For Immediate Release:
May 20, 2009

Contact:
Kit Wagar
Office of Public Information
573-751-6062

Missouri state officials announce nearly $2.8 million in federal funding to create jobs for seniors.

Missouri will spend nearly $2.8 million over the next 14 months to help qualifying seniors find jobs, state officials announced Tuesday.

Margaret Donnelly, director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, announced the new funding during an appearance at the Goodwill Industries Store in O’Fallon. MERS/Goodwill Industries is a contractor who participates in the program, placing seniors in jobs where they receive training and skills they can use to obtain full-time employment.

The program represents Missouri’s first non-highway funding to hit the streets from the federal stimulus bill that became law last February. The funding represents a 23 percent increase in spending on the senior jobs program and is expected to create about 300 new jobs for Missourians age 55 and older.

Missouri will receive $2.2 million in new federal money that will go directly to contractors who help place seniors in jobs. Another $586,706 in federal funds will go to the state, which will pass the money along to agencies that oversee the program. Gov. Jay Nixon signed the legislation authorizing the expenditure of those funds last week.

The program is formally known as Senior Community Service Employment Program. The program pays participants’ salaries while they are gaining work experience and on-the-job training. The average recipient spends 27 months in the program before moving into unsubsidized employment.

The program is designed to enable older job seekers to develop the skills and confidence to compete in the marketplace for unsubsidized jobs. The program also provides valuable services to the employers, who provide a wide variety of community services. Employers include day care centers, senior centers, schools and hospitals.

The state’s share of the new funding is expected to subsidize employment for 62 people. The funding sent directly to contractors is expected to create 237 jobs.

The funding is part of $120 million included in the stimulus package for the senior jobs program nationwide.

Individuals aged 55 or older  with incomes up to 125 percent of the federal poverty level are eligible to participate in the program.