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Thank you very much for this opportunity to appear before you. Mr. O'HARA. Thank you, Mr. Kuplan. I wanted to note in passing that your statement is evidence of the fact that you have done a good deal of thinking about the problems of the aged. You have presented very effectively the argument supporting an independent agency rather than the office within the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Dr. Gordon very ably presented the other viewpoint. Thank you for appearing before us. Mr. Giaimo, do you have any questions?

Mr. GIAIMO. Well, I just have a-I would like to ask your thoughts on it, Mr. Kuplan. If you carry your theory to an extreme, you start planning then for the aging with children.

Mr. KUPLAN. Yes.

Mr. GIAIMO. Now, I don't think this should be the function of the Federal Government, because then you are going to get into all aspects of a man's life, and we are going to be having a planned society, which I don't think any of us would want, so don't we have to limit ourselves to, really to some of the problems, sociological problems facing the senior citizens, the fact that is the problem, and forgetting for the moment the welfare problems, but thinking basically of the problems confronting our senior citizens today, that as our society is set up economically and socially, they are compelled to stop becoming active participants in it, say at an arbitrary age of 65, or whatever the retirement laws are, their economic condition is reduced to a minimal standard and then asked to subsist and survive as best they can in an inactive status. Isn't that a basic problem?

Mr. KUPLAN. Well, I think I would like to argue with you on that. Mr. GIAIMO. I mean so far as the Federal Government is concerned, I am not talking about what other groups can do as individuals in a free manner, free volunteer manner, but once the Federal Government starts planning for a man's old age when he is at the high school level, he is starting to plan this man's whole life, which I don't think anybody would want.

Mr. KUPLAN. My comments along those lines were not in relation to having the Government do this planning. I would agree with you we don't want to have the Government planning so much of our programs.

Mr. GIAIMO. In fact, we don't want any.

Mr. KUPLAN. My concern was, you don't limit the work of the agency on an age basis, because I was trying to point out actually the problems of the late years given in the earlier years.

Mr. GIAIMO. Sure.

Mr. KUPLAN. So that if we can encourage the local agency to think about it, not necessarily from an agency standpoint, but if the overall planning is such that we prevent so-called problems of aging by having the local association that should have responsibility in education and welfare doing the job, I think we can reach the point where we stop much of the work on this problem, because people will have been enabled to make an adjustment in earlier years because of what they earned earlier. I don't want the Government moving in to tell the school department, you have to do this or that. I don't believe any Government agency has any right to move in on any local agency or community and say, this is what is good for you, this is what you

should do, but provide the literature and thought which can come only from a licensed Government agency, whether Federal or State. Mr. GIAIMO. I am in wholehearted accord with you. Thank you. Mr. O'HARA. Thank you very much.

Mr. KUPLAN. Thank you for the opportunity.

Mr. O'HARA. Mr. Jenkins.

STATEMENT OF THOMAS M. JENKINS, ESQUIRE, ATTORNEY, REPRESENTING SOME HOMES FOR THE AGED

Mr. JENKINS. Mr. Chairman, my name is Thomas M. Jenkins. I am an attorney who represents some homes for the aged, but I would prefer to speak very briefly here this morning from another viewpoint, and that is from experiences as a volunteer, not an expert in any way, in the field of the aging in various programs for the aging in the city and county of San Francisco.

As a member of the social planning committee of the county community fund and from experiences as a member of the United Crusade and other similar type agencies.

After the White House Conference on the Aging, and the Governor's Conference on the Aging, it was felt in San Francisco that some action must be taken to attempt to coordinate problems relating to the aging in that community. With the help of the Ford Foundation, some year or year and a half ago, a program was instituted which is known as the San Francisco Program for the Aged, which consists of about 150 volunteers from all fields of private and public agencies, including such diverse fields as the San Francisco Medical Society, representatives of the department of health, welfare, and education, most of the public agencies in San Francisco, all of the private agencies in San Francisco concerned with various areas of the aging.

I am not sure what we have learned yet, because this is a 3-year program, but I would simply like to take a moment to emphasize that as a result of our first studies for the past year I have had the privilege of serving as chairman of the committee on the health need. We have divided ourselves into health, employment, housing, recreation, and education.

One think we have noted is that there is a definite lack of coordinated planning in the various fields with which we are concerned. There have been innumerable studies on a local level. There wasn't anyone who had brought together these various studies in order to arrive at a program of action. It seemed to me, and I speak only personally and not for the program or any of the officers thereof, that we must continue to maintain local control so far as is humanly possible of these programs. That this is a grassroots program, that those things which have been mentioned to you earlier by Dr. Gordon, Dr. Kuplan, Mr. Pryor, are all true, but they are recognized as truth nationally, that we are concerned with a problem of integrating our senior citizens into society, not setting up separate programs which put them off by themselves.

We have found locally that we are concerned with preventive problems in the health field, for example, and I think it was mentioned to you by Mr. Pryor. We don't have a problem with a well baby clinic

in San Francisco, but we don't have a well adult clinic, and this is the first need; for example, this we found was agreed upon by everybody concerned, that what we want to do in San Francisco is attempt to set up a health screening program for the normally healthy person and integrate them into the programs of the youth, integrate them into our child program, into our normal everyday program. I would like to say that I personally have some serious doubts about a separate agency of the Government, and I would then, therefore, be disagreeing somewhat with Mr. Kuplan who just spoke a completely separate agency of the Government which might end up as a separate budgetary group seeking funds, then being in a position to do the very thing that Congressman Giaimo talked about, seek to plan our lives down to the lowest level.

I think there is a need for leadership, I think there is a need for coordination. I would personally feel that making it a part of an existing agency where that agency is familiar with the problems of the other segments of our community and relate the two together would be something which this committee should give serious consideration to. Thank you.

Mr. O'HARA. Thank you, Mr. Jenkins. I was interested to learn of the Ford Foundation's activity in San Francisco. I had not been aware of that fact, although I am sure some of the staff was. I would be very interested, and I know the committee and the Congress would be interested, in learning of the results of the Ford Foundation activity here in San Francisco on the programs of the aged. When you are ready to make a report-I am not suggesting you should report to us, but I imagine your activity involves a report of findings— on the results of the Ford Foundation activity, we would be interested in seeing it.

Mr. JENKINS. Yes, Congressman O'Hara. Obviously, the funds which are being given to us by the Ford Foundation, it is expected that a full and adequate report will be made to them of our findings, and we would be most happy to present to the Congress even our interim findings as they are arrived at in the event that they might be of assistance. We would be very happy to give you the details of the program and its characteristics."

Mr. O'HARA. We hope you will send them to us. There is a very exciting program, exciting to me anyway, for out-of-school, out-ofwork youth in the Detroit area of Michigan. We are aware, too, of the very excellent program that was established with Ford Foundation support in New York City with regard to education in parts of the city. The program is mainly for students who have been culturally deprived and have not had the environment and background necessary for learning.

Mr. JENKINS. This program is of course extremely interesting to San Francisco, simply, to us as volunteers, it has excited the interest of a large number of responsible people in the community who are actively concerned with this as one segment of the problems that face any community, and we are quite grateful to the Ford Foundation for its interest.

Mr. O'HARA. Mr. Giaimo? Do you have any questions?

Mr. GIAIMO. No questions, but I do want to thank you, Mr. Jenkins. You know we have a habit, we have had a habit in the past of inde

pendent commissions and separate commissions, then we realize they get unworkable, we pull them all together under a new department, then we decide it is time to start all over again. I think they should be considered very carefully.

(Discussion off the record.)

Mr. JENKINS. Thank you very much for the opportunity.

Mr. O'HARA. Thank you very much.

(The following was received from Mr. Jenkins:)

UNITED COMMUNITY FUND OF SAN FRANCISCO,

San Francisco, Calif., May 4, 1962.

Hon. JAMES O'HARA,
House Office Building,

Washington, D.C.

DEAR MR. O'HARA :

Please pardon the delay in furnishing you the information you requested from Mr. Thomas M. Jenkins re the San Francisco program for the aging when you met at the hearing on the aged and aging before the Subcommittee on Education of the House Committee on Education and Labor, held in Berkeley March 31, 1962.

The San Francisco program for the aging, which grew out of the Mayor's Conference on Aging in 1960 and five previous public hearings, is a 3-year demonstration program of the United Community Fund of San Francisco, financed by the Ford Foundation and the Junior League of San Francisco. Its objective is to provide more adequate services to the aging through more effective use and coordination of existing resources.

Structurally it consists of a community committee of nearly 200 persons and working committees in 5 major problem areas, namely, employment, housing, health, recreation, and casework services. From time to time each of these committees employs the use of subcommittees in order to help it come to satisfactory conclusions on its programs. The executive committee, which coordinates the work of these committees and which carries overall responsibility for the program, includes in its membership the chairman of the committees.

Plans of these committees for action are at different stages of development. The health, medical care and rehabilitation committee is completing a proposal for health screening of the aging which is to be carried on under the sponsorship of the San Francisco Medical Society. Its purpose is to reach isolated persons and those who have neglected their health and to make appropriate referrals and do followup to assure that health and social services are effective.

The casework services committee has focused its attention on casework counseling for the aging with a view to stimulating existing agencies to provide or extend such services. As a result of the committee's efforts, the Family Service Agency is furnishing casework service to the Senior Centers of the Council of Churches, and this agency is also participating in the Ford Foundation staff training project for casework with the aging.

The education, recreation and group services committee is working on a project in connection with Canon Kip Neighborhood Center whereby they will employ a "reaching out" social worker to attempt to find older persons in social need in the south-of-market district and at the same time hope to develop simple facilities to meet such elemental needs as warmth, a place to sit and read papers, a place to meet other people. They have also done basic work on the population over 65 and its whereabouts in order to intelligently plan the future development of services to the aged.

The employment, preretirement preparation and income maintenance committee held an invitational meeting on January 30, 1962, at which community manpower centers, skill research, skill development, rehabilitation, and counseling were discussed. They have also made a study of preretirement programs in 12 industries in San Francisco.

The housing committee has actively cooperated with public and private housing groups. It has assembled a great deal of data on housing in San Francisco, is active in evaluation of present housing for the elderly, and a housing referral service, and is in the process of developing a policy statement re housing for the elderly. The San Francisco Housing Authority has several times consulted this committee and the executive committee regarding problems of elderly tenants and has been most cooperative in reserving quarters for such people in its projects.

The public relations committee serves all committees, publishes a newsletter, and is presently engaged in sponsoring a radio program on the various proposals for medical care for the aged.

I'm enclosing copies of the SPA newsletters, the minutes of the special meeting of the employment committee, and the report on "Preretirement Preparation Programs in 12 Industries" as illustrations of some of our activities.

It is hardly necessary to assure you that the San Francisco Program for the Aging is most anxious to cooperate with you in any manner that will forward our mutual objective of assisting the elderly.

Sincerely yours,

AUSTIN MORRIS,

Chairman, Executive Committee, San Francisco Program for the Aging.

SAN FRANCISCO PROGRAM FOR THE AGING-REPORT ON INTERVIEWS WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF 12 LARGE INDUSTRIES REGARDING PRERETIREMENT PREPARATION PROGRAMS

I. PURPOSE

The executive committee, San Francisco Program for the Aging charged the committee on employment, preretirement preparation and income maintenance to "Stimulate preretirement preparation programs among public and private employers, offer consultation in planning and use of speakers bureau."" The subcommittee on preretirement preparation decided that information regarding existing programs in industry, as well as attitudes of employers on the subject was prerequisite to the delineation of the committee's goals and its role in carrying out this charge.

II. METHOD

It was decided to secure this information through personal interviews rather than questionnaires because of the subjective nature of some of the information sought.

A sample of 13 large firms was selected, using as criteria: (1) major diversified types of industry; and (2) headquartered in San Francisco. One firm was deleted from the study subsequently.2

A schedule designed to obtain comparable data and to serve as a guide to the interviewer was prepared by the director of SPA in consultation with a SPA committee member (who is a supervisor of retirement for a large industry) and the research department, United Community Fund.

Company officials responsible for administering employee benefits were interviewed by a SPA staff member who was available to the project 2 days per week. Firm visits were conducted during the period September 26, 1961, to January 5, 1962. Interviews, which ranged from one-half hour to 24 hours in length, were arranged in advance by telephone or through formal written requests.

III. FINDINGS

Because relationships exist between compulsory retirement plans and employee benefits and both are related to problems of retirement, information concerning these subjects was obtained.

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Charge to the committee on employment, preretirement preparation and income maintenance, Mar. 6, 1961.

2 Not headquartered in San Francisco.

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