[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 69 (Wednesday, April 10, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17413-17414]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-8583]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Corporation for National and Community Service.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Corporation for National and Community Service 
(hereinafter the ``Corporation''), as part of its continuing effort to 
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a preclearance 
consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies 
with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing 
collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (PRA95) (44 U.S.C. Sec. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program helps 
to ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format, 
reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, 
collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of 
collection requirement on respondents can be properly assessed. This 
form is available in alternate formats. Individuals who use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (TTY/TDD) may call (202) 606-
5256 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Eastern time, Monday 
through Friday.
    Currently, the Corporation is soliciting comments concerning a web-
based senior service recruitment system, called ``Join Senior Service 
Now'' (JASON), that will enable older Americans who are interested in 
volunteering to match their interests and talents with community 
homeland security and other critical community needs that have been 
identified by local National Senior Service Corps (Senior Corps) grant 
projects. Use of the system is entirely voluntary. This system was 
deployed April 3, 2002, under emergency approval from the Office of 
Management and Budget and can be accessed by the public at the 
following website: www.joinseniorservice.org.
    Copies of the information collection request can be obtained by 
contacting the office listed below in the ADDRESSES section of this 
notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
ADDRESSES section by June 10, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to the Corporation for National and Community 
Service, National Senior Service Corps, Attn: Peter L. Boynton, Program 
Officer, 1201 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20525.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter L. Boynton, (202) 606-5000, ext. 
499.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    The Corporation is particularly interested in comments which:
     Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the 
Corporation, including whether the information will have practical 
utility;
     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     Enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submissions of responses.

Background

    Americans over the age of 50 are the fastest growing segment of the 
population, and the 60-plus population will double during the first 
quarter of this century. Concurrently, older Americans are one of the 
fastest growing cohorts utilizing the Internet for a myriad of 
purposes. A logical extension of these facts is that seniors will 
increasingly turn to the Internet to locate volunteer opportunities.
    The Senior Corps' programs enroll Americans ages 55 and over, and 
more than 1,300 local Foster Grandparent, Senior Companion, and RSVP 
projects are engaged in ongoing volunteer recruitment. Many local 
Senior Corps project directors have indicated that a viable and 
identity-specific presence on the Internet would be beneficial to their 
recruitment efforts. The majority of Senior Corps projects indicate 
that they experience difficulties in recruiting, even with the 
expanding population of eligible participants. A web-based system can 
help to tap more efficiently into the target population.
    The Corporation's current recruitment and communication vehicles 
with potential volunteers are outdated, inadequate, and expensive. 
Senior Corps has long relied on ``paper products'' such as brochures, 
posters, and fact sheets, in an increasingly electronic age. The number 
of ``hits'' on the Senior Corps pages of the Corporation web site 
(which increased more than 78% from 2000 to 2001), along with e-mail 
messages of interest, indicate that seniors are increasingly searching 
for opportunities online. The Corporation believes that Senior Corps is 
the appropriate entity to develop and launch such a vehicle. The 
success of the AmeriCorps national web-recruitment site, that uses an 
AmeriCorps OMB-approved application form, provides encouraging results 
that demonstrate how extensively potential volunteers and members of 
all ages are turning to the Internet to locate such opportunities.

Overview of ``Join Senior Service Now''

    Senior Corps volunteers serve with local projects of the Retired 
and Senior

[[Page 17414]]

Volunteer Program (RSVP), the Foster Grandparent Program (FGP) and the 
Senior Companion Program (SCP). Individuals learn about these 
opportunities through a variety of means, including public service 
announcements, posters, advertisements, and visits to the Corporation's 
website and websites of local projects. These media and others will be 
used to direct interested individuals to the JASON website at 
www.joinseniorservice.org.
    When they use JASON, prospective volunteers have the opportunity to 
find senior service projects of interest to them in two ways.
    Fast Match. By using the system's ``Fast Match'' feature, 
individuals can search for projects by selecting the senior service 
program(s) they are interested in and providing their ZIP code and the 
distance they are willing to travel. They also have the option to 
narrow their search by selecting one or more areas of service and/or 
entering one or more key words. They receive a listing of opportunities 
within the Senior Corps grantee network that match their service, 
distance, and/or other specifications and preferences.
    Registration. Individual seniors can also register with the system. 
Registration allows individuals the option of expressing interest in 
volunteering with senior service projects of their choosing and of 
sending certain information about themselves to the volunteer 
recruiters of those projects.
    To register, individuals enter the following four required data 
elements into a web-based form: (1) An e-mail address where they can be 
contacted that also serves as their unique User ID; (2) a password of 
their choosing that must be correctly entered before allowing access to 
information; their current age by pre-defined age ranges and 
categories; and (4) the age at which they began volunteering. 
Individuals are required to provide their age because different 
programs have different minimum age requirements. After registering, 
prospective volunteers have two options. They may immediately complete 
their registration and search for volunteer opportunities by clicking 
on a ``Register and Log-In'' button. This takes them to a screen where 
they can use the ``Fast Match'' feature. However, unlike an 
unregistered user of Fast Match, the registered user is offered the 
opportunity to express their interest in volunteering directly to 
specific projects by way of an e-mail message generated automatically 
by the system. Their second option is to use the system's ``Custom 
Match'' feature.
    Custom Match. If, after registering, an individual wishes to do so, 
he or she may complete an optional interest profile through an on-line 
form. The form has six parts, each serving a different purpose, and 
includes: (a) The names of the senior service programs the individual 
is interested in, (b) the volunteer's service interests, (c) the 
geographic areas where he or she wishes to serve, (d) the volunteer's 
general interests and skill information, (e) demographic information, 
(f) descriptive information and comments, and (g) contact information.
    Items under (a), (b), (c), and (d) are used by the system in 
``Custom Matches,'' where project information is matched to the 
individual's criteria. Demographic information under (e) is requested 
to help the Corporation understand the general aggregate profile of 
demographics of users, in particular, seniors using web-based tools. 
Descriptive information and comments provided in (f) are intended to 
allow a potential volunteer to tell the project's recruiter any 
additional information they wish to, as well as to provide the project 
and the Corporation with information on the effectiveness of various 
ways of advertising the website. Contact information in (g) is provided 
for the sole purpose of permitting the recruiter from projects to which 
the registrant has expressed interest to contact the individual about 
the particular volunteer opportunities they are interested in.
    When prospective volunteers have finished filling out all or part 
of the profile, they save it and search for matching projects. When 
they use the ``Custom Match'' feature to identify opportunities and 
express interest in a volunteer opportunity, the e-mail message sent to 
the project will provide their e-mail address and whatever other 
contact information they have entered on the Volunteer Interest Profile 
form. It will also provide a link to their Volunteer Interest Profile 
so that the volunteer recruiters can view the information they have 
provided about themselves.

Current Action

    The Corporation is seeking public comment pursuant to final 
approval of a web-based senior service recruitment system, called 
``Join Senior Service Now'' (JASON), that will enable older Americans 
who are interested in volunteering to match their interests and talents 
with community homeland security and other critical community needs 
that have been identified by local National Senior Service Corps 
(Senior Corps) grant projects. This system was deployed on April 3, 
2002 under emergency approval procedures and can be accessed by the 
public at the following website: www.joinseniorservice.org.
    Type of Review: New information collection.
    Agency: Corporation for National and Community Service.
    Title: National Senior Service Corps ``Join Senior Service Now'' 
(JASON).
    OMB Number: 3045-0078.
    Agency Number: None.
    Affected Public: Prospective senior volunteers.
    Total Respondents: 2,340,000.
    Frequency: At the discretion of respondents.
    Average Time Per Response: 0.25 hours for initial response; 0.7 
hours for subsequent responses.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 413,400 hours.
    Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): None.
    Total Burden Cost (operating/maintenance): None
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget 
approval of the information collection request; they will also become a 
matter of public record.

    Dated: April 4, 2002.
Tess Scannell,
Director, National Senior Service Corps.
[FR Doc. 02-8583 Filed 4-9-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6050-$$-P