US Labor allots money for senior citizens’ jobs

The CMMI Office of Aging has received funding assistance from the U.S. Department of Labor to provide subsidized part-time employment opportunities for low-income senior citizens.

Governor’s press information officer Peter Callaghan disclosed yesterday that the grant, amounting to $328,987, was allotted through the Senior Community Service Employment Program of the U.S. Labor Department. This project will provide subsidized part-time employment opportunities for low-income individuals aged 55 and over.

Callaghan explained that under the conditions of the grant, the Office of Personnel Management will announce part-time employment opportunities for seniors to include where and how to obtain application forms, number and types of positions available, number of working hours and rate of pay per hour.

Aging Office director Joseph Palacios said the grant would help seniors earn extra cash.

“We apply for this grant annually because it really helps our elderly stay active and earn money at the same time. We appreciate the Department of Labor funding this program,” Palacios said.

Palacios said the grant would provide 46 part-time jobs, mostly in the Public School System. Saipan has authorization for 24 positions, while Rota and Tinian each have 11. He advised interested seniors to contact the Office of Personnel Management to find out how to apply for these positions.

The program, Senior Community Service Employment Program, grew out of the older workers component of Operation Mainstream, a pilot project established in 1965 under Title II of the Economic Opportunity Act.

Operation Mainstream provided job opportunities for chronically unemployed, poor adults. In 1973, the older worker component of Operation Mainstream was converted from a pilot project to an ongoing program, which is the SCSEP under the Older Americans Comprehensive Service Amendments. The 1978 Comprehensive Older Americans Act Amendments re-designated the SCSEP as Title V of the Older Americans Act.

The focus of the SCSEP is to foster and promote useful part-time opportunities in community service activities for persons with low incomes who are 55 years old or older, who have poor employment prospects and have the greatest economic need.

Community service means social, health, welfare, and educational services (particularly literacy tutoring), legal and other counseling services and assistance, including tax counseling and assistance and financial counseling, and library, recreational, and other similar services; conservation, maintenance, or restoration of natural resources; community betterment or beautification; antipollution and environmental quality efforts; weatherization activities; economic development; and such other services essential and necessary to the community as the Labor Secretary may prescribe.