[United States Government Manual]
[May 30, 1997]
[Pages 498-503]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE
1201 New York Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20525
Phone, 202-606-5000
Board of Directors:
Chair Bob Rogers
Members Victor Ashe, Thomas
Ehrlich,
Christopher
Gallagher,
Reatha Clark
King, Carol
Kinsley,
Leslie
Lenkowsky,
Arthur
Naparstek, Eli
Segal, (6
vacancies)
Members (ex officio)
(Secretary of Agriculture) Dan Glickman
(Secretary of Defense) William S. Cohen
(Secretary of Education) Richard W. Riley
(Secretary of Health and Human Donna E. Shalala
Services)
(Secretary of Housing and Urban Andrew M. Cuomo
Development)
(Secretary of the Interior) Bruce Babbitt
(Secretary of Labor) Alexis M. Herman
(Attorney General) Janet Reno
(Director, Peace Corps) Mark Gearan
(Administrator, Environmental Carol M. Browner
Protection Agency)
(Chief Executive Officer, Harris Wofford
Corporation for National and
Community Service)
Staff:
Chief Executive Officer Harris Wofford
Chief Operating Officer Frank S. Beal, Acting
Chief of Staff John S. Gomperts
Director, AmeriCorps Deborah Jospin, Acting
Director, National Senior Service Corps Thomas Endres
Director, Learn and Serve America Marilyn W. Smith
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Chief Financial Officer Donna H. Cunninghame
Director, Planning and Program Integration Gary Kowalczyk
Director, Evaluation and Effective Practices (vacancy)
Inspector General Luise S. Jordan
General Counsel (vacancy)
Director, Congressional and Intergovernmental Eugene Sofer
Affairs
Director, Public Affairs J. Toscano
Director, Public Liaison Melinda Hudson
Director, Human Resources Phyllis Beaulieu
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The Corporation for National and Community Service engages Americans of
all backgrounds in community-based service which addresses the Nation's
educational, public safety, human, and environmental needs to achieve
direct and demonstrable results. In so doing, the Corporation fosters
civic responsibility, strengthens the ties that bind us together as a
people, and provides educational opportunity for those who make a
substantial service contribution.
The Corporation for National and Community Service (Corporation) was
established by the National and Community Service Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C.
12651 et seq.). The Corporation assumed the programs and authorities of
the Commission on National and Community Service and effective April 1,
1994, incorporated programs previously administered by ACTION under
authority of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973, as amended (42
U.S.C. 4950).
The Corporation is a Federal corporation governed by a 15-member
bipartisan Board of Directors, appointed by the President with the
advice and consent of the Senate. The Secretaries of Agriculture,
Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban
Development, Interior, and Labor; the Attorney General, the
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, the Peace Corps Director,
and the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation serve as ex officio
members of the Board. The Board has responsibility for overall policy
direction of the Corporation's activities and has the power to make all
final grant decisions, approve the strategic plan and annual budget, and
advise and make recommendations to the President and the Congress
regarding changes in the national service laws.
Programs and Activities
The Corporation serves its mission through three major program areas:
AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps is the Nation's national service initiative that engages
thousands of Americans of all ages and backgrounds in solving the most
pressing community and national problems. AmeriCorps members get things
done by providing service to meet educational, public safety, human, and
environmental needs. In exchange for 1 or 2 years of service, members
receive service education awards of up to $4,725 per year to help
finance their college education or vocational training, or to pay back
their student loans. The Corporation has established an Education Award
Trust Fund to administer the award moneys.
AmeriCorps has three components: AmeriCorps*State and National is
administered through grants, while AmeriCorps*VISTA and
AmeriCorps*National Civilian Community Corps are run directly by the
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Corporation. Currently, some 25,000 members are serving in AmeriCorps.
AmeriCorps*State and National AmeriCorps*State and National members
accomplish their mission by providing direct service in the four issue
areas established by law: education, public safety, human needs, and the
environment. Services include: tutoring school-age children; serving as
mentor to teenage parents; developing crime prevention workshops and
providing victim assistance; helping the homebound and disabled live
independently; coordinating needed services for public housing projects;
starting citywide recycling programs; and restoring national parks.
Full-time AmeriCorps*State and National members must serve at least
1,700 hours during a period of not less than 9 months and not more than
12 months to be eligible for the education award. Part-time members must
serve at least 900 hours during a period of not more than 2 years
(unless the part-time member is enrolled in an institution of higher
education while performing some or all of the service, in which case the
member must provide at least 900 hours of service during a period of not
more than 3 years).
The Corporation funds AmeriCorps*State and National through
population-based State allocations; funds distributed to programs
selected by the States and submitted to the Corporation through
competitive consideration; and programs operated by national nonprofit
organizations, professional corps, programs operating in more than one
State, and programs operated by Federal agencies. The funds granted to
the States, on both formula and competitive bases, are administered by
State Commissions on National and Community Service, which make
subgrants to individual community-based programs. Information regarding
annual grants requirements and schedules is published in the Federal
Register.
AmeriCorps*National Civilian Community Corps (AmeriCorps*NCCC)
AmeriCorps*NCCC's mission is to promote civic pride and responsibility
through community service. Corps members work in collaboration with
community representatives to complete service learning projects in the
issue areas of education, public safety, human needs, and the
environment--with the primary focus on environmental needs. Corps
members, ages 18-24, are recruited nationally and participate in
innovative training programs that uniquely combine the best in military
training techniques, Civilian Conservation Corps values, and service
learning models. AmeriCorps*NCCC is a residential program, with members
living at campuses located at closed or downsized military facilities at
Charleston, SC; Denver, CO; and San Diego, CA; and at the Veterans
Hospital at Perry Point, MD. AmeriCorps*NCCC is directly administered by
the Corporation.
AmeriCorps*VISTA AmeriCorps*VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) is
a full-time service program established in 1965 and required by law to
address poverty and poverty-related problems. VISTA's are supported
directly by the Corporation, but serve with community-based public and
private nonprofit organizations through memoranda of agreement between
the Corporation and community-based groups. AmeriCorps*VISTA
participants must be assigned to antipoverty activities and are expected
to serve in capacity-building assignments, whereas the AmeriCorps*State
and National and AmeriCorps*NCCC programs emphasize direct service.
Full-time AmeriCorps*VISTA service is 12 months, with members receiving
a living allowance and health and child care; or they may elect to take
a $1,200 cash stipend at the close of service rather than an education
award.
Learn and Serve America
Learn and Serve America supports service learning by students from
kindergarten through graduate school. Service learning is an innovative
concept through which students participate in organized service
experiences that meet community needs and are supported by a curriculum
that allows research,
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reflection, and discussion of their experiences. The focus of Learn and
Serve America is to build a solid foundation for service learning in the
curriculum of every school in America. The Corporation awards
competitive grants to support Learn and Serve America on an annual
basis. Notices of funds availability published in the Federal Register
provide information concerning application deadlines and program
requirements.
School-Based and Community-Based Programs The goal of Learn and Serve
America's School-Based and Community-Based Programs is to increase
opportunities for school-age youth to learn and develop through service
to their communities. The Corporation supports these initiatives through
distribution of funds to State education agencies according to a
population-based allotment. Grants to State commissions on national
service, nonprofit grantmaking entities, Indian tribes, and U.S.
territories are competitive.
School-based programs are administered by State education agencies,
local education agencies in States not applying for funding, Indian
tribes, and U.S. territories. Participants are elementary and secondary
school students and out-of-school youth ages 5-17. Schools use Learn and
Serve America grants for adult volunteer programs and teacher training
in service-learning, along with planning, implementing, and expanding
service-learning programs. Community-based programs are administered by
State commissions on national and community service and nonprofit
organizations.
Higher Education Programs Service Learning at the postsecondary level
is supported by grants to institutions of higher learning, consortia of
institutions of higher learning, and public and private nonprofit
organizations in partnership with institutions of higher education.
These grants enable creation or expansion of community service
opportunities for students and explore new ways to integrate service
into the college curriculum and support model community service programs
on campus. The programs are located in 38 States, the District of
Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
National Senior Service Corps (Senior Corps)
The three Senior Corps Programs--Retired and Senior Volunteers (RSVP),
the Foster Grandparent Program (FGP), and the Senior Companion Program
(SCP)--support community service by senior adults. These programs
demonstrate the continued resource of seniors, provide valuable
community service, and engage the experience, expertise, and commitment
of seniors in the community. Each of these programs is funded through
renewable project grants to public and private nonprofit organizations,
who enter into memoranda of agreement with local institutions, including
schools, hospitals, senior centers, and other organizations, who
directly assign and supervise participants. Most Corporation funding
supports continuation projects; new projects are awarded competitively
when funds are available.
Retired and Senior Volunteer Program The Retired and Senior Volunteer
Program provides part-time, uncompensated service opportunities for
persons age 55 or older. Participants serve a wide range of national and
community needs, working with persons of all ages in community-based
projects across America.
Foster Grandparent Program The Foster Grandparent Program provides
service to children with special needs. Participants must be 60 years of
age or older, and must be considered low-income by published Corporation
criteria. Participants serve 20-hour weeks, typically 4 hours a day, and
provide personal love, attention, and support to children. Children
served include those with physical and developmental disabilities,
living in conditions of poverty; involved in the juvenile justice
system; teen-age mothers and their children; and Head Start
participants. Foster Grandparents receive a stipend of $2.45 per hour
and are provided meals, transportation, and
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physical examinations. They serve in all 50 States, the District of
Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
Senior Companion Program The Senior Companion Program engages low-
income seniors age 60 and older in service to adults with special needs,
with a focus on service to the frail elderly. Eligibility criteria and
program benefits for Senior Companions are the same as those provided to
Foster Grandparents. Senior Companions provide support, assistance, and
companionship to those whom they serve in both in-home and institutional
settings. They also provide respite care to caregivers, especially
family members of the frail elderly.
Other Corporation Initiatives The Corporation's mission to develop and
support an ethic of service in America involves initiatives, special
demonstration projects, and other activities, in addition to the three
major program areas. These include the AmeriCorps Leaders Program (and
similar leaders programs in AmeriCorps*VISTA and AmeriCorps*NCCC), a
disaster response initiative, and short-term summer service initiatives.
The Corporation also carries out an extensive training and technical
assistance effort to support and assist State Commissions and service
programs. Through partnerships with the private sector, other Federal
agencies, and the Points of Light Foundation, the Corporation further
advocates and advances service in America. The Corporation provides
timely information about grants and financial assistance through notices
of funds availability in the Federal Register.
Sources of Information
Electronic Access Information regarding the Corporation's programs and
activities is available in electronic form through the Internet, at
http://www.cns.gov/.
General Information To obtain additional information regarding the
Corporation's programs and activities, call 1-800-942-2677, or for
Senior Corps programs, 1-800-424-8867.
Grants Notices of funds availability are published in the Federal
Register for most Corporation programs. Corporation State Program
Offices and State Commissions on National and Community Service are
located in most States and are the best source of information on
programs in specific States or communities.
National Service Recruitment Persons interested in participating in
service activities should call 1-800-942-2677, or contact Corporation
State Offices or State Commissions on National and Community Service.
For further information, contact the Corporation for National and
Community Service, 1201 New York Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20525.
Phone, 202-606-5000.
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