washington | Representatives of the North American Jewish Federation network testified before a Senate subcommittee recently in support of service programs for the elderly and their potential to strengthen long-term care services.
United Jewish Communities (UJC), representing 155 Jewish community federations across North America, has led development of such programs in senior communities for nearly two decades. UJC promotes community-based programs as an important component of long-range planning by Congress for the retirement of the baby boom generation.
“Developing solutions to enable seniors to remain living at home in dignity for as long as is safely possible is a priority of the Jewish community,” said William Daroff, UJC vice president for public policy and director of the UJC Washington office. “Our community strongly supports the advancement of [such] supportive services within the Older Americans Act reauthorization process.”
The hearing was conducted by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Retirement, Security and Aging.
The percentage of those in the Jewish community aged 65 and older is twice the national average of 12 percent. According to an AARP study of U.S. Census data, approximately one-third of the older adult population live in naturally occurring retirement communities, in which a majority of residents are 50 or older, and could benefit from targeted health and social services.