Senior Community Service Employment Program

The State is sent an Equitable Distribution report by US DOL allocating participant slot placement within the counties the State is required to serve. Currently Colorado is under-serving 65% of the counties and over-serving 25% with an average of over/under service of 36.7%. The rural counties tend to be under-served and the largest urban county, Denver is over-served. The urban areas are continuing to increase in population while the rural areas are decreasing in population thus contributing to the imbalance of participation. The State will continue to recruit participants in the rural areas. SCSEP recruitment forums will take place in low income senior housing areas, senior centers, libraries and churches throughout the State. In the Urban areas the State will partner with businesses and educational institutions to assist in the placement of individuals that are not able to enroll in SCSEP due to the cap on enrollment in over-enrolled areas of the State. The State will continue to work towards creating a more equitable balance of participation between the rural and urban areas of the State.

Colorado’s over enrollment will be reduced through attrition, participants that meet SCSEP time limitations as well as those that have found unsubsidized employment, or have left the program for various reasons. Colorado will make an effort not to enroll new participants in counties that currently are over enrolled. The individuals that apply for enrollment in counties that are over enrolled will be referred to the American Job Centers, businesses that provide on the job training, and educational institutions that provide training for careers that are in-demand.

Counties that are under enrolled will continue to be examined for new opportunities with host agencies and participants. The demographics of each county will be examined, looking for the cities in the underserved counties that have a high low income older adult population. Outreach and education will be targeted to those specific communities and the residents of those communities.

The rural counties are challenged through geographic distance as well as the lack of employment opportunities and host agency training sites. The site managers in the rural areas will continue to serve on the local chamber of commerce committees as well as speak at service organizations. The site managers will be a visible presence in the community educating business owners, nonprofits/government agencies and potential participants of the benefits of SCSEP. Partnerships with local community colleges will continue to evolve, providing participants with the training necessary to meet the needs of a changing workforce.