The hold harmless provision requires the Secretary of Labor to reserve for the national sponsors a funding amount sufficient to maintain the 1978 activity level. These statutes have required that no more than 22 percent of the SCSEP appropriation be allocated to the state governments. For the 1994 program year, for example, $234.5 million of the total appropriation of $410 million was subject to the hold harmless provision and distributed accordingly. The Department would not be required to hold harmless the 1978 state-by-state levels. Scope and Methodology

To identify Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) grants for program years 1993-94, we reviewed grant applications, the Older Americans Act (OAA), and Labor’s regulations that relate to grant awards and to title V. We also reviewed prior studies, audits, and reports on SCSEP, including those by Labor’s Office of Inspector General (OIG). 55%/45% state sponsors 2,236,065 55%/45% national sponsors 55%/45% total (continued)

National Sponsors’ Administrative Costs Placed in the Category of Other Enrollee Costs

For program year 1994, most of the national sponsors allocated administrative costs to the category of other enrollee costs rather than the administrative category, which has an Older Americans Act (OAA) limit of 15 percent. GAO Comments

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. In January 1984, Labor once again requested another equitable distribution report.
Why GAO Did This Study

GAO examined the Department of Labor's (DOL) Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), focusing on: (1) DOL process for awarding SCSEP grants; (2) the extent to which DOL equitably distributes SCSEP funds; and (3) SCSEP administrative costs.

What GAO Found

GAO found that: (1) in order to maintain 1978 activity levels, the Older Americans Act (OAA) requires DOL to award SCSEP grants to national sponsors and those with proven track records; (2) of the $410 million in SCSEP appropriations for program year 1994, $234.5 million was distributed under the 1978 activity level provision; (3) DOL's use of the 1978 allocation pattern severely limited its ability to achieve equitable distribution among states; (4) appropriations statutes have overriden the title V funding provision to require that no more than 22 percent of SCSEP appropriations be allocated to state governments; and (5) in program year 1994, national sponsors' administrative costs exceeded the 15-percent limit due to administrative expenses being charged to another cost category.