Discussion 

Future of the Family in Later Life

The study of the family in later life is the attempt to capture an ever-changing process that affects us all as we move through our individual lives, through the domains of family, work, and the political world. As a human service and public service leader, you will find that your family in later life will not be like that of your parents or your grandparents. The dynamic interplay between social change and the aging of cohorts, including your cohort, guarantees that the only thing that you can count on is that the family in later life in the future will be different socially, economically, and (to some degree) physically. As human service and public service leaders, you will need to recognize that individual and large-scale planning, as you face an aging society, must include flexibility. The future of the family in later life is uncertain; only the fact that we are all aging is firmly guaranteed.

The New York Times has had a blog for several years called The New Old Age. It is linked in the Studies for this unit and the Resources for this discussion. It provides a variety of articles and topics related to aging, including a number that you have read about in chapters in your course materials. Scroll through the posts and identify one or two that discuss issues relevant to the future of the family in later life—predictions about policy, health, attitudes, anything that has a future slant. In your discussion post, include the following:

• Identify the issue presented in the blog and the key elements conveyed.
• Connect these ideas to some of the themes or primary topics you have learned or found especially interesting in the course.
• Explain your selection of the issue(s).
• Support your thoughts with references from current professional literature.

Assignment 1

Family in Later Life Plan of Action

As a human service and public service leader, you are now ready for the last step in the multidisciplinary approach: Develop a plan of action based on your recommendations.

Using recommendations you made from the interviews you conducted, what you learned from the Riverbend City family and course materials, and your personal experiences, determine an issue or concern specific to families in later life that you would like to address through a plan of action. Instead of reporting what is wrong or the concerns you have, create a plan of action as a response. Present your plan of action in the form of a PowerPoint presentation, prepared as if you were addressing families in later life or a community organization.

Include the following in your family in later life plan of action presentation:

• Articulate the objectives of the family in later life plan of action to reflect possible changes addressed in the recommendations you created for your Unit 7 assignment.
• Describe how the family in later life plan of action will be implemented. Include specific details, time frame, and the individuals and resources required to implement your plan.
• Address how others may be impacted as a result of implementing your plan of action.
• Predict how the future may be different if the family in later life plan of action succeeds (for example, major debates, legislative, financial, cultural, and ethical issues that may arise).

Your presentation should be approximately 20–25 slides, including a title slide and a slide listing your references. Support your assignment with specific references in APA format to all resources used in its preparation. Your slides should follow conventions for professional communication, using bullet points for headlines. Use the notes section of each slide for details that would be delivered verbally if you were to actually give the presentation.