program on opportunities for older people to serve in their communities. After the program, the volunteer groups could follow up with a recruitment effort. In metropolitan areas, the groups might negotiate with their PBS affiliate for a follow-up TV program to be aired immediately after the "Over Easy" segment. The program could describe the volunteer opportunities in the viewing area. Broadcast of this new regularly scheduled, prime time television series offers the National Network on Aging a unique opportunity to help achieve the goals established by the Older Americans Act of 1965. Those goals include efficient community services; retirement in health, honor, and dignity; the benefit of research toward sustaining health and happiness; and the ideals of freedom, independence, and exercise of individual initiative in planning and managing one's own life. If "Over Easy" lives up to its planner's expectations, the public, persons in the field of aging, and older people themselves may begin to see the potential of older Americans and the challenges of aging in a new light. New and timely information about services and resources may result in their increased demand, which could help expand budgets at all levels for providing services and creating opportunities for older persons. If "Over Easy" is successful, it will be a major new resource for achieving the goals of the Older Americans Act and for improving the lives and living conditions of people in their mid-fifties and beyond. Further information is available from State or area agencies on aging, or Charles E. Wells, Deputy Director, Office of State and Community Programs. Administration Administration on Aging, Washington, D.C. 20201, telephone (202) 245-0011. Transportation Projects Face Insurance Coverage Problems Increas ncreasing difficulty in obtaining insurance coverage for transportation projects is posing a serious problem in serving the Nation's elderly, according to Deputy Commissioner on Aging Donald F. Reilly. In testimony given before the Senate Committee on Aging in July, Mr. Reilly cited instances of increased rates and refusals by companies to cover transportation vehicles and drivers serving the elderly at a time when the number of such projects is expanding. Mr. Reilly indicated that in FY 1976 over $8 million of Title III funds were used to provide transportation for almost 1.8 million older persons. Transportation Secretary Brock Adams also reported, he said, that since 1975, almost $30 million has been awarded through the Section 16(b)(2) Capital Assistance Program, authorized by the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964, to assist in providing transportation to the elderly and handicapped. According to Secretary Adams, 1,400 non-profit organizations have purchased almost 3,000 specialized vehicles for the elderly and handicapped through the Capital Assistance program. AoA encourages State agencies on aging to aid these designated capital assistance agencies in identifying and responding to the elderly's transportation needs. Despite these accomplishments, however, barriers to providing effective transportation services for the elderly remain. Mr. Reilly noted that many State and area agencies on aging are faced with a variety of pressing concerns about transportation insurance, including the willingness of insurance agencies to provide coverage at affordable cost for project vehicles and drivers. Coverage for drivers in all categories, paid and unpaid as well as elderly and non-elderly, is a major part of the problem, he indicated. While not all State and area agencies are experiencing transportation insurance difficulties, the problem has increased to such an extent that several Regional Offices of Aging have indicated concern. Region V reported that a Title III project in Dayton, Ohio was notified that insurance coverage for its vehicles would not be resumed. No reason was given. The project finally obtained insurance from an assigned risk pool. The annual premium, however, increased from $300 to over $900 per vehicle. Region V staff also reported that throughout Wisconsin, insurance companies are inconsistent with premium rates for transportation projects serving the elderly, with annual rates ranging from $200 to $1.500 per vehicle. In Indiana, insurance coverage for one vehicle increased from $800 to $3,000 over a period of one year. In Minnesota, volunteer drivers in the Title VII Program have been approached by insurance agents and advised that their own liability insurance will either be increased or discontinued because of their volunteer service to elderly passengers. Region VII reports that in Southeast Nebraska, two area agencies on aging operating buses in a threecounty area are now required to pay annual premiums of $1,200 per vehicle. The insurance company involved was the only company that would bid for coverage, Mr. Reilly said. The two area agencies have now joined forces in an attempt to resolve the problem by registering the vehicles as county equipment and covering them through the county's insurance policy. There are indications that the problem is becoming more widespread, thus threatening the implementation of special transportation projects due, in part, to difficulties in finding funds to cover increased insurance expenses. Because it is a complex issue affecting both the public and private sector, AoA is providing the National Network on Aging with information on insurance problems and ways to solve them. In March, AoA prepared a memorandum to the Network agencies which addressed several issues, including those concerning insurance for volunteer and older drivers who transport older persons, and vehicular insurance for the projects themselves. The memorandum cited insurance difficulties confronting States throughout the Network and solutions that some States have reached. The problem of insurance coverage has been dealt with in a number of ways, Mr. Reilly said. He noted that in Alabama and Missouri meetings were arranged with the State insurance commissioners by the agencies on aging. In both States, the commissioners have been sympathetic to the problems confronting programs which serve elderly persons and have taken steps to intercede on their behalf with insurance carriers. In Oregon, the State agency on aging has taken responsibility for organizing a group to develop a data base relating to the driving records of older persons. This data will be used in persuading the insurance agencies and organizations to limit premium increases for transportation projects serving the elderly. In the agreement signed this year between the Idaho Office on Aging and the State Department of Transportation, the two organizations pledged to develop strategies for resolving insurance problems. The State agency on aging and the Department of Transportation have joined in developing a base of information on this subject. Area agencies have been asked to supply data on the experiences of transportation projects with respect to accidents involving project vehicles. In California, the State General Accounting Office has launched an investigation of insurance costs in response to continued complaints by organizations serving senior citizens. AoA has also encouraged the Network on Aging to pursue a number of solutions, including: • shopping the insurance market to obtain the most cost-effective policy, ⚫ coordinating information throughout a State or Region to learn of alternatives to high-cost insurance, setting high standards for drivers and requiring completion of defensive driving courses so that the drivers will appear as better "risks" to prospective insurers, ⚫ gathering statistics or case histories for presentation to potential insurance providers to alter false or misleading impressions about older drivers. An AoA/DOT agreement, which is currently being revised, offers another means for developing solutions to insurance-related problems. A joint investigation of the problems that transportation providers face is being considered as well as the development of an insurance shopping guide. Mr. Reilly noted that the experience of insurance companies in covering special transportation for the elderly is limited. With better actuarial data, which in part can be supplied by the insured person or organization, insurance companies will be more likely to drop the automatic "high risk" status into which special programs are sometimes placed. He concluded by saying that "only through the coordinated efforts of the Network can insurance rates be lowered in other than a piecemeal fashion." AoA Issues Findings On I & R Services The Administration on Aging has recently completed an evaluation of information and referral services for the elderly. Conducted under contract with Mark Battle Associates, Inc. of Washington, D.C., the evalua tion's main objective was to determine how well State and area agencies on aging were meeting AOA's requirements and long-range goals for I&R services. While most of the minimum re quirements are being met and many I&Rs are meeting some of the longrange goals, there are exceptions: A majority of I&Rs were found to have unsuitable facilities for privately interviewing clients at the site. • Only half of the 40 I&Rs which needed them offered toll-free telephone services. • Very few (6) I&Rs provided emergency or after hours telephone answering services. • Only 10% of the I&Rs visited had no physical barriers to older or handicapped persons who wished to visit the I&R. • AoA guidelines for confidentiality procedures were not being met by most I&Rs, except for the storage of personal information on users in locked files. In order to determine how AoA requirements and long-range goals were being met, a random sample of 62 planning and service areas was selected based on the size of the elderly population in the PSA's. For each of these PSA's, one designated I&R was randomly chosen. At each selected I&R, interviews were conducted with the I&R Director and his staff, the Director of the State or area agency, service provider agencies, other I&R's and the older people who used the services. Data were also collected from review of I&R files and observation activities. The study covered organization and facilities, the resource file, staffing, access, interviewing, information-giving and reports, follow-up, transportation and escort services, planning, coordination, funding and costs. In evaluating the number of inquiries and their cost, the survey found that, on the average, one inquiry was received by the I&R's annually for every nine older persons in the area served. The average cost per inquiry was $4.60, with a range of less than $1 to more than $20 per inquiry. Generally, those I&R's with high average costs per inquiry fell into two groups: those small I&R's in rural areas with very limited funding, but even fewer inquiries, and I&R's serving large elderly populations with relatively large budgets but lacking a correspondingly substantial number of inquiries. The average number of total calls per month ranged from two to 11,000. Individual I&R staff handled an average of 298 calls per month regarding older persons. The four most common areas of inquiry were income (including social security), transportation, health, and housing. Resource files developed and maintained by the I&R's generally were found to contain a comprehensive listing of available resources. Although use of standardized classification systems was not widespread among the I&R's visited, there was no evidence that use of standardized classification systems, such as UWASIS or SEARCH, produced more effective I&R services. Twelve I&R's classified the information in the resource file by only one category-alphabetically by provider, which made cross-referencing impossible. The evaluation recommended that some method of crossreferencing should be included in the resource file, such as a listing by provider and by service or problem, so that retrieval of information from the file is not dependent upon the user's inherent knowledge. All I&R's were meeting the minimum requirements to utilize paid and volunteer staff and to orient new staff in providing I&R services. A majority of I&R's also were meeting long-range goals to conduct a program of continuing education for staff and to arrange for appropriate agencies to assist in staff training. The evaluation study found that all I&R's were conducting interviewing, information-giving, and referral activities in accordance with AoA guidelines, with these procedures being generally satisfactory to both users and providers. All but four I&R's also were meeting the longrange goal to actively develop links between users and providers by making appointments for older persons when required. Although follow-up is a long-range goal, most I&R's were already providing this service. I&R's were also willing to provide any further assistance required by users and frequently undertook intensive efforts to locate appropriate resources. Most I&R's were involved in providing or arranging for escort and transportation services. However, most felt that these existing services were not adequate to meet the needs of older persons. While I&R's were meeting the minimum requirements for publicity and the majority were providing outreach services, both were repeatedly cited as inadequate by respondent groups. Instead of following AoA's requirements, many I&R's used these confidentiality procedures: Information on users was not given out without their consent and access to files on users was not permitted to nonstaff members. I&R agencies often provided a variety of other direct services, such as nutrition, recreation, and healthrelated services. These tended to be provided more frequently by agesegregated than age-integrated I&R's and were more prevalent in rural, semi-rural, and suburban areas than in urban locations. With those words and the stroke of a pen, Secretary Califano signed the first Federal regulation protecting the rights of handicapped persons in Federally-assisted programs. It implements Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The new law's intent is to end discrimination against handicapped people, including an estimated seven million elderly. Section 504 is intended to ensure that they share equally in the benefits and services available from Federally-funded programs. All components of the AoA network are involved in making the law and the regulation work, including Federal, State, and area agencies on aging, Title VII nutrition projects, grantees and service contractors, and senior centers assisted under Title V of the Older Americans Act. All must move quickly to assure handicapped participants physical access to programs and services, and must take positive steps to eliminate bias in em ployment practices. Where necessary, appropriate aids such as taped or braille materials, teletypewriter equipment, and telephone amplifiers will be needed to provide effective means of communication. "AoA will use both its authority and resources in order to bring about a vigorous implementation of Section 504," said Dr. Arthur S. Flemming, U.S. Commissioner on Aging. Changes will be necessary, and soon. By June 3, 1978, all AoAfunded programs are to complete a self-evaluation with the help of persons or organizations representing the handicapped. This evaluation should examine current practices and policies that may result in discrimination, and determine the appropriate remedial actions required. Employment By September 1, 1977, programs employing 15 or more persons were required to publicly declare a policy of non-discrimination on the basis of handicap. Each program is to designate a person to coordinate compliance efforts and to assure non-discrimination. AoA-funded projects are already required to be accessible to handicapped persons. Not every part of every facility need be barrier-free, but project officials must make every effort to accommodate their handicapped clients. Any structural changes needed must be planned by December 3, 1977 and completed by June 3, 1980. Barrier-Free Access AoA-funded projects around the country use a variety of facilities, including schools, churches, community centers, senior centers, and even restaurants. While many sites already allow barrier-free access, some may not, for a variety of reasons. In rural areas, finding available sites can be a problem for service providers. Don |