Legislation

Older Americans Act Project Management: Legal Duties and Responsibilities. The College of Law, Ohio State University at Columbus. 1976. 192 pp. annotated. index. No price listed.

This manual presents the findings of a year-long project conducted by the College of Law of the Ohio State University and funded by the Ohio Commission on Aging. The project staff, headed by Charles Thompson, studied the provisions of the Older Americans Act and other Federal and Ohio statutes which define the duties and responsibilities of those who provide services to the elderly. The handbook is intended for use by agencies and organizations. It offers an overview of the principal legal issues involved in operating a program and outlines potential problem areas. The introduction notes that it is not intended as a complete guide to the operation of any program but is rather a general explanation of the legal duties and potential liabilities involved in accepting a grant or entering into a contract to operate an Older Americans Act program.

A major area of discussion in this manual deals with the potential legal liability of the grantees for injuries caused intentionally or negligently by their employees and volunteers while engaged in program activities. These questions

are analyzed in terms of Ohio law rather than Federal or local law. Liability insurance is also analyzed as it relates to questions of liability for injuries.

Chapters include information on the nature of a Federal grant, HEW regulations, Title III and VII program regulations, and Title VII Grants from the Ohio Commission on Aging. Procurement and contract terms and procedures, the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act, equal services for older Americans, and Equal Employment Opportunities are also discussed.

Other sections deal with requirements of State and local laws, the

Fair Labor Standards Act, workmen's and unemployment compensation, retirement and disability plans, tax exemptions for nonprofit organizations, and insur

ance.

Nutrition

Mass Media and Nutrition Education. Society for Nutrition Education, 2140 Shattuck Ave., Suite 1110, Berkeley, Calif. 94704. $4.00.

This monograph is a compilation of readings from the Journal of Nutrition Education and the Society for Nutrition Education Newsletter, both published by the Society. Topics covered include: potential uses of mass media in nutrition education; planning and implementing mass media nutrition education programs; reaching and influencing mass media; and regulations affecting food advertising. Many of the collected readings relate to the use of television. Health educators, nutrition councils, consumer organizations, and others interested in improving the effectiveness of nutrition education via the media will find this an ideal resource tool.

Physical Fitness

Exercises While You Watch T.V. Sickroom Service, Inc. 2534 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., Milwaukee, Wis. 53207. 1976. 32 pp. $1.25.

This book is intended for the inactive, especially the elderly and handicapped. The book contains exercises used by those in wheelchairs to avert the physical deterioration that accompanies a sedentary way of life.

Included are exercises to tone up muscles and to improve circulation and digestion. A maximum of 15 exercises a day is advised, along with regular exercising. This is a compact, practical, and useful guide which includes illustrations of the exercises and charts to record the number of exercises performed.

Training

Gerontology Practitioner Training Manual: Communication Skills in the Gerontological Environment. Vol.

III in a Series of Programmed Training Modules on Gerontology. By Lois Greenberg et al. The Gerontology Center, Amy Gardner House, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa. 1976. 78 pp. $12.00.

This is a manual for a 10-hour program (in five parts) intended to teach communication skills in working with the elderly. Section I orients the trainer, outlining the recommended qualifications of those involved and methods of evaluation. Section II contains lecture material and exercises to be covered in five sessions. This section discusses both verbal and non-verbal communication, as well as communication distortion. Subsequent sections include evaluation instruments, auxiliary charts, and a bibliography.

The authors state that the course is designed for participants with college or vocational training. The text is designed to work best with groups of individuals having similar occupational and educational backgrounds. This handbook is intended to be used for in-service training conducted by agencies concerned with aging, for information dissemination, and as a tool for job promotion.

The authors provide two types of evaluation instruments including an attitudinal pre-test/post-test to measure the effect of the course on its participants, and a course reaction form which asks for the participants evaluation of various aspects of the course.

Robin Karasik, Celia Berdes, and Carol Von Steenberg,

KWIK, Training Resources in Aging Project. Duke University Medical Center. A Curriculum for Social Work Personnel in Long-Term Health Care Facilities. By Helen Gossett (ed.). Social National Association of Workers, 2 Park Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016. 1975. 129 pp. No price listed.

This curriculum contains units on barriers to the care of the aged, the aged in society, problems and needs of long-term care residents, implementation and practice of effective long-term care, and social work ethics. Model planning documents appear in the appendices.

The book is intended for training social work practitioners in longterm health care facilities including degree-holding social workers, agency-trained social workers, and those who have had previous social work training only in the context of the nursing home.

The curriculum can be used by in-service trainers and social work consultants in their work with prospective medical social workers. The book can also give students a perspective on social work skills needed in a nursing home setting, such as inter-disciplinary teamwork and integrating multiple social work approaches.

The author suggests that the effectiveness of this curriculum in training can be measured by changes in attitudes, ability to use the diagnostic method, and to compose an evaluative diagnostic statement.

Robin Karasik, Celia Berdes, and Carol Von Steenberg,

aging

DONALD SMITH

Director

National Clearinghouse on Aging JUNE B. FARIS

Editor

PATRICIA ROWE

Editorial Assistant

Published since June 1951, Contents may be reproduced or reprinted without permission, but credit to Aging is appreciated.

Subscriptions ($5.05 for a year, $1.30 additional for foreign mailing except to Canada, or 70¢ for single copies) should be addressed to Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D.C. 20402.

All other communications may be sent directly to Editor of Aging, Administration on Aging, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Washington, D.C. 20201.

Use of funds for printing this publication approved by the Director of the Bureau of the Budget, October 31, 1966.

DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED-Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states: "No person in the United States shall on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." Therefore, the programs discussed in this publication, like every program or activity receiving financial assistance from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, must be operated in compliance with this law.

On Sept. 30, President Ford

signed two bills dealing with Veterans' pensions. The Veterans' and Survivors' Pension Adjustment Act of 1976 (P.L. 94-432) reforms the non-service connected disability and death pension program to increase the benefits for recipients and dependents. Among the more important provisions of the Act is the permanent continuation of the 8% increase in pension rates and the $300 increase in annual income limitations that were provided in P.L. 94-169 due to have expired on Oct. 1. The Act also provides for a 7% increase, effective Jan. 1, 1977, in both pension rates and maximum annual income limitations. The increased rates take into account the rising cost of living in 1976, and the increased maximum annual income limitations are designed to mitigate the reduction in benefits due to the July 1, 1976 social security cost-ofliving increase.

The Act includes an additional 25% increase in benefits to veterans who are 78 or older, many of whom have incomes below the poverty level, even with their pensions. The Act includes a provision directing the Veterans' Administration to conduct a comprehensive analysis of income characteristics of present and future pension recipients, existing inequities in the program, and current and proposed income exclusions. On the basis of this information the Administrator is charged with investigating alternative proposals that would assure adequate and equitable assistance to veterans in need.

The Veterans' Disability Compensation and Survivor Benefits Act of 1976 (P.L. 94-433) amends the service-connected disability persion

program. Among the provisions of the Act is an across-the-board 8% increase in pension rates for disabled veterans, dependents, and survivors. This increase includes basic compensation rates and statutory awards relating to more serious disabilities. It also includes additional allowances for spouses, children, and dependent parents which are paid to veterans rated 50% or more disabled; and dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) paid to surviving spouses or children of veterans whose deaths were service connected.

Other provisions of the Act include an increase in the clothing allowance for veterans whose disability tends to wear out or tear the clothing, an increase in mortgage protection life insurance for severely disabled veterans, authorization for paying the cost of transporting the body of a deceased veteran to a national cemetery, and authorization of additional allowances for those spouses of veterans who are 50% or more disabled and require the aid of another person. The law also directs the Veterans' Administration to conduct two separate studies:

1. To determine the adequacy of benefits under the dependency and indemnity compensation program presently based on the former military pay grade of the deceased veteran; and

2. To determine if there are any causal links between the amputation of an extremity and the late development of cardiovascular disorders.

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated the costs attributable to P.L. 94-433 to be $388.7 million for FY 1977, gradually decreasing to $384.7 million in FY 1981.