Aged Persons in Foster Homes: A Comparative Study of Four Successful and Four Unsuccessful Placements by Family Service Division, Brooklyn, New York, Catholic Charities 1951 – 1961
Abstract
Background of the Study. "No prize is honorable as old age, and it is won by innocence of life." Down through the ages, a long life has been looked upon as one of man's highest blessings. The attainment of old age has been considered a reward for ”right" living as attested to by the above quotation from Scripture. In days of old and even until recent years, old age has been the achievement of few, but today with the giant strides medicine has taken, old age is a possibility for many. The life expectancy of modern man is sixty-six years and of modern woman - seventy-three years. In New York State alone, the population of persons sixty-five to seventy-four years increased from 900,000 in 1950 to 1,200,000 in I960. Table 1 gives the aged population of New York State for 1950 and I960 as well as estimates for the next two decades. No one will deny that the increase of life expectancy is gratefully accepted by the majority but, nevertheless, there is no social change that does not create new social tensions or problems. Problems stemming from old age have become the concern of the doctor, the economist, the sociologist, the politician and the social worker. The last-named person seeks to help the aged person adjust to some of these changes and difficulties brought on by longevity. Since the aged person is a member of a community, the social worker seeks to determine what are the obligations of the community towards this person. Before discussing any specific aspect of this problem of the aging, it is best to define first the duties of the community to the aged and, conversely, the duties of the elderly to their community.
Subject Area
Social research|Individual & family studies|Social work
Recommended Citation
Valero, Rene A, "Aged Persons in Foster Homes: A Comparative Study of Four Successful and Four Unsuccessful Placements by Family Service Division, Brooklyn, New York, Catholic Charities 1951 – 1961" (1962). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI30670806.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI30670806
