WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 2, 1998 – With a senior citizen population in the United States projected to be 70 million in the year 2030, today’s middle aged baby boomers will put special pressures on society, said an official with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Takamura also noted that less affluent countries are closely watching how the United States prepares for its growing older population.

"In 1999, the International Year of Older Persons, we are taking every opportunity to put into place policies and programs that will guide less affluent countries as they face growing older populations. They can look to programs and policies developed in the United States for guidance in the next century."

"The center is preparing students and faculty members to help families and individuals meet the principal challenge of the 21^st century – a growing population of older people," she said. "We need such a center to ensure that the most vulnerable segments of our population – the elderly and children – can be taken care of in the future."

The National Catholic School of Social Service is at the heart of the university’s mission of service to the Church and nation. The school’s emphasis is on social justice, the poor, disenfranchised, refugees and immigrants. The school is prominent for having trained most of the directors of Catholic Charities and hundreds of social workers who staff Catholic social service agencies.

Revised: December 2 1998

Revised: June 8, 1998