SEI Workforce Board Receives $1 Million for Senior Pilot Program

(Lawrenceburg, IN) – The Southeastern Indiana Workforce Investment Board (SEIWIB) was recently awarded $1,067,320 in funding from the U.S. Department of Labor through the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) to provide training and services to low-income older residents looking for employment.

The SEI workforce development board was one of 19 national non-profit organizations awarded this funding, and is the only such board in the country to receive funds for seniors.

Local counties served by the board include Ripley, Decatur, Franklin and Dearborn along with Bartholomew, Jackson, Jefferson, Jennings, Ohio and Switzerland counties.

The local program will serve only areas throughout Indiana, with the hope that the Labor Department will eventually expand this program model throughout the state and beyond.

“SCSEP is a good fit for our organization, as SEIWIB has long demonstrated the importance of advocacy on behalf of under-served populations,” said Kurt Kegerreis, Executive Director of SEIWIB. “By awarding this grant to a Workforce Development Board, the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) is allowing SEIWIB to demonstrate how the program might operate with true integration of the services provided by SCSEP with those already available at WorkOne career centers.”

“As formula federal workforce funding has decreased in Indiana by roughly 40% in the last decade, this SCSEP grant will allow SEIWIB to serve more Senior Hoosiers than we would otherwise be able to,” says Stephanie Perkins, Operations Director for SEIWIB. “As Baby Boomers are aging, we at SEIWIB know more attention must be paid to vulnerable older workers who are at greater risk of losing their jobs in the coming years. SCSEP provides us a great opportunity to directly address this need.”