SEI Workforce Board Selected as National Provider of Workforce Programming for Seniors

SEI Workforce Investment Board is the only workforce development board in the U.S. selected for the program.

(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) - The Southeast Indiana Workforce Investment Board (SEIWIB) is pleased to announce that he U.S. Department of Labor recently announced the award of $1,067,320 million in funding through the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) to SEIWIB provide training and career services to low-income, older individuals who are seeking to enter or re-enter the workforce.

SEIWIB was one of 19 national nonprofit organizations awarded this funding, and the only regional Workforce Development Board (WDB) selected to administer SCSEP. SCSEP funding enables Seniors to move into unsubsidized employment in public and private sectors, foster self-sufficiency, and promote part-time work experiences in community service assignments. The program is intended to assist unemployed, low-income people ages 55 and older.

SEIWIB may be eligible to receive additional funding for an additional three years, subject to future appropriations.

SEIWIB is uniquely qualified to deliver SCSEP, owing to the leadership team’s extensive experience administering SCSEP previously, as well as the organization’s service orientation and wide network of relevant community partners.

“SCSEP is a good fit for our organization, as SEIWIB has long demonstrated the importance of advocacy on behalf of under-served populations,” said Kurt Kegerreis, Executive Director of SEIWIB. “By awarding this grant to a Workforce Development Board, the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) is allowing SEIWIB to demonstrate how the program might operate with true integration of the services provided by SCSEP with those already available at WorkOne career centers.”

“As formula federal workforce funding has decreased in Indiana by roughly 40% in the last decade, this SCSEP grant will allow SEIWIB to serve more Senior Hoosiers than we would otherwise be able to,” says Stephanie Perkins, Operations Director for SEIWIB. “As Baby Boomers are aging, we at SEIWIB know more attention must be paid to vulnerable older workers who are at greater risk of losing their jobs in the coming years. SCSEP provides us a great opportunity to directly address this need.”

SEIWIB’s demonstration SCSEP program will serve only areas throughout Indiana. The goal is that USDOL will eventually expand this program model throughout Indiana and beyond.