Senior Community Service Employment Program
Program overview
Providing employment opportunities for older Americans: The Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) is a federal workforce program that places seniors in community service assignments with subsidized employment, in order to prepare them to transition to unsubsidized employment. Program participants are more likely to be employed full-time after participation than peers who did not participate in the program.
Targeting at-risk seniors: To be eligible for participation in SCSEP, individuals must be at least 55 years old, unemployed, interested in unsubsidized employment, and have a household income below 125% of the federal poverty line. Priority is given to veterans and their spouses, racial minorities, and the most economically disadvantaged applicants.
Supporting skill development: Community service assignments take place at non-profit and public facilities, including schools, hospitals, daycare centers, and senior centers. Beyond community service assignments, staff support SCSEP participants in developing additional skills, such as financial management or computer and life skills. Staff also support seniors in applying for jobs related to the skills they have developed, so they can transition into unsubsidized employment.
Funded federally, administered locally: SCSEP is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, but administered by local nonprofits and public agencies. Host agencies are responsible for training job seekers and for connecting seniors to community service opportunities. States are accountable for meeting core performance goals: placing eligible participants in community service roles and paying them the local minimum wage, then supporting participant transition into unsubsidized jobs and tracking their job retention and earnings.
- Strategies
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Job placement services and supports
Multiple studies with rigorous designs demonstrate that SCSEP is a well-supported strategy for providing financial stability and an enhanced skillset to older adults.
- A 2017 research review found that SCSEP invested $12,993 per unsubsidized job placement for participants. Participants, in turn, received an average annual wage of $15,866. SCSCEP, therefore, represented a net gain of $2,873 on average per participant.
Follow recruiting guidelines: SCSEP requires that participants be 55 years or older and with a household income below 125% of the federal poverty line. Beyond these requirements, local partners should develop standardized outreach processes to ensure they are reaching the federal government’s priority groups, including veterans and their spouses, racial minorities, and severely economically disadvantaged applicants.
Coordinate with other workforce programs: SCSEP provides support geared more toward older individuals seeking employment, as compared to other federal programs such as WIA/WIOA, that serve a broader swath of the population. Program implementers should develop relationships with other senior-serving workforce support programs, so that each organization can provide referrals from one program to another for the program that best suits the unique applicant’s situation.
Build relationships with local employers: Older workers may face age discrimination, which creates a barrier to employment. To reduce this barrier, programs should conduct outreach to local employers. By leveraging these relationships, programs can build familiarity between employers and the program, and help employers understand how they may benefit from a partnership.
Continue relationship with older workers after employment: While SCSEP supports older workers in finding employment, job retention is just as important. Local partners should consider maintaining a lower-touch relationship with former participants in order to monitor their progress and support them in troubleshooting any issues that may arise in maintaining employment.