West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 76 - Senior Services › Title 76 - INTERPRETIVE RULE WEST VIRGINIA BUREAU OF SENIOR SERVICES › Series 76-03 - WV State Plan For Aging Programs › Section 76-03-1 - Overview of the Senior Community Service Employment Program and Purpose of the State Plan

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
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:
I. Economic Projections
A. Long-Term Projections for Jobs in
				Industries and Occupations
B.
				Strategic Training Plan for Participants to Be Placed in Unsubsidized
				Employment
C. State Current and
				Projected Employment Opportunities