Although most Americans know that the U.S. population is aging, they are far less informed
about the reality of providing elders with personal care, health care, and social support.
Families—particularly women—have always been critical in providing elder care, but the entry
of so many women into the paid labor force has made elder care increasingly difficult.
Ann Bookman and Delia Kimbrel show how changes in both work and family life are complicating families’ efforts to care for elderly relatives. Because almost 60 percent of elder caregivers
today are employed, many forms of caregiving must now be “outsourced” to nonfamily members.
And because elders are widely diverse by race and socioeconomic status, their families attach
differing cultural meanings to care and have widely different resources with which to accomplish
their care goals. Although the poorest elders have access to some subsidized services, and the
wealthiest can pay for services, many middle-class families cannot afford services that allow
elders to age in their homes and avoid even more costly institutional care