2026 Request for Qualifications (RFQ) Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP)

Agency:	Mississippi Department of Employment Security
State:	Mississippi
Type of Government:	State & Local
NAICS Category:	541611 - Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services 541612 - Human Resources Consulting Services 541990 - All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
Posted Date:	Apr 17, 2026
Due Date:	May 29, 2026
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MDES Request for Qualifications for Senior Community Service Employment Program

Introduction

The Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) is a federally funded workforce

development initiative authorized under Title V of the Older Americans Act. Its primary purpose

is to promote economic self-sufficiency for low-income adults age 55 and older by providing

paid, part-time community service assignments and structured training opportunities. Through

subsidized on-the-job training at government and nonprofit host agencies, participants gain

current work experience, develop marketable skills, and transition toward unsubsidized

employment.

SCSEP is an integral partner in the broader public workforce system established under the

Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). Although SCSEP operates under separate

authorizing legislation, the program is required to coordinate closely with WIOA Title I and Title

III programs, the One-Stop delivery system, and Local Workforce Development Boards. This

coordination ensures that older workers receive streamlined access to employment, training, and

supportive services.

In practice, SCSEP and WIOA collaborate through participant co-enrollment when appropriate,

reciprocal referrals, alignment of Individual Employment Plans (IEPs) with WIOA Individual

Service Strategies (ISS), and shared use of American Job Centers (AJCs), branded as WIN Job

Centers (WJCs) in Mississippi. This integrated approach reduces duplication, maximizes

resources, and strengthens employment outcomes by connecting older workers to a

comprehensive suite of workforce services, including job search assistance, skills training,

employer engagement activities, and career pathways development.

Together, SCSEP and WIOA form a coordinated system that supports the workforce needs of

employers while helping older job seekers re-enter or remain in the labor market through

targeted, skill-focused training and supportive services.

This Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is for the Senior Community Service Employment

Program (SCSEP).

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MDES Request for Qualifications for Senior Community Service Employment Program

Purpose

The Mississippi Department of Employment Security (MDES) is seeking submissions from

nonprofit entities qualified to administer and operate SCSEP. A request for qualifications is not

an implied award of grant funds. Submissions will be scored and the highest scoring submissions

not approved will be prioritized for future opportunities.

Specific Guidelines

Who is eligible to apply?

• Non-profits

• Community Organizations

Background

SCSEP is authorized by the Older Americans Act (Title V), as amended by Public Law 109-365

on October 17, 2006. The SCSEP program is administered by the United States Department of

Labor (DOL) and serves unemployed low-income persons who are fifty-five (55) years of age

and older and who have poor employment prospects. The purposes of the SCSEP Program are

to:

• Foster individual economic self-sufficiency;

• Promote useful part-time opportunities in community service assignments;

• Provide participant training; and

• Enable or enhance job skills, so individuals are able to obtain unsubsidized employment.

SCSEP provides a win-win for participants and their communities. Participants help community

organizations extend their capabilities, while developing their own skills, self-confidence, and a

restore sense of self-worth. Key elements of SCSEP include, but are not limited to, the

following:

• Providing meaningful part-time community service assignments for people with low

income who are fifty-five (55) years of age or older, while providing transition to

unsubsidized employment;

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MDES Request for Qualifications for Senior Community Service Employment Program

• Providing eligible individuals wages for community service assignments, related

counseling, assistance in transition to unsubsidized employment, and other benefits as

allowed under the federal regulations for the program; and

• Documenting an Individual Development Plan (IDP) assessment of eligible individual’s

need for community service, training, and employment.

The chart below includes the counties where the project will be conducted and the number of

SCSEP authorized positions.

County

Number of Positions

Covington

Forrest

Harrison

Jefferson Davis

Jones

Pearl River

Program Information

Grant Period

The Grant Period for the grants awarded under this RFQ is approximately twelve (12) months

from the grant start date, with the option of renewals, at MDES’s discretion. In considering such

renewal, MDES may take into account performance, progress toward expected outcomes, and

expenditures, as well as other factors. The anticipated grant start date is July 1, 2026.

Total Funds Available

Total funding available for this RFQ is approximately two hundred twenty-one thousand, four

hundred fifty-seven dollars and zero cents ($221,457.00). Total funding available will be based

on the 2025-2026 DOL SCSEP funding amount, which is subject to change based on what is

awarded, approved and authorized by DOL. If DOL’s revised funding amounts are published

during the contract development phase of the grant, the funding amount may be adjusted.

Funding Authority The funding source for this RFQ is Title V of the Older Americans Act (OAA)

of 1965 (42 U.S.C. § 3056 et seq.), as amended in 2006, Pub. L. No. 109-365.

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MDES Request for Qualifications for Senior Community Service Employment Program

Number of Programs to be Funded

MDES will make at least one (1) award under this RFQ.

Eligible Applicants

Eligible Applicants under this RFQ are nonprofit organizations that have demonstrated expertise

and knowledge of Title V of the OAA and its implementation. Applicants must have experience

in:

• Strong SCSEP performance and transition capabilities

• Seasoned team with expertise to cover the expansion areas

• Ability to forward fund operations and work on a reimbursement basis

• Developing subsidized part-time community service work-based training positions for

low-income older individuals;

• Providing access to job training and education; and

• Placing individuals in unsubsidized employment.

• Each eligible Offeror may submit only one (1) proposal. If more than one (1) proposal is

received from an eligible Offeror, the MDES will only screen and evaluate the last

proposal received from that Offeror.

Eligible Population to be Served

The eligible population to be served under this RFQ consists of individuals who:

• are fifty-five (55) years of age and older;

• are unemployed at the time of enrollment;

• have an income at or below one hundred and twenty-five percent (125%) of the poverty

level as defined according to size of family unit by the federal Department of Health and

Human Services

• United States (U.S.) citizens or noncitizens authorized to work in the U.S.; and

• if male, meet U.S. Military Selective Service registration requirements.

The Successful Offeror shall determine eligibility for each participant prior to participant

receiving any services funded through this grant. The Successful Offeror shall document and

maintain confidential eligibility documentation files for each participant receiving services

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MDES Request for Qualifications for Senior Community Service Employment Program

funded through this grant. Failure to determine eligibility, document eligibility, or maintain the

required files for all enrolled participants may result in disallowed costs and subsequent

repayment of grant funds.

Program Requirements

Grant-Specific Requirements

Applicants awarded a grant under this RFQ shall comply with the following grant-specific

requirements:

• Ensure expenditures for participant wages and fringe benefits that are required by state or

Federal law (such as workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance) shall be at

least seventy-five percent (75%) of total funding awarded by DOL.;

• Ensure that no more than 8.5% of the funds expended by the Subgrantee from each fiscal

year's allotment shall be expended for administrative activities.

• Provide in-kind donations from non-federal sources which shall be at least ten percent

(10%) of the total costs of the program (total funding awarded);

• Conduct outreach and recruitment throughout the served areas for the program;

• Determine, document, and maintain eligibility documentation on file prior to enrolling

participants into the program;

• Ensure that priority of services is provided to qualified veterans or qualified spouses as

described in 38 U.S.C. §§ 4211 and 4215 or any subsequent waivers

• Identify and serve participants with “most in need” characteristics as defined at 20 C.F.R.

§641.140

• Ensure compliance with extensive programmatic assurances. Provide a handbook that

orients participants to the program that includes, but is not limited to, the following

information:

• Policies and procedures, including the complaint resolution process;

• Attain the estimated or projected minimum required deliverable targets established by

DOL for SCSEP including, but not limited to:

o Participant enrollment goal;

o Community service hours goal;

o Unsubsidized employment goal;

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This page summarizes the opportunity, including an overview and a preview of the attached documents.

2026 Request for Qualifications (RFQ) Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP)

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