W. Va. Code R. § 76-03-1
In 2014, President Barack Obama signed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) ( P.L. 113-128 ) into law, formally overhauling and reauthorizing the expired Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998. President Obama signed the WIOA following swift passage and overwhelming bipartisan support for the bill in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate.
The U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL), state workforce agencies, local workforce areas, and other stakeholders continue to implement the changes under WIOA, which became effective July 1, 2015.
The Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) also known as Title V, is authorized under the Older Americans Act (OAA) as amended in 2006, and administered by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (DOLETA). The DOLETA distributes SCSEP funds to nineteen (19) National SCSEP Grantees and fifty-six (56) State and Territorial Grantees. The National Grantees operate across multiple state jurisdictions and receive 78% of SCSEP funds. State and territorial SCSEP Grantees receive the remaining 22% of SCSEP funds.
SCSEP is the only grant program designed specifically to serve low-income older workers, age fifty-five (55) and older, by providing job training through community-based organizations and government agencies. The goals of the program are two-fold, to provide community service and to promote self-sufficiency by placing individuals in unsubsidized employment.
Program-eligible older workers must be residents of West Virginia, fifty-five (55) years of age and older, unemployed, with a total family income that does not exceed 125% of the federal poverty guidelines, currently $15,950 for an individual. Service priority is given to individuals meeting one or more of the following criteria:
* Disabled
* Limited English Proficiency
* Low Literacy Skills
* Reside in a Rural Area
* Veterans or Veterans' Spouses
* Low Employment Prospects
* Failed to Find Employment after using WIOA Services
* Homeless or at Risk of Homelessness
* Minority Individuals
* Poverty Level or Below
* Eligible individuals receive part-time, subsidized job training through community service assignments (CSA) at non-profit organizations or governmental entities.
The West Virginia Bureau of Senior Services (Bureau) administers the State SCSEP Grantee program, contracting with Preston County Senior Citizens, Inc. to provide SCSEP services to eleven (11) Counties. In addition, the National Grantee, National Council on Aging, provides SCSEP services in West Virginia to the remaining 44 counties.
The SCSEP State Plan outlines a four-year strategy covering Program Year July 1, 2020-June 30, 2023 for the statewide provision of community service employment and other authorized activities for eligible individuals under the SCSEP. The four-year strategy must specifically address the following:
During the 2016 reauthorization of the Older Americans Act, changes were made to the performance indicators. This reauthorization changed the follow-up on three of the current Core Performance Measures and added a new Core Measure. Changes were in the following Core Measures, with the new Core Performance Measure being Customer Satisfaction:
* Common Measures Entered Employment
* Common Measures Employment Retention; and
* Common Measures Average Earnings
Strategies for achieving these adjustments will be that both the National and State will continue to follow up with enrollees upon their exit and will now follow-up quarterly to actively capture information as required by the Core Measures. Follow up dates will be updated, and emphasis will be put more in the beginning of the program to ensure that enrollees, host agencies and employers are aware of the culture. Both State and National Grantees will continue to ensure that enrollees are fully equipped with the necessary tools (i.e., functional resumes, computer literate, functional workforce profile etc.) to warrant that, once employed, that employment is sustained. Grantees will continue to adhere to the performance measures that are set forth by the WIOA and will continue to meet the performance goals by the continuance of excellent rapport with Workforce, host agencies and potential employers.
The OAA and federal regulations require the Governor of each state to develop a strategic four-year State Plan in collaboration with the national SCSEP grantees, the aging network, and workforce entities operating within their state. Because the West Virginia Bureau of Senior Services is West Virginia's State Unit on Aging (SUA), Governor Jim Justice delegated authority to Commissioner Robert Roswall to submit the State Plan on his behalf to USDOL/ETA. (Appendix C)
W. Va. Code R. § 76-03-1