the funds, but that it guarantee to make contributions, when the level of payment exceeds income from contributions and interest, sufficient to maintain the reserve at the level of the last year in which income exceeded payments.

The making of such contributions from general revenues was recommended in 1938 and 1948 by two different Advisory Councils on Social Security, appointed by a special subcommittee of the Senate Finance Committee and by the full committee, respectively. The report of the 1938 Advisory Council contained the following language:

23

The principle of distributing the eventual cost of the old-age insurance system by means of approximately equal contributions by employers, employees, and the Government is sound and should be definitely set forth in the law when tax provisions are amended.

The 1948 Advisory Council report stated:

24

There are compelling reasons for an eventual Government contribution to the system ***. A Government contribution would be a recognition of the interest of the Nation as a whole in the welfare of the aged ***. Such a contribution is particularly appropriate, in view of the relief to the general taxpayer which results from the substitution of social insurance for part of public assistance.

Recommendation No. 4: The subcommittee recommends that Congress appropriate funds for "training grants for welfare personnel" as authorized by section 705 of the Social Security Act.

One of the Social Security Amendments of 1956 was a provision authorizing an appropriation for "training grants for public welfare personnel." As most recently revised by section 123 of the Public Welfare Amendments of 1962, section 705 of the Social Security Act includes the following subsection:

SEC. 705. (a) In order to assist in increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of administration of public assistance programs by increasing the number of adequately trained public welfare personnel available for work in public assistance programs, there are hereby authorized to be appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1963, the sum of $3,500,000, and for each fiscal year thereafter the sum of $5,000,000.

There were items in the budgets for fiscal 1963 and 1964 to implement this authorization, the 1964 item having been $2,000,000. Unfortunately, however, no appropriation has ever been made to carry out this authorization.

That the Congress had sound reasons for enacting this authorization is shown by the following excerpt from the Senate Finance Committee report on the bill which was enacted as the Social Security Amendments of 1956: 25

A small percentage of the staff of agencies administering public assistance programs have had any formal training relating to the duties of the positions that they hold. Yet a worker, on the average, is responsible for authorizing the expenditure of about $100,000 per year of public funds. An increasing number of trained workers is needed for the administration of public assistance, particularly if greater emphasis is to be placed on helping applicants and recipients to selfsupport, self-care, and for strengthening family life.

The bill would provide $5 million for the fiscal year 1958 and such amounts thereafter as the Congress may determine to be needed for grants to States for the training of personnel through fellowships or traineeships, grants to public or

23 Senate Doc. No. 4, 76th Cong., 1st sess., final report, Advisory Council on Social Security, p. 24. 24 Senate Doc. No. 208, 80th Cong., 2d sess., the reports of the Advisory Council on Social Security to the Senate Committee on Finance, pp. 45, 46.

25 S. Rept. 2133, 84th Cong., pp. 30, 31.

other nonprofit institutions of higher learning and short-term courses of study or similar off-the-job training.

This provision would help States materially in securing larger numbers of welltrained personnel as is being done in other programs for which Federal funds have been made available for the training of professional staff, such as in mental health, vocational rehabilitation, and child welfare programs.

Appropriations to accomplish the objectives of Congress in enacting this social security amendment would make a significant contribution toward curing the shortage of trained workers which is presently acting as a bottleneck to the provision of services to the elderly. The subcommittee urges that there be an end to the delay in implementing this provision.

Recommendation No. 5: The subcommittee recommends that the National Defense Education Act of 1958 as amended be further amended to provide some degree of forgiveness of higher education loans to students who later serve in social work.

Section 205(b)(3) of the National Defense Education Act of 1958 (Public Law 85-864, Sept. 2, 1958) permitted forgiveness of up to 50 percent of a higher education loan under that act where the borrower served as a full-time teacher, at a forgiveness rate of 10 percent of the loan for each year of teaching. Section 465(a)(3) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (Public Law 89-329, Nov. 8, 1965) amended that provision to authorize forgiveness of up to 100 percent of the loan at the rate of 15 percent for each year taught if the school in which the borrower teaches meets certain criteria, one of which is a high concentration of students from low-income families.

A similar provision in that legislation with reference to borrowers who serve in social work might be a means of filling the need for trained professional workers in this field. While many or most of those attracted to social work by this device might work with younger public assistance recipients, their service should free some other well-trained social workers for assignment to work with the elderly, thus helping to provide the numbers of workers needed to make the services provisions of the 1962 act more effective for the elderly.

Recommendation No. 6: The subcommittee recommends that the Welfare Administration, in cooperation with the Office of Education and representatives of the social work profession and institutions of higher learning, develop standards and curriculums for training subprofessionals who can be assigned appropriate tasks in the public welfare services under the supervision of professionals.

This recommendation is somewhat similar to one made at the hearings by Mrs. Inabel B. Lindsay, dean of the Howard University School of Social Work. Specifically, she said: 26

A second approach to remedying this manpower shortage should include coordinated, carefully planned expansion of undergraduate programs to help prepare subprofessionals who can be assigned appropriate tasks in the public welfare services.

While one's first reaction to this recommendation might be that it would be better still to go beyond training subprofessionals and train professionals, it deserves serious consideration as a means of rapid

26 Hearings, p. 102.

per

upgrading of educational qualifications for social work to a level haps not as high as we would like to achieve eventually, but certainly higher than now obtains. It would attract into social work many able individuals who are unable for financial and other personal reasons to complete the graduate work required for professional status, but who can be given adequate subprofessional training if clearly defined standards and curriculums are established. Hopefully, many of those so attracted would find the work interesting and satisfying and would be motivated to further their professional education as circumstances permit, until they can qualify as full-fledged professionals.

VII. CONCLUSION AND SUMMARY

As stated on p. 5 of this report, it is estimated that the Federal expenditure for its 75-percent share of the cost of services to the elderly on public assistance during the current fiscal year will total $26 million. Thus, this has proved to be one of the least expensive ways of improving the later years. With comparatively modest additional expenditures, it can be made an even more effective instrumentality for brightening the lives of our Nation's elderly. At comparatively minor expense, implementation of our recommendations will remove some of the impediments to the adoption of service programs and the effective administration of such programs, will assist Congress and the Nation in making a wise decision on financing increased social security benefits, and will provide the large numbers of trained social work personnel needed to carry out services programs for the elderly on public assistance.

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