The Senior Community Service Employment Program provides meaningful parttime employment to needy elderly residents. Eventual placement of the participant into an unsubsidized job is a prime goal of the program.
Participants work as Senior Aides in public and private nonprofit organizations. They work an average of 20 hours a week and are paid $5.15 an hour, the minimum wage. The Department of Employment Services (DOES) pays salaries with funds provided by the US Department of Labor and the National Council of Senior Citizens.
Senior Aides work as information and referral clerks, receptionists, clerical aides, teaching aides, home health aides, outreach workers, nutrition and activity aides, and literacy program aides.
Senior Aides also receive vocational counseling, aptitude and proficiency testing, job training, job referral assistance, and personal and housing counseling. These services, provided free by DOES staff, are designed to increase the employability of the Senior Aide. Host agencies are required to give priority consideration to successful Senior Aides for unsubsidized jobs.
To work as a Senior Aide, an applicant must:
- Be a DC resident
- Be at least 55 years old
- Have an annual income not exceeding the US Department of Health and Human Services' Poverty Guidelines
- Be physically capable of performing the proposed job
- Be available to work 20 hours a week
