The 1976 Anglo-American Conference on Care of the Elderly examined many issues related to the development, management, and possible prevention of functional dependency among the elderly. A number of conference participants subsequently expressed interest in specifying the implications of these issues for public policy. The Institute of Medicine responded by appointing the Committee on the Care of the Elderly to review the conference recommendations for changes in United States policy affecting the functionally-dependent elderly. Although the conference proceedings constitute the principal basis for the recommendations made in this report, other sources of information that became available since the conference also were reviewed and considered. A summary of the 1976 conference is contained in the appendix, and an extensive bibliography not generally available elsewhere is attached. (Author/LEB)