An indication for the Senior Neighborhood Service Employment Program on the AARP Basis in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Might 18, 2017.
Laurie Kellman | AP
Ronald Williams was unemployed when a good friend really useful a neighborhood jobs program for older employees.
After he accomplished coaching with Goodwill in 2024, Williams rapidly landed a job as a custodian — a job he nonetheless holds two years later, at age 62.
Goodwill’s job coaching program receives funding by means of the federal Senior Neighborhood Service Employment Program, also called SCSEP.
Williams, who lives in Steubenville, Ohio, credit the federally funded program with giving him confidence in his skill to work after dealing with what he describes as his private all-time low, when he was homeless and struggled with drug and alcohol dependancy. Now eight years sober, Williams mentioned, he recommends this system to individuals he talks to who want cash and do not know the place to show.
“It helps you out, as a result of generally you are stagnated, generally you may see no additional than the job you labored previously,” Williams mentioned. “However they provide you a future.”
This system’s personal future is unsure, nonetheless, because the Trump administration scrutinizes SCSEP funding.
Program ‘ineffective and duplicative,’ finances plan says
SCSEP gives each job coaching and group service alternatives for older adults by means of grantees, together with state companies and nationwide nonprofit organizations similar to Goodwill. Individuals are paid the best of the state, federal or native minimal wage and work a median of 20 hours per week, in line with the Division of Labor.
To qualify to participate, people have to be no less than 55 years outdated and unemployed and have household earnings that’s not more than 125% of the federal poverty degree.
SCSEP had greater than 42,000 individuals in 2023, in line with the Labor Division’s most up-to-date progress report on this system.
“Within the scheme of issues, it is a comparatively small federal program,” mentioned Maura Porcelli, senior director of workforce on the Nationwide Council on Getting older, a nonprofit group that focuses on enhancing the lives of older adults. “Nevertheless it has a deep affect within the lives of the older adults it serves.”
SCSEP, which was created in 1965 by means of the Older People Act, has confronted current scrutiny about whether or not its federal funding — totaling round $405 million in fiscal 12 months 2025 and $395 million in 2026 — is worth it. For perspective, the Congressional Finances Workplace initiatives complete federal outlays will likely be $7.4 trillion in 2026.
Final 12 months, the Division of Labor held up greater than $300 million of the SCSEP funding. Because of this, suppliers halted their companies for roughly 4 months, prompting “tens of 1000’s” of seniors nationwide to be “all of a sudden furloughed,” in line with a class motion lawsuit filed on behalf of 4 program individuals.
Now, the Trump administration’s 2027 finances proposal, launched in April, requires the complete elimination of this system’s funding.
The doc refers to SCSEP as “an earmark to leftist, Variety, Fairness, and Inclusion (DEI)-promoting organizations as an alternative of serving to seniors in want.”
The proposal says that efforts throughout federal companies — together with the U.S. Division of Agriculture’s Supplemental Diet Help Program employment and coaching, and a number of Division of Labor workforce improvement applications — already handle SCSEP’s goal. State and native governments have “confirmed monitor information of accelerating wages, versus this ineffective and duplicative program,” the proposal says.
The Trump administration has known as for the elimination of SCSEP earlier than, beginning within the president’s first time period, and mentioned in its 2026 finances proposal that this system “fails at its purpose.” Congress, which is finally answerable for the finances, approved $395 million in funding towards this system for 2026, about $10 million lower than it put aside the 12 months earlier than.
Shopper advocates say the federal government’s evaluation of SCSEP’s worth would not account for the challenges individuals face. SCSEP goals to assist the “very hardest-to-serve people,” Porcelli mentioned — those that have explored each avenue accessible, together with different federal applications, and have nonetheless not been capable of reenter the workforce.
Neither is employment the one measure of success, advocates say. At Legacy Hyperlink, a nonprofit group in Oakwood, Georgia, that gives assist to older adults, the eldest SCSEP participant is 86 years outdated, in line with Christine Osasu, this system’s director. By means of SCSEP, Legacy Hyperlink works to assist older adults attain “as near self-sufficiency as attainable” with job expertise coaching that brings them up to the mark on expertise, Osasu mentioned.
“For some individuals, that may completely lead to employment,” she mentioned. “For others, that may lead to simply instructing them the best way to function trendy expertise in order that they will navigate their life with much less help.”
The proposed elimination of SCSEP comes as individuals as much as age 64 face new work necessities for Medicaid and for SNAP advantages, previously referred to as meals stamps, as a part of President Donald Trump’s “massive lovely invoice” enacted final 12 months.
Amid broader affordability pressures, people who find themselves close to or above these age thresholds might have to work to maintain up with their bills — although eligibility for Social Safety retirement advantages begins at age 62.
In response to CNBC’s request for remark, the White Home referred CNBC to the Workplace of Administration and Finances, which administers the federal finances. OMB didn’t reply. The Labor Division additionally didn’t reply to requests for remark.
In a written assertion, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., rating member of the Senate appropriations subcommittee that oversees labor points, mentioned she is “dedicated to stopping Republicans’ misguided efforts to take this program from People in want.”
Penalties of halted funding
The four-month SCSEP federal funding pause final 12 months led to the elimination of all employees who dealt with this system at Legacy Hyperlink, in line with Osasu. The nonprofit, which as soon as had 9 workplaces throughout Georgia, now has only one location.
Its SCSEP program is working at about 30% of what it was capable of do earlier than the funding pause, Osasu mentioned — and on account of that misplaced infrastructure, some seniors who had been on this system previous to the pause haven’t been capable of reenter. Legacy Hyperlink can’t tackle new SCSEP shoppers, both, regardless of an inflow of inquiries from individuals thinking about becoming a member of this system, she mentioned.
The fee lapse affected shoppers who relied on the coaching program’s paid minimal wage, Osasu mentioned. Some Legacy Hyperlink individuals had been pushed again into homelessness, Osasu mentioned, whereas others not have their automobiles or have seen their well being decline as a result of they could not afford to take their medicines.
“Issues are type of in a darkish place proper now,” she mentioned.
Porcelli mentioned the Nationwide Council on Getting older couldn’t present coaching throughout the SCSEP funding pause.
“Very hardly ever did I’ve a day go by when a participant job seeker did not name me, asking with a sure degree of desperation when this system was going to be began up,” Porcelli mentioned.
These individuals had turn out to be used to receiving earnings from this system, she mentioned, and had been gaining expertise and dealing towards getting a job.
“That life-saving stipend was essential for them, so it was actually tough for lots of people,” Porcelli mentioned.
Goodwill in Zanesville, Ohio, additionally noticed a lot of its individuals wrestle throughout the funding pause, although some had been capable of get employed by the nonprofit or authorities organizations that present the on-the-job coaching, in line with Mike Carpenter, SCSEP program supervisor for the Zanesville Goodwill.
Goodwill’s program returned in November and has since gotten its 84 Zanesville individuals reenrolled and again into coaching, Carpenter mentioned.
“Now the one factor they hold asking is, ‘Are we going to be funded subsequent 12 months?'” Carpenter mentioned. “[They] don’t need one other lapse, they wish to proceed on.”
Why SCSEP is ‘a lifeline’
Social employee Nathan Singletary, left, listens as Luz Rivera interviews program participant Luis Quinones, entrance proper, on the AARP Basis in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Might 18, 2017.
Laurie Kellman | AP Photographs
The Trump administration has mentioned it desires to chop that funding altogether — a stance it has taken in each of the president’s phrases.
A September report from the Home Committee on Appropriations, led by a Republican majority, mentioned SCSEP has “led to unsubsidized employment for lower than half of program individuals accessible for employment with worse outcomes for individuals with a incapacity, older adults, and individuals with decrease ranges of training.” The report doesn’t element its supply for that assertion or present any knowledge, and the committee didn’t reply to requests for remark.
SCSEP shouldn’t be “excellent,” mentioned Cal Halvorsen, affiliate professor on the Brown College at Washington College in St. Louis, whose analysis focuses on the intersection of labor and growing older.
“There’s positively room for enchancment,” Halvorsen mentioned. “However the reply is to not cancel it, as a result of this program is a lifeline for individuals who might need no different alternatives to get retrained for work.”
In a analysis paper printed within the journal SSRN in 2023, Halvorsen and fellow researchers mentioned extra SCSEP funding is required to accommodate a excessive demand from unemployed and low-income seniors who wish to work. The demand for work amongst older individuals could also be poised to extend: In 2024, the U.S. had extra individuals over age 62 than below age 18, Halvorsen mentioned, and the inhabitants will proceed to become old.
Older people who’re out of labor can face a tougher time discovering employment, Halvorsen mentioned. SCSEP individuals are likely to have extra obstacles to discovering employment, similar to English as a second language, continual well being circumstances, homelessness or having been previously incarcerated, he mentioned.
“Simply Division of Labor metrics exhibits that this program shouldn’t be that profitable,” Halvorsen mentioned. “However when you type of look a bit bit deeper and take a look at who the inhabitants is that they’re serving and the way arduous they’ve it, although they do deserve jobs, it would not shock you the numbers are so low.”
Challenges to getting employed
Vonda Jones, of Valdosta, Georgia, who misplaced her residence in Hurricane Helene, is actively on the lookout for full-time work after collaborating within the SCSEP program.
Courtesy: Vonda B. Jones
SCSEP individuals who spoke with CNBC mentioned they’re longing for the chance to work.
Until you are financially ready, “retirement shouldn’t be an entire lot of enjoyable,” mentioned Vonda Jones, 72, of Valdosta, Georgia, who mentioned she began working when she was 14. Jones is the lead plaintiff within the class motion lawsuit.
Jones’ month-to-month bills, together with $700 in hire and a $440 automobile mortgage fee, take up most of her $1,800 month-to-month Social Safety examine, she mentioned. In 2024, Hurricane Helene destroyed her residence, and whereas Jones has not been capable of afford to rebuild, she continues to be paying property taxes and lawn-maintenance prices on the land.
SCSEP helped Jones enhance her pc expertise, she mentioned, after she retired from the Georgia Division of Labor in 2018 and spent a number of years caring for her grandchildren. At this time, Jones is working part-time as a receptionist, incomes minimal wage, and is actively on the lookout for full-time work that pays extra, she mentioned.
“In my thoughts, I am nonetheless productive and nonetheless ready,” she mentioned.
Different SCSEP individuals should navigate the challenges of searching for work whereas managing well being circumstances.
Tina Williams, 57, who’s in remission from lung and mind most cancers, mentioned she is on the lookout for a place that permits her to do business from home as she recuperates bodily. Final 12 months, throughout the funding pause for SCSEP, the Valdosta resident turned to meals supply to complement her earnings.
Collaborating in SCSEP has enabled Williams to spice up her typing expertise and work on her resume and job interview preparation. “I take a look at it like faculty for the aged,” Williams mentioned of this system. The earnings it gives additionally helps, she mentioned.
However discovering positions that enable her to do business from home has been tough, she mentioned, and the truth that she is older would not assist.
“From what I’ve seen, they actually do not wish to rent you at a later age,” Williams mentioned.
Dennis White, of Dublin, Georgia, discovered a job at a neighborhood Georgia library restocking books after collaborating within the SCSEP program.
Courtesy: Dennis White
Dennis White of Dublin, Georgia, had emergency surgical procedure for throat most cancers in January and may not converse.
White, 73, continues to work at his job as an assistant at a neighborhood library, the place he arranges and restocks returned books and new arrivals. The place, which he discovered by means of SCSEP, was precisely the type of job he had hoped to safe, White informed CNBC by way of e mail.
“I’ve at all times beloved bodily books, and the additional benefit is that it is a principally non-speaking place,” White mentioned.
White mentioned he first heard about Legacy Hyperlink’s program by means of a category in a homeless program he was enrolled in. SCSEP offered an opportunity for him to coach and discover alternatives, and the monetary assist was a “godsend,” he mentioned.
‘It isn’t only a handout’
Theresa Nottage, of Locust Grove, Georgia, says collaborating within the SCSEP program has helped her deal with rising hire.
Courtesy: Theresa Nottage
Some SCSEP individuals mentioned they’re involved concerning the penalties if the Trump administration cuts this system.
Theresa Nottage, 67, who lives in Locust Grove, Georgia, mentioned her month-to-month hire went up by $200 this 12 months, whereas her Social Safety profit — the first earnings she makes use of to pay the payments — rose by roughly $50, she estimates. She mentioned the cash she receives from Legacy Hyperlink coaching helps her pay for private gadgets that SNAP advantages do not cowl. Nottage is at present on the lookout for full-time work.
“We simply want a bit bit extra earnings to assist so we’ll have the ability to survive,” Nottage mentioned. “As a result of if I transfer out of right here, I will be homeless.”
In June, Anita Shelly, 63, will attain the four-year restrict for coaching with Tri-Parish Works’ SCSEP program in Chalmette, Louisiana. This system helped her enhance her pc expertise, she mentioned, after she spent years working in a deli — a job that led to her want for 2 knee replacements. She is on the lookout for work.
“The wealthy goes to remain wealthy, and the poor goes to remain poor,” Shelly mentioned of the prospect of reducing the SCSEP program.
Professionals who work on the SCSEP program and older people who’ve participated in it mentioned they consider this system is efficient.
“This system is a second probability for individuals, and it is usually a hand up for individuals,” mentioned Goodwill’s Carpenter.
Not everybody who participates in Goodwill’s program will get employed to an everyday job, in line with Carpenter. Even so, there are noticeable enhancements in each the person’s life and the group organizations they serve, he mentioned.
“It isn’t only a handout,” Carpenter mentioned. “It’s a probability to show your self, make your self higher and make your life higher.”
SCSEP graduate Williams of Ohio mentioned the Goodwill program offered a way of household and gave him confidence within the worth he offered by means of his work. He mentioned that helped him converse up when he noticed that the property the place he lived may very well be maintained higher — which resulted in a job provide.
Williams mentioned work has been “glorious” and that he has no plans to cease.
“You must earn it,” Williams mentioned. “You must rise up each morning like all people else, and you bought to punch that clock.”
“While you get achieved, you go residence, and also you do it another time,” he mentioned. “However the pleasure of it, you realize?”
— This text was written with the assist of a journalism fellowship from the Gerontological Society of America, the Journalists Community on Generations and the Nationwide Institute for Well being Care Administration Basis.
