Evaluation of the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP): Process and Outcomes Study Final Report

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Evaluation of the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP): Process and Outcomes Study Final Report

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2013-03

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As the only Federal employment and training program targeted specifically to older Americans, the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) provides subsidized minimum-wage, part-time community service jobs to low-income persons age 55 or older who have poor employment prospects. Over its 46-year history, SCSEP has served unemployed older workers in both urban and rural areas who possess serious employment barriers such as low levels of formal education, physical and mental disabilities, limited English language and literacy skills, and obsolete skill sets. In addition, the participants also may face discrimination in the job market due to the negative stereotypes of older workers held by some employers. SCSEP aims to: (1) foster and promote part-time training opportunities in community service activities, (2) promote individual economic self-sufficiency, and (3) increase the number of older persons who enter unsubsidized employment in the public and private sectors. In Program Year (PY) 2007, ETA contracted with Social Policy Research Associates (SPR) and its subcontractor, Mathematica Policy Research (Mathematica), to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the SCSEP. The evaluation had two parts: (1) a quantitative study that analyzed existing administrative data and customer satisfaction survey data for PY 2009 and 2010, and (2) a process study based on interviews with national SCSEP grantees and case-study site visits to 29 local projects during PY 2011. This final report summarizes the results from these evaluation activities. It presents findings on the organization of the program, the participants served, the outcomes achieved, and the challenges faced by local projects, as well as information about the organizational factors and service features that influence SCSEP program success, as indicated by a wide range of outcome measures.