SCSEP grant offers employment services for more than 2,000 older adults with low incomes
ROCKVILLE, MD — Goodwill Industries International has received a $16.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to provide critical job training and employment services through the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) in 9 states. Twenty autonomous and community-based Goodwill® organizations across the United States will be helping older job seekers learn new job skills while training at public and nonprofit organizations in their communities such as housing agencies, food banks, libraries, schools, senior centers and child care centers. The goal is for the skills they learn in the program to lead to employment in the private or public sector for which wages, or wages and tips, are paid that equal or exceed the federal hourly minimum wage.
According to the National Council on Aging (NCOA), more than 25 million Americans ages 60 and older are economically insecure — living at or below 250 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) ($29,425 per year for a single person). These older adults struggle with rising housing and health care bills, inadequate nutrition, lack of access to transportation, diminished savings, and job loss. As the population ages, older Americans will play an increasingly important role in our economy and America’s leadership in the world marketplace. By 2019, more than 40 percent of Americans over the age of 55 will be employed, making up a quarter of the total U.S. labor force.
“Goodwill builds relationships with employers to help them understand the benefits of hiring older workers,” said Jim Gibbons, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. “Programs like SCSEP enable us to provide the appropriate training to ensure older workers are job ready.”
When older job seekers come to Goodwill, job coaches deliver thorough needs assessments, create individual employment plans, administer basic skills classes and assist in job placement, training and eventual transition to non-subsidized employment. Goodwill’s SCSEP effort has helped more than 8,502 older workers in local communities since 2006.
Goodwill Industries International will distribute the grant funds to the following 20 community-based Goodwill organizations to administer SCSEP:
- Evansville Goodwill Industries, Inc. (Evansville, IN – serving IL, IN, KY)
- Goodwill Easter Seals Miami Valley (Dayton, OH)
- Goodwill Industries of Akron (Akron, OH)
- Goodwill Industries of Central and Southern Indiana (Indianapolis, IN)
- Goodwill Industries of Kentucky, Inc. (Louisville, KY)
- Goodwill Industries of Lorain County (Elyria, OH)
- Goodwill Industries of Michiana, Inc. (South Bend, IN)
- Goodwill Industries of Middle Georgia and the CSRA (Macon, GA – serving SC)
- Goodwill Industries of New Mexico (Albuquerque, NM)
- Goodwill Industries of Northwest Ohio (Toledo, OH)
- Goodwill Industries of Tenneva Area (Kingsport, TN – serving VA)
- Goodwill Industries of Upstate/Midlands South Carolina (Greenville, SC)
- Goodwill Industries of the Valleys (Roanoke, VA)
- Goodwill of Erie, Huron, Ottawa and Sandusky Counties (Sandusky, OH)
- Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainer Region (Tacoma, WA)
- Land of Lincoln Goodwill Industries, Inc. (Springfield, IL)
- Marion Goodwill (Marion, OH)
- MERS Missouri Goodwill Industries (St. Louis, MO – serving IL, MO)
- Palmetto Goodwill (North Charleston, SC)
- Zanesville Welfare Organization and Goodwill Industries, Inc. (Zanesville, OH)
SCSEP is a community service job training program for older Americans. Authorized by the Older Americans Act, the program provides training for older job seekers who have low incomes and are unemployed. SCSEP participants also have access to employment assistance through American Job Centers. The program provides more than 40 million community service hours to public and nonprofit agencies, allowing them to enhance and provide needed services. Participants train an average of 20 hours a week, and are paid the highest of federal, state or local minimum wage. This training serves as a bridge to unsubsidized employment opportunities for participants.
SCSEP is the only federal workforce program that targets older job seekers with low incomes. The $140 million grant, awarded to 19 national nonprofit organizations, including Goodwill Industries International, helps subsidize part-time training in community service positions so that older workers can gain relevant work experience and move to unsubsidized, private-sector jobs.
To find out more about Goodwill and the services it provides for older workers, visit goodwill.org. For more information on SCSEP opportunities, visit America’s Service Locator or call the Toll-Free Help Line at 1-877-US2-JOBS (1-877-872-5627).
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About Goodwill Industries International
Goodwill Industries International (GII) is a network of 163 community-based, autonomous organizations in the United States and Canada with a presence in 13 other countries. GII is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that is recognized by GuideStar with its Platinum Seal of Approval, the organization’s highest rating for charities. GII was also ranked by Enso as the #1 brand doing the most good in the world, and was the only nonprofit brand rated in Forbes’ 20 most inspiring companies for three consecutive years. Local Goodwill organizations are innovative and sustainable social enterprises that create job training programs, employment placement and other community-based programs by selling donated clothing and household items in more than 3,200 stores collectively and online at shopgoodwill.com®. Local Goodwill organizations also build revenue and create jobs by contracting with businesses and government to provide a wide range of commercial services, including packaging and assembly, food services preparation, and document imaging and shredding. Last year, local Goodwills collectively placed 312,000 people in employment in the United States and Canada. In addition, more than 35 million people used computers and mobile devices to access Goodwill education, training, mentoring and online learning services to strengthen their skills. To learn more, visit goodwill.org.
For more information or to find a Goodwill location near you, use the online locator at Goodwill.org or call (800) GOODWILL. Follow us on Twitter: @GoodwillIntl and @GoodwillCapHill, and find us on Facebook: GoodwillIntl or Instagram: GoodwillIntl.
CONTACT:
Joye Taylor
Public Relations Manager
Goodwill Industries International
Phone: (240) 333-5523
[email protected]
