Century Park Blog

The percentage of the population that is 65 and older has been growing globally over the past few years. A few years ago, 1 in 11 people in the world were age 65 and up. By 2050, it’s projected that 1 in 6 people globally will be 65 or older.

What this means for social services for the older person is that more help will be needed to provide guidance, counseling, elder care, in-home assistance, emotional support, and many other types of aid.

What Are Available Social Services for the Older Adult?

The available social services older adults will have access to will vary according to the local programs available. But many areas have similar types of services that a social worker will be familiar with and refer clients to.

Here are some of the social services for the older adult that are common:

• Health insurance
• Food and nutrition
• Financial assistance
• Employment assistance
• Low-cost medications
• Housing and utility assistance
• Family caregiver support
• Free public transit and reduced fare programs
• Legal services
• Long-term care assistance

Social workers help to match these social services to the needs of a client. Oftentimes, older adults and their families are unaware of the government and non- profit resources that are available to them.

Main Duties of Geriatric Social Workers

Social work and social services for older adults will consist of these main duties:

• Providing Information/Resources: There are many different federal and local social services older people have available but know nothing about. A geriatric social worker will provide information on all the resources available to fill a particular client’s support needs.
• Counseling: A geriatric social worker that’s licensed for clinical work, will often provide counseling for emotional issues. For example, helping someone transition to a full-time care facility or get through the emotional challenges of end-of-life planning.
• Guidance & Expertise: Things like Medicare insurance forms and filing out healthcare-related legal forms can be confusing. Social work older adults often rely on is guidance and expertise to assist them with navigating complicated but important paperwork.
• Advocate for Seniors: Seniors are one of the biggest groups preyed upon by those running investment and phishing scams. They can also be the victims of elder abuse by a caregiver. Social workers can include being an advocate and helping to bring legal action against those that prey on older people.
• Clinical & Social Intervention: Seniors can often feel isolated and may not want to reach out for help. Social workers can provide professional mental health counseling and connect seniors with support groups to encourage more social engagement to improve their quality of life.

There is a wide range of social services older adults depend on and many seniors would not know about them if it weren’t for geriatric social workers.

Social workers can make an important difference in a senior’s quality of life and can be very rewarding work for geriatric social workers. As people age, their pool of friends and family can get smaller and social interactions are an important part of overall health and well-being.