Programs
Learn More About Senior Service America
Senior Service America operates two programs: the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) and the Senior Environmental Employment (SEE) Program.
About SCSEP
The Senior Community Service Employment Program began as part of the War on Poverty 40 years ago and was so successful that it became a national program under the Older Americans Act. Program participants must be at least 55 years old with household incomes no more than 125 percent of the poverty level. Through funding from the U.S. Department of Labor, Senior Service America provides grants to more than 100 nonprofit agencies in 23 states and the District of Columbia to help them run SCSEP in their local communities.
While in the program, SCSEP participants learn job skills through performing community service assignment at nonprofit and government organizations in many activities, including:
- Meals on Wheels and other nutrition programs for older adults;
- Social, health, welfare and educational services;
- Personal assistance to seniors, including home care; and
- Library and recreational services.
SSAI operates SCSEP through a network of over 100 local non-profit, community, faith-based, and government agencies in counties within 23 states and in the District of Columbia. In 2004 alone, SCSEP participants nationwide contributed 46 million hours of service to their local communities.
Find more information about SCSEP at the Department of Labor's SCSEP site.
About the SEE Program
The Senior Environmental Employment (SEE) Program was authorized by the Environmental Programs Assistance Act, passed by Congress in 1984, and is funded by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The SEE Program places experienced older workers in positions in the environmental field. The program helps EPA offices and other environmental organizations, to staff environmental projects and preserve institutional knowledge.
Enrollees in the SEE Program assist the EPA, in areas including:
- Conservation, maintenance or restoration of natural resources;
- Anti-pollution and environmental quality efforts;
- Weatherization activities;
- Water supply inventories;
- Writing and editing EPA environmental education and outreach publications;
- Identifying and classifying sanitary landfills;
- Estimating levels of pesticide exposure;
- Monitoring radiation and air pollution; and
- Conducting school asbestos surveys.
Find more information about the SEE Program at the Environmental Protection Agency's SEE site.