S.C. jobs program could be eliminated

A new subsidized employment program known as the STEP program, which has provided jobs for 650 parents, will stop placing South Carolinians in jobs on Sept. 30 unless Congress extends the federal program that funds it.

Staff Report
Published Sept. 3, 2010

The STEP program uses federal dollars provided through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program emergency fund, which President Barack Obama and Congress created in last year’s Recovery Act to subsidize jobs for parents who would otherwise have received assistance through the state’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.

Most of the job placements are with private-sector businesses, and nearly all have led to permanent, unsubsidized jobs, according to a news release from the center, a nonpartisan research and policy institute that works on federal and state policies and programs that affect low- and moderate-income Americans.

South Carolina pays an individual’s wages, up to the minimum wage, for 20 hours per week for as long as six months, and in return, employers agree to keep them on their payroll at the end of the subsidy period.

Single mother Jennifer Price, who had been seeking work for seven months, was hired by Eau Claire Cooperative Health Care through the STEP program. She works as a referral specialist at the nonprofit health center, helping patients gain access to further treatment.

“The program has changed my life,” Price said. “I was living with a family member at the time, and I was able to move and get my own apartment. I have a 6-year-old, so it has helped me a lot.”

Unemployment in South Carolina, at 10.8%, is significantly higher than the national average. According to the news release, state officials worry that their TANF cash assistance caseload will begin to rise again if the subsidized employment program cannot continue.