Grant funds are for the placement, reasonable accommodation, and auxiliary services for members and potential members with disabilities, serving in AmeriCorps State or AmeriCorps National Direct programs.
a. Use of Grant Funds. Commissions may use grant funds to provide reasonable accommodations and auxiliary aids to members and potential members in circumstances including, but not limited to the following:
i. Provide reasonable accommodations for AmeriCorps State and AmeriCorps National members.
ii. Purchase reasonable accommodation and auxiliary aid equipment to be used by or loaned to AmeriCorps State and AmeriCorps National programs to assist in the placement of AmeriCorps members with disabilities.
iii. Purchase reasonable accommodation and auxiliary aid equipment that an AmeriCorps State or AmeriCorps National uses to assist in the placement of AmeriCorps members with disabilities.
iv. Partner with disability organizations to develop action plans that result in increases in referrals, member applications, and member support strategies.
v. Engage disability inclusion experts to review and provide feedback on existing recruitment, outreach, and programmatic materials on inclusions and accessibility.
vi. Provide funds to programs for the development of materials in alternative formats.
vii. Support the costs associated with the development of a statewide working group made up of representatives from the commission, State Office, University Center for Excellence in Disabilities, disability organizations, and self-advocacy groups to develop and implement plans to recruit and retain individuals with disabilities in service positions and to ensure positive experiences.
viii. Pay for a disability coordinator, disability inclusion expert consultant, or contractor (including a disability-related organization) to assist with outreach, recruitment, and training and technical assistance on disability inclusion issues including outreach, recruitment, reasonable accommodation, and retention. The time apportioned to this cannot exceed 1.0 FTE.
ix. Travel by commission staff whose position is funded through the disability grant, AmeriCorps members, or members of state-wide disability inclusion working groups when such travel is integrally related to facilitating the placement, recruitment, and retention of individuals with disabilities in AmeriCorps State and National Direct programs, including attending CNCS-sponsored trainings that strengthen the commission’s disability inclusion function.
x. Sponsor training sessions for and with AmeriCorps State or National programs to educate program staff (and/or members) as to how they can increase the participation of individuals with disabilities.
xi. To modify or enhance an activity or deliverable (e.g., training, brochure, or website) that is intended to achieve objectives outside the scope of these grant funds, prorate the costs accordingly. For example, if a training event has 10 modules, one of which falls within the purposes of the grant funds, the grant funds may be used to defray 10% of the total cost of the training event.
b. Restrictions on Use of Funds. Commissions may not use these funds to support the following activities.
i. Costs attributable to programs that are not funded under subtitle C of Title 1 of the National and Community Service Act such as Learn and Service America, AmeriCorps VISTA or Senior Corps.
ii. Reasonable accommodations and auxiliary aids for program or commission staff or for commissioners or for community beneficiaries of programs.
iii. Making the commission’s facilities’ accessible (unless doing so is integrally related to increasing the placement of individuals with disabilities in AmeriCorps State and National programs).
iv. Training of members concerning disability related issues (unless this activity is integrally related to increasing the placement of individuals with disabilities in AmeriCorps State and National programs).
v. Research or evaluation line item in the budget (unless this activity is integrally related to increasing the placement of individuals with disabilities in AmeriCorps State and National programs).
B. 3. Purpose of the State Administrative Award.
State Administrative grant funds are to support the operations of State Commissions and alternative administrative entities in implementing their duties as required by the National and Community Service Act of 1990.
a. Duties of State Commissions. The duties of the State Commissions are listed below.
i. Development of a three-year comprehensive national and community service plan and establishment of State priorities consistent with the Corporation's broad goals of meeting human, educational, environmental and public safety needs. The State entity must develop and annually update a Statewide plan for national service which meets the following minimum requirements:
(a) The plan must be developed through an open and public process (such as through regional forums or hearings) that provides for maximum participation and input from national service programs within the State, and from other interested members of the public.
(b) The outreach process must, to the maximum extent practicable, include input from representatives of established State service programs, representatives of diverse, broad-based community organizations that serve under-served populations, and other interested individuals, including young people; the State entity should do so by creating State networks and registries or by utilizing existing ones.
(c) The plan may contain such other information as the State Commission considers appropriate and must contain such other information as the Corporation may require.
ii. Pre-selection of subtitle C programs and preparation of application to the Corporation. Each State must:
(a) Administer a competitive process to select national service programs to be included in any application to the Corporation for funding;
(b) Prepare an application to the Corporation to receive funding and/or educational awards for the programs selected; and
(c) Certify that in conducting their grant review process, they have ensured compliance with the National and Community Service Act of 1990, as amended, the Corporation’s peer review requirements, all state laws and conflicts of interest rules.
iii. Preparation of Service Learning applications.
(a) The State entity is required to assist the State education agency in preparing the application for subtitle B school-based service learning programs.
(b) The State entity may apply to the Corporation to receive funding for community-based subtitle programs after coordination with the State Educational Agency.
iv. Administration of the grants program. After subtitle C and community-based subtitle B funds are awarded, States entities will be responsible for administering the grants and overseeing and monitoring the performance and progress of funded programs.
v. Evaluation and monitoring. State entities, in concert with the Corporation, shall be responsible for implementing comprehensive, non-duplicative evaluation and monitoring systems.
vi. Technical assistance. The State entity will be responsible for providing technical assistance to local nonprofit organizations and other entities in planning programs, applying for funds, and in implementing and operating high quality programs. States should encourage proposals from under-served communities.
vii.
Program development assistance and
training. The State entity must assist
in the development of subtitle C programs; such development might include staff
training, curriculum materials, and other relevant materials and
activities. A description of such
proposed assistance must be included in the State comprehensive plan referred
to in subsection (a).
viii. Recruitment and placement. The State entity, as well as the Corporation, will develop mechanisms for recruitment and placement of people interested in participating in national service programs.
ix. Benefits. The State entity shall assist in the provision of health and child care benefits to subtitle C program participants, as will be specified in the regulations implementing the subtitle C programs.
x. Activity ineligible for assistance. A State Commission or Alternative Administrative Entity may not directly operate or run any national service program receiving financial assistance, in any form, from the Corporation.
xi. Make recommendations to the Corporation with respect to priorities within the State for programs receiving assistance under DVSA.
xii. Coordination.
(a) Coordination with other State agencies.—A State entity must coordinate its activities with the activities of other State agencies that administer Federal financial assistance programs under the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9901 et seq.) or other appropriate Federal financial assistance programs.
(b) Coordination with volunteer service programs.— In general, the State entity shall coordinate its functions (including recruitment, public awareness, and training activities) with such functions of any division of the Corporation, which carries out volunteer service programs in the State. Specifically, the State entity may enter into an agreement with a division of the Corporation to carry out its functions jointly, to perform its functions itself, or to assign responsibility for its functions to the Corporation.
(c) In carrying out the activities under paragraphs (a) and (b), the parties involved must exchange information about the programs carried out in the State.
b. Structure of State Commissions and Alternative Administrative Entities.
i. Size of the State Commission and terms of State Commission members. The chief executive officer of a State must appoint 15-25 voting members to the State Commission (in addition to any non-voting members he or she may appoint). Voting members of a State Commission must be appointed to renewable three-year terms, except that initially a chief executive officer must appoint a third of the members to one-year terms and another third of the members to two-year terms.
ii. Required voting members on a State Commission. A member may represent none, one, or more than one category, but each of the following categories must be represented:
(a) A representative of a community-based agency or organization in the State;
(b) The head of the State education agency or his or her designee;
(c) A representative of local government in the State;
(d) A representative of local labor organizations in the State;
(e) A representative of business;
(f) An individual between the ages of 16 and 25, inclusive, who is a participant or supervisor of a service program for school-age youth, or of a campus-based or national service program;
(g) A representative of a national service program;
(h) An individual with expertise in the educational, training, and development needs of youth, particularly disadvantaged youth; and
(i) An individual with experience in promoting the involvement of older adults (age 55 and older) in service and volunteerism.
iii. Appointment of other voting members of a State Commission. Any remaining voting members of a State Commission are appointed at the discretion of the chief executive officer of the State; however, although this list should not be construed as exhaustive, the Corporation suggests the following types of individuals:
(a) Educators, including representatives from institutions of higher education and local education agencies;
(b) Experts in the delivery of human, educational, environmental, or public safety services to communities and persons;
(c) Representatives of Indian tribes;
(d) Out-of-school or at-risk youth; and
(e) Representatives of programs that are administered or receive assistance under the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973, as amended (DVSA) (42 U.S.C. 4950 et seq.).
iv. Appointment of ex officio, non-voting members of a State Commission. The chief executive officer of a State may appoint as ex officio, non-voting members of the State Commission, officers or employees of State agencies operating community service, youth service, education, social service, senior service, or job training programs. In addition, the Corporation may designate a state representative who will serve as an ex officio, non-voting member of the Commission
v. Other composition requirements. To the extent possible, the chief executive officer of a State shall ensure that the membership of the State Commission is balanced with respect to race, ethnicity, age, gender, and disability characteristics. Not more than 50% plus one of the members of a State Commission may be from the same political party. In addition, the number of voting members of a State Commission who are officers or employees of the State may not exceed 25% of the total membership of that State Commission.