MEO job program for kupuna, SCSEP, suspended amid federal funding uncertainty

Maui Economic Opportunity will be suspending a three-decade-old on-the-job training program for Maui County kupuna on June 30 after receiving notification Monday that its contract had been terminated due to the uncertainty of federal funding.

Eleven kupuna will be losing their positions in the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), which was established by the federal Older Americans Act to assist income eligible seniors, 55 years or older, who are unemployed. The participants were placed at Maui Adult Day Care Centers and Hale Mahaolu and are among the thousands of seniors assisted by MEO’s SCSEP through the years.

They work an average of 20 hours a week and are paid the minimum wage or currently $14 an hour with a scheduled increase to $16 on July 1. The purpose of the program is to place participants with nonprofits to help them gain marketable skills that will lead to employment in regular jobs.

Priority is given to veterans and qualified spouses, persons with disabilities, limited literacy and English language proficiency, and those at risk for homelessness or are homeless.

The federal funds are managed and distributed by the Workforce Development Division of the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR), which contracts organizations to operate SCSEP. MEO receives about $235,000 a fiscal year to run the program.

On Monday, the Workforce Development Division notified MEO of the termination of the contract after June 30, the end of the fiscal year, because the division had “not received positive assurance” that the federal funds were “forthcoming.”

“The decision to terminate this contract was not made lightly as the value of this program, fostering and promoting useful part-time opportunities for unemployed, low-income ‘older individuals’ has greatly assisted those who have taken advantage of this training program,” said DLIR Director Jade Butay in the letter.

“The DLIR appreciates and values your partnership in providing temporary jobs under this grant and for all your effort to provide much-needed services,” he said.

Per the letter, MEO is seeking alternative funding for SCSEP. The MEO staffer running the program will be re-assigned within the agency.

“MEO is heartbroken that SCSEP has been suspended. It’s one of our longer running programs,” said agency CEO Debbie Cabebe. “We have helped train and place thousands of kupuna and provided to them a steady income and a sense of worth and hope.

“We will do our best to see if we can keep this important program running.”