the training, consultation, and other supports associated with services.

The encouragement of new models of civic engagement is needed since this generation is unlike any previous generation and the country has changed so dramatically socially, economically, and culturally. These models must take into account sexual identity, racial and ethnic backgrounds, cultural values and acculturation, and the financial needs of boomers of color. There also is a call for civic engagement opportunities to be tailored to the needs and expectations of boomer men and women, considering the influence of gender (Moon & Flood, 2013). As has been previously mentioned, these new models for civic engagement must have some form of financial supports for boomers who retired but have done so from jobs which were low wage.

Providing assistance to low-income/low-wealth boomers and older adults in securing employment and volunteer positions that pay a stipend or wages is a role that ties into social work’s historical mission of working with the economically disadvantaged: “By reducing barriers to employment, people may discover an underutilized path to well-being for low-income older adults and the communities in which they live. This is especially important for those living closest to the cusp of poverty and at greatest risk of disparities in health and well-being. By increasing the understanding of employment for low-income older adults, moving aging to the forefront, forming strong coalitions, and finding champions to advance the issue, social workers have an opportunity to be a leading force in this worthy national effort” (Anderson et al., 2013, p. 332).

Another critical way to support boomers is to have curriculum on civic engagement and boomers/older adults in schools of social work and other helping professions. Welleford and Netting (2012), for example, advocate for the integration of aging and civic engagement into curricula as a means of better preparing helping professions face the growing challenge of meeting the needs of baby boomers and older adults.

ROLE OF HUMAN SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS

Human and social service organizations represent the cornerstone of any formal service delivery system (Furman & Gibelman, 2013). These institutions often represent the focal point of policies directed at specific population groups. These organizations, in turn, must resist the forces that emphasize the status quo and instead represent a willingness to entertain new ways of conceptualizing and delivering services to reach undervalued groups, such as low-income and low-wealth boomers of color.

The Corporation for National and Community Service challenges organizations to think creatively about engaging baby boomers: “To attract Baby Boomers to volunteering, experts on aging agree that nonprofit groups and others must boldly rethink the types of opportunities they offer—to ‘re-imagine’ roles for older American volunteers that cater to Boomers’ skills and desire to make their mark in their own way. This is vitally important to ensuring that the potential of this vast resource is tapped to its fullest” (quoted in Eccleston & Priestman, 2007, p. 4).

Increasing responsiveness and effectiveness in reaching marginalized subgroups within the boomer population remains a goal that all human service organizations must strive to achieve. The development and support of a service infrastructure that is prepared to meet the diverse cultural and linguistic needs of boomers is probably the biggest current challenge facing the field of gerontology (Beach & Langeland, 2010; Culp, 2009; Cummings et al., 2011; Williamson, 2008b; Weaver, 2011).

Effectively serving boomers requires new models for outreach and engagement that are responsive to the social, economic, and political realties of the early part of the millennium. Creation of a supportive organizational environment requires a comprehensive and ecologically sensitive examination of how transition to retirement for a subgroup of a generation that has, with notable exceptions, faced incredible challenges to survive to the age of retirement.

Cultural competence from a multifaceted perspective will play an influential role in this transition:

As both the workforce caring for aging Americans and the aging population itself grow more diverse along multiple dimensions, the need for increased awareness and understanding of cultural factors also increases. In fact, the care demands for the aging—often extending beyond brief encounters into extended episodes of home or nursing care—heighten the need for cultural competence. Interventions to enhance cultural competence can and should be embedded in broader efforts to enhance communication skills both within the workforce and with aging clients.

(Parker, 2010–2011, p. 97)

Although the importance of cultural competence is well recognized in social work, its importance will increase in significance as boomers of color seek services: “Our ‘one size fits all’ service model is outdated and becoming increasingly irrelevant. Yet, current challenges such as downturns in the economy and backlash against immigrant communities make it even more difficult to uphold the social contract and continue to provide services to all members of our society” (Stanford, Yee, & Rivas, 2009, p. 187).

Senior centers need to make dramatic changes in order to be more attractive to boomers and those of color if they are to remain viable for this new generation of older adults. Racial and ethnic diversity factors, for example, wield significant influence on types of activities and composition of participants (Giunta et al., 2012). “Significant concerns exist that current senior center programs will not appeal to baby boomers, making it difficult to recruit them as either volunteers or participants” (Jensen & Little, 2008, p. 4).

There is a need for research to increase our understanding of the influence of diversity within senior centers (Giunta et al., 2012). How will senior centers respond to an ever increasing membership with preferences for languages other than English or food that appeals to a wide variety of ethnic groups? The answer will have profound social ramifications for senior centers across the country.

Cultural competence is about human service organizations meeting the unique cultural values and preferences of boomers of color in the interest of providing relevant and effective services. Cultural competence, in addition, is a dynamic concept that needs to respond to an ever changing context and environment and take into account the role of oppression in all aspects of assessment and intervention development. In this sense, cultural competence cannot be separate from social justice.

Participatory democracy is also an essential element of organizational empowerment and cultural competence. The degree to which boomers want to play an active role in the decision-making process related to health care, for example, highlights significant differences based upon cultural values (Levinson et al., 2005). The extent to which health-related organizations incorporate boomers into their decision making goes a long way toward making these institutions effective.

The role of alternative and complementary medicine also enters into boomer health-seeking patterns and this, too, must be understood by health providers, particularly those serving boomers of color who are newcomers (Senzon, 2010). Consequently, service delivery models that can incorporate alternative and complementary medicine hold much promise for reaching boomers and older adults with low levels of acculturation, and these must be supported from an organizational perspective.

Social work and other helping professions will be called upon to successfully help baby boomers of color transition into older adulthood and access the services that are often needed in this life stage. Jacobsen and colleagues, as addressed in chapter 3, make an important observation about the importance of demographic characteristics shaping the baby boomer experience as they enter retirement: “Baby boomers transformed U.S. age structure and society as they moved through each life cycle stage, and they will do so again as they enter retirement. It is not only their sheer numbers that will determine their economic and social impact, but also their characteristics” (Jacobsen et al., 2011, p. 14).

The need for innovative thinking with regard to serving and engaging boomers in general and those of color in particular will determine the success or failure of older adult serving organizations in engaging this cohort (National Council on Aging, 2010). Institutions that serve older adults need to be creative in how they structure and deliver services that are attuned to boomers’ cultural values (Gonyea, 2009). This book represents one effort at helping to bridge the gap between current older adult services and the needs and assets of a new generation.

RESEARCH

Research will play an influential role in shaping programs, initiatives, and services targeting boomers of color, as specifically addressed in chapter 10. More attention must be paid to racial and/or ethnic factors, for example. We can also change how social workers undertake research to inform our practice. Crewe (2004), for example, challenges social workers to undertake ethnogerontological research as a way of informing practice that is culturally competent and responsive to social-ecological forces. Cultural competence, however, must go beyond ethnicity and race and address sexual identity, abilities, and factors such as acculturation (Muracz & Akinsulure-Smith, 2013). Research sensitive to community context is particularly relevant in helping social workers understand and address the needs of boomers of color within a comprehensive context that does not ignore assets.

The use of participatory action research (active and meaningful participation and decision making of residents) offers much progress for use with boomers and older adults, as it has with other marginalized groups (Blair & Minkler, 2009). Moxley and Washington (2013), for example, describe the use of a highly innovative community participatory research approach toward homeless boomer and older adult African American women, stressing personal support and social action. Just as important, research that furthers our understanding of strengths and assets brings an added and much needed perspective.

Scharlach and Sanchez (2010) present an innovative model that bridges the divide often found between research and practice involving Latino/a older adults, but has applicability for boomers and other seniors of color. Their project commenced as a community-participatory needs assessment and evolved into a collaborative model for engaging this undervalued population.

The use of photovoice (an arts-based research method that relies on images and narratives on the part of the individual taking the photographs) with baby boomers has great potential, but has generally been overlooked, with a few exceptions (see for example Rosen, Goodkind & Smith, 2011; Yankeslov et al., 2013). Photovoice has enjoyed a tremendous amount of popularity across multiple undervalued or marginalized groups (Delgado & Humm-Delgado, 2013). This form of research can be used to assess needs, and is founded upon empowering and participatory principles. Digital storytelling, too, offers much promise to capture the voices of boomers whose lives have been overlooked but have much to share about their experiences (Lambert, 2012).

SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION

Social work education must assume an active role, if not one of leadership, in shaping how helping professions meet the current and projected needs of boomers of color. There are no facets that are exempt; in this section, however, I will highlight some of key importance.

Building the capacity of the profession to address issues of finances (Birkenmaier et al., 2013), for example, is of critical importance, as addressed earlier in this chapter and book. Their transition to retirement requires careful attention to their financial needs (Jokela, Hendrickson, & Haynes, 2013). These needs, incidentally, have profound impact on their families and communities (Delgado, 2011). In essence, helping professions need to embrace a socioecological view of these boomers.

Boomers, it should be reemphasized, may be both caregivers as well as care receivers. Toseland, Hagler, and Monahan (2011) stress the importance of caregivers and the role that education can play in helping providers as well as caregivers themselves. This attention, however, must be tailored to the sociodemographic characteristics of caregivers because they are not monolithic. It must also take into account the types of illnesses they are helping with. The heavy emotional and physical toll taken on cancer caregivers, for example, can manifest itself in health issues (Goodheart, 2012), calling for interventions to support these caregivers. Alzheimer’s disease caregivers, too, face risks for health consequences (Mausbach et al., 2013). Many caregivers face stressors unique to the illnesses they are caring for.

The role and importance of nontraditional settings in the lives of boomers and older adults of color set the stage of social work education initiatives involving these institutions (Delgado, 1999). Development of field placements in social agencies that are currently in a position to engage nontraditional settings as part of outreach, education, and service provision helps prepare social workers for practice with boomers. These efforts at establishing innovative education and service models can be modified for reaching other groups that are marginalized and invisible.

Social work–focused initiatives targeting boomers of color, in similar fashion to the Hartford Geriatric Social Work Institute (Hooyman, 2009), can serve to produce practitioners and scholars with specific competencies to reach this population group. International and cross-cultural opportunities in gerontology open up opportunities for scholars and students to broaden their perspective of boomers (Martin et al., 2012).

Ferguson and Shriver issue a challenge to social work gerontologists to narrow the structural lag that exists in this field of practice, and this certainly has implications for how the profession addresses boomers of color: “To best prepare for the future needs of the older population and for gerontological social work, social work leadership must be more involved in dialogue at the national level about policies that effect the growing older population…. To be engaged at the policy level, social workers must be informed about the issues that contribute to the lag including issues of supply and demand, professional turf, skimpy evidence base, and role definition” (Fergusan & Shriver, 2012, p. 318).

Provision of scholarships and stipends targeted specifically to prepare a cadre of social workers for practice in the twenty-first century are urgently needed. Providing opportunities at key social work practice, research, and education conferences, too, will highlight the importance of micro, mezzo, and macro practice and scholarship focused on boomers of color. Having social work faculty interested in the boomer cohort will influence student interests in this group (Wang et al., 2013). These and other special educational initiatives will help the profession assume a leadership role in service to this age cohort.

THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

The increased prominence of technology and social media will continue to wield influence in the lives of boomers as they age: “Computers and the Internet offer older adults resources for improving health. For many older adults, the ‘Digital Divide’ (the social, economic, and demographic factors that exist between individuals who use computers and those who do not) is a barrier to taking advantage of these resources. Bridging the Digital Divide by making computers and the Internet more accessible and making online health information more usable for older adults have the potential to improve health of older adults” (Cresci & Jarosz, 2010, p. 455).

The digital divide is particularly pronounced when examining lifetime low-income boomers of color, even though technology and social media can play a positive role in keeping them in contact with distant relatives, giving them access to health and social services, and providing them with an opportunity to achieve lifelong learning (Cresci, Yarandi & Morrell, 2010a, b; Gilmour, 2007).