In 2021, the Chief Evaluation Office partnered with the Employment and Training Administration to fund an evaluation that aims to build evidence about the implementation of the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), and other DOL workforce programs serving older workers to inform the continuous improvement of SCSEP.

SCSEP is a community service and work-based job training program for older Americans. The program provides training for low-income, unemployed seniors and provides participants access to employment-based assistance through American Job Centers. Participants must be at least 55, unemployed, and have a family income of no more than 125% of the federal poverty level. SCSEP grantees include state agencies and 19 national nonprofit organizations.

The Older Workers study includes (1) a review of existing knowledge and data to inform evaluation activities, (2) an implementation evaluation design, (3) an early implementation study and in-depth implementation study of programs receiving the 2020 DOL SCSEP grants, (4) an impact evaluation that identifies training strategies/interventions for a pilot intervention and rigorously evaluates the impact of the intervention on older workers’ employment outcomes (primarily placement outcomes), and (5) an evaluability assessment and potential future research options for DOL to consider that would address important gaps in the evidence base related to employment services for older workers.

This report summarizes the findings from the early implementation study component of the project and offers insights from the grantees interviewed about how the SCSEP grantees adapted and implemented strategies in response to challenges, and the strategies and practices programs might retain going forward.

Key takeaways include:

• Many participants could not return to their Community Service Assignments (CSAs) because supervisors worked remotely, host-agency sites limited in-person capacity because of social distancing, or host agencies permanently closed. The return to in-person CSA training varied by service area because of local business closures and local and state health requirements.
• Grantees had limited engagement with partners, such as host agencies, employers, and American Job Centers, because of the closure of businesses and other local organizations.
• It was difficult to provide remote services to participants who lacked the technology or skills to take advantage of these services. SCSEP grantees had to find new ways to provide services to older adults.