PREFACE<br > The aized are a rapidly increasing proportion of the population of<br >the (Jnitcd States. There are more than twenty-five million persons<br >over 65 years old in the country， and the projections are that 25<br >perccnl of our poptAation will be that age by the turn of the century.<br >In four states more than 12 percent of the population are now over the<br >age of (;5. By lhe mid 19~;() s it was recognized that this increasing<br >segment of our p(，puiation needed special services in order to maintain<br >their economic and personal independence in a highly technological<br >society. (~onseq~ently， numerous public programs and diverse social<br >and legal agencies which affect the aged have d，，weloped in recent<br >years. The United States Congress in 1965 passed the Older Americans<br >Act， stating in its preface that millions of older citizens were suffering<br >unnecessary harm and that its purpose was to provide comprehensive<br >social services for the aged. In the past few years success of the Older<br >Americans Act can be measured by the fact that more than any other<br >age grotlp elderly persons are relyim5 upon monolithic， complex public<br >and private institutions for their day to day existence. It is not only<br >the Federal governnlen! hui also states and the private sector which<br >are providing programs and services for the aged that did not exist 15<br >years ago. (;-overnmental reorganization has established an entire<br >1)ivision or Department of Aging ~ithin most state governments.<br >Ttlcse statewide agencies plus Area Agencies on Aging channel federal<br >funding for numerous projects.<br > The irony with which we must deal is that the very success of the<br >programs for the elderly has created a serious need for effective legal<br >representation for them. As formerly heah;hy， employed， self-sufficient<br >individuals enLer the aged stage of life they are beset by a bewildering<br >array of social programs in regard to which they have legal rights and<br >obligations. They face a large number of complex problems involving，<br >for example， Social Security retirement， Medicare or Medicaid， housing，<br >discrimimition in eniph)yment， consumer affairs， private pensions or<br >guardianships and mental commitments. The individuals in this group<br >are more helpless than most to deal with these legal issties because of<br >a relative lack of education， timidity and increased health problems.<br >