Our Work

POLICY ADVOCACY

We advocate for national and state policies that build care coordination between medical and social services for older adults into public programs for both health and long-term care systems. We have supported bills that:

• Authorize support for the national family caregiver support program;
• Allow a tax credit for caregivers of family members with long-term care needs;
• Provide help to caregivers of frail older people and people with disabilities;
• Prohibit Social Security penalties for those who leave their careers to care for a parent; and
• Expand Public Health Services Corp's loan forgiveness program to recruit new professionals to be trained to work with older adults

National Level

SWLI is the co-organizer with the American Society on Aging (ASA) of the National Coalition on Care Coordination (N3C), N3C works to advance policies and models to improve health and social services for older adults and their caregivers. It is comprised of the nation's leading social and healthcare leaders and organization, professional organizations, as well as consumer groups. Members include the National Council on Aging, National Institute on Aging, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. SWLI Director Pat Volland co-chairs N3C with Robyn Golden, Chair of the ASA Board of Directors.

SWLI is a member of the national Eldercare Workforce Alliance which is working to strengthen the geriatric skills of all health professionals, increase recruitment and retention of geriatric specialists, and improve the way care is delivered. These proposed reforms grew out of the seminal 2008 Institute of Medicine report, "Retooling for an Aging America: Building the Health Care Workforce." Alliance members include leaders from advocacy, consumer, provider and research groups dedicated to improving aging care. SWLI co-chairs a working group that is examining promising models of care to build from.

SWLI supports national legislation that would expand a promising care model known as the Medicare patient-centered "medical home" demonstration. Under this model, patients are paired with their own personal physician who leads a team of health care professionals that treats and manages the patients' care.

State Level

SWLI is partnering with the New York State Department of Health and the State Office on Aging to develop a successful blueprint for improving older adult care in New York State. As part of this process, we are analyzing care models nationwide and engaging social workers, nurses, doctors, and other service providers and consumers in roundtable discussions to build consensus for standards for comprehensive care coordination and a qualified workforce to deliver that care. This model process is already being replicated by other states nationwide.

SWLI is partnering with the California Social Work Education Center (CalSWEC), the nation's largest state coalition of social work educators and practitioners, to address the shortage of geriatric social workers in the Golden State, including organizing a statewide legislative hearing on the issue, affecting legislation that would extend loan forgiveness for aging care professionals, and exploring scholarships, stipends and other incentives to attract students to the field.

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

We link academia to the community to better serve community needs. We also work closely with the National Association of Deans and Directors, geriatric care professors, researchers, students, field directors, field instructors and other practitioners to position them as leaders on aging care workforce issues and improving services to older adults.

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

The Hartford Partnership Program in Aging Care (HPPAE) is a 12-year initiative to recruit and train the next generation of social workers who specialize in aging by transforming how geriatric education is taught at Masters of Social Work programs nationwide. Funded with support from the John A. Hartford Foundation, the program is anchored by local partnerships between universities and community-based agencies that serve older adults. At its heart is a unique fieldwork model that rotates students through different agencies so they gain a rich perspective of the full spectrum of aging and of the diverse services that older adults and their care givers need. To date, 72 programs have been funded in 33 states.

RESEARCH

SWLI is building evidence to support a stronger aging care workforce and better care coordination by maintaining an online, searchable Evidence-based Database at www.socialworkleadership.org. The database includes the latest research, programs, and other innovations in aging care, from health care and social services to workforce issues.

SWLI is working with Stony Brook University on an evaluation of a pilot program for New York State that places health professionals specially trained in geriatric care coordination to provide home-centered, community-based care for home-bound older adults.

We are also working with Rush University Medical Center in Illinois on an evaluation of its Transitions in Care program, a post-discharge care coordination program provided by hospital social workers, and with the Center for Health Workforce Studies at the University at Albany on a pilot study to examine the supply and demand for social workers who specialize in aging in New York State. The study will be used by policymakers and others for workforce development purposes.