Fernando Torres-Gil, chair of the UCLA Department of Social Welfare, will appear in KCET’s latest feature series titled, Your Turn To Care in the May 2 (8 p.m.) broadcast. The four-part series, which was launched nationally on March 7, focuses on the emotional aspect of being a caregiver and how families are impacted.

Torres-Gil, an expert in health and long-term care, the politics of aging, social policy, ethnicity and disability, appears in tonight's episode 3.The series is hosted by actress, talk-show host and dedicated caregiver, Holly Robinson Peete.

Episode 3 deals with three families who discover they can’t do it all and need to reach out for help from institutions and elder care professionals and attorneys. This highly emotional decision can be extremely costly for those who don’t have long-term care insurance or qualify for government assistance. The complex and difficult-to-navigate world of assisted living facilities and financial benefits also is explored.

Each of the four half-hour national television specials focuses on two or three different families who find themselves at an important juncture along the timeline of the caregiving journey. And while the stories for the national specials and SoCal Connected focus on the emotional impact of caregiving, the Your Turn To Care website offers families who are in need of solutions, resources and support, according to the series website at yourturntocare.org

Program Information:

Individual segments of the series will air monthly on KCET’s high-acclaimed weekly program, SoCal Connected.

About Fernando Torres-Gil:

Dr. Torres-Gil also holds appointments as Professor of Social Welfare and Public Policy in the School and is the Director of the Center for Policy Research on Aging at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.

Fernando Torres-Gil is the author of several books and more than 80 articles and book chapters, including The New Aging: Politics and Change in America (1992), and Lessons from Three Nations, Volumes I and II (2007).  In recognition of his many academic accomplishments, he was elected a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America in 1985 and the National Academy of Public Administration in 1995.  He also served as President of the American Society on Aging from 1989 to 1992 and is a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance.

His academic accomplishments parallel his extensive government and public policy experience, including being appointed by President Clinton as the first Assistant Secretary for Aging in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  As the Administration’s chief advocate on aging, Torres-Gil played a key role in promoting the importance of the issues of aging, long-term care, and disability, in consolidating federal programs for the elderly and in helping baby boomers redefine retirement in a post-pension era.  He also worked with HHS Secretary Donna Shalala in overseeing aging policy throughout the federal government, managing the Administration on Aging and organizing the 1995 White House Conference on Aging; in addition to serving as a member of the President’s Welfare Reform Working Group.