Employment Counseling for the Elderly: Legislative History and Outlook

Employment counseling for older persons has traveled a rocky road in the United States. Awareness of the need was triggered by the 1929 depression and the manpower dislocations following World War II. The principal deliverers of services, the state employment services and nonprofit counseling agencies, are hard pressed to maintain adequate levels of support. Although Congress wants the agencies to do more, the Department of Labor and the Employment and Training Administration seem reluctant to capitalize on congressional interest. Future prospects seem brighter, as the baby boom of the 1950s becomes the senior boom of the next century.