White Paper - New York State Office for the Aging

INTRODUCTION
Patricia P. Pine, Ph.D.
The purpose of this paper is to provide the history and background of Project
2015, a unique initiative in New York State. Preparing for demographic change is a
formidable and risky task, as predicting the future is not clear-cut. New York State is
undertaking this task. The work presented in this paper represents the best efforts of New
York State government agencies to predict the changes within their missions in the hope
of effectively serving older New Yorkers and a more diverse New York in the future.
Project 2015 is a series of endeavors to assist New York State to prepare for the
anticipated changing demographics of the state early in the 21 st century. It is a near
certainty that there will be an increased older population, as the Baby Boom generation
becomes age 65 and older and becomes the Elder Boom generation. In addition, due to
New York’s hospitality, there also will be an increased number of new immigrants, many
of whom will be neither fluent nor conversant in English. These populations will place
demands on New York State, its government, and its communities.
History and Context of Project 2015
In 1998, Dr. Patricia Pine, Director of the New York State Office for the Aging,
asked the State Society on Aging of New York (SSA) for assistance in bringing the
message of an increasing older population to policy makers, planners, and other leaders
in the state. Dr. Joanna Mellor was President of the State Society at that time, and she
offered the expertise of the SSA members. The SSA is a thirty-year-old membership
organization of researchers, teachers, providers of services, and others interested in aging.
SSA members offered to participate with staff from the State Office for the Aging to
write articles on what would be the effect of a dramatically increased aging population on
New York State in such areas as housing, health care, mental health services,
transportation, economics, and other life style areas. There are 24 articles and briefs
written by more than forty authors in Project 2015: The Future of Aging in New York
State, Articles and Briefs for Discussion. The articles included the demographic
projections of aging for the year 2015 and recommendations on how to prepare for the
increased demand.
To accompany this publication, the New York State Office for the Aging
compiled a booklet on the demographic projections of the older population entitled
Demographic Projections to 2025. This publication is based on 1990 U.S. Census data
and includes population projections by five-year age groups from 1995 to 2025, including
2015. This publication also points out the increasing number of minority older people
who will reside in New York State.
1