Characteristics of personnel who provide services to a rapidly growing and increasingly diverse population of older adults were examined through a statewide survey of Area Agencies on Aging and county adult and aging services departments in California. Substantial gaps were found in the professional education and training of current aging services personnel, with only 42% of adult protective service workers, 36% of case managers, and fewer than 10% of other personnel having masters degrees in social work. Key barriers to hiring aging services personnel included a lack of qualified and properly educated applicants, inadequate salaries, and insufficient numbers of ethnically diverse applicants. Results illustrate the lack of professional training among aging services workers and the need to develop programs and incentives for increasing the number of social workers with adequate knowledge and skills in aging services.
