Chapter 11: End of Service
A smooth conclusion to your AmeriCorps*VISTA experience is highly desired by both the Corporation staff and the sponsoring organization staff who support you at your project site. Just as you spent time preparing to begin your term of AmeriCorps*VISTA service, it is equally important for you to prepare for the conclusion of service. Whatever you choose to do after your AmeriCorps*VISTA service, you should start planning at least two months before your end-of-service date. Make sure you complete all your paperwork well before your end-of-service date and inform your supervisor and sponsoring organization of your departure date, travel arrangements, contact details, and any other information needed for you, the sponsoring organization, and the Corporation State Office to make your return home as smooth as possible. (See End-of-Service Checklist on page 82.)
PREPARING FOR END OF SERVICE
The AmeriCorps*VISTA program is not only about service. It is also about developing and supporting members in their goals and aspirations for doing service and in life after AmeriCorps. Perhaps the AmeriCorps*VISTA experience has changed your life to such an extent that picking up where you left off is no longer a viable option. Your sponsoring organization and the Corporation can help if you decide to research a new direction. An image of a smiling man
FUTURE PLANS FORM
In the tenth month of service, you will receive the AmeriCorps*VISTA Future Plans or Early Termination Request Form asking whether you wish to:
- Complete service as scheduled
- Continue service for less than one year at the same project (extension) if you did not initially elect an education award
- Continue service for one year at the same project or at a different project (reenrollment)
After you complete the Future Plans Form, submit it to the project supervisor to fill out the Performance Evaluation section. Follow up to make sure your supervisor forwards the form to the Corporation State Office 45 days before your end-of-service date. Even members who choose to end service early must complete the Future Plans Form.
EVALUATION OF YOUR SERVICE
The Future Plans Form requires the sponsoring organization to evaluate the performance of members approaching the end of their term of service or requesting a reenrollment or extension of service (see Appendix B). You are entitled to review the evaluation section before it is sent to the Corporation State Office. During this time you should also arrange an exit interview with your supervisor to summarize the work you have done and to talk through and agree with your evaluation. The exit interview is also an opportunity for you to give feedback, to discuss your future plans, and to finalize your arrangements for leaving. If you request to reenroll or extend, refer to the section on Additional AmeriCorps*VISTA Service on page 85.
TRAVEL PAYMENT
The Corporation pays for travel from your place of assignment to your home of record at the end of service. In the tenth month of service, you receive the AmeriCorps*VISTA Future Plans or Early Termination Request Form (see Appendix B), where you indicate your mode of travel for your return home. Based on that information, the Corporation sends you either a prepaid ticket or makes a direct deposit payment to cover the cost of travel from the project site to your home of record. The ticket or direct deposit payment will arrive before your scheduled departure. If you fail to sign and return the termination voucher within 30 days after completion of service, no reimbursement is made.Payment for end-of-service travel by private automobile is made only if one of the following situations applies:
- You were authorized to bring a car to training and you used the car for project activities during service
- You were authorized to use a car when on site and purchased it on arrival at the site
- The cost of reimbursement for private-vehicle travel is less than that for common carrier.
If none of these situations applies, you are reimbursed at the rate of the lowest commercial carrier fare.
HOME OF RECORD
Home of record shall be either:The legal residence of your parent(s) or legal guardian if you had been residing with your parent(s) or legal guardian immediately prior to entering AmeriCorps*VISTA service, or if you were a full-time student whose permanent residence was with parent(s) or legal guardian, or
- The residence established by you:
- While attending college immediately prior to entering AmeriCorps*VISTA service
- While employed immediately prior to entering AmeriCorps*VISTA service
- For purposes of voting or payment of state taxes
Modification of the home of record can be authorized at the discretion of the Corporation State Director if one of the following conditions exists:
- You designated the official home of record as the legal residence of a parent or legal guardian, and the parent or legal guardian has established a new residence (if the new residence is outside the United States, the Corporation will provide transportation to the nearest port of exit)
- The parent or legal guardian has died. The Corporation will transport you to the legal residence of your surviving parent or legal guardian, then to the next of kin. Transportation will be limited to a location within the United States.
- You have married and request travel to the home of record of your spouse
- Travel to the new home of record is more economical to the United States government than the original home of record
BAGGAGE SHIPMENT
If your home of record is at least 50 miles from your project site, you are authorized a baggage allowance to ship your personal effects between the project site and your home of record at end of service (see "Relocation Allowance" in Chapter 5). Notify the Corporation State Office before your departure date if you are shipping baggage. If you are relocating to some place other than your home of record, the shipping cost cannot exceed the initial allowance amount (For more information about shipping baggage, see Chapter 7).END-OF-SERVICE STIPEND
The end-of-service stipend is a post-service readjustment allowance intended to offset expenses after members complete their period of service. If you select the stipend, you automatically receive the payment with your last subsistence payment, provided your term of service is completed as scheduled and your end-of-service documents are submitted to the Corporation State Office. Federal income tax and Social Security (FICA) deductions are withheld from the stipend at the time of payment.
SEGAL AMERICORPS EDUCATION AWARD
After your service is successfully completed, if you elect to receive the education award, you are eligible to receive a $4,725 award, paid in the form of a voucher for education expenses. (See Chapter 6 for detailed information on the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award.) First, you must complete an End of Term/Exit Form and submit it to the Corporation State Office. The Corporation State Office indicates your eligibility on the Exit Form and sets up your National Service Trust account. Within 30 days after the Trust is notified of your eligibility, the Trust sends an information packet on how to access your Trust account. The packet includes a Voucher and Payment Request Form and instructions for filling it out. This is the document you need to authorize a payment from your Trust account.You must complete one section of the voucher to authorize the payment (keep a copy for your records) and send it to the school or loan company. The loan holder or school must complete another section and submit the voucher to the National Trust Fund for payment. Within 30 days of receipt, the Trust sends a payment directly to the school or loan holder. You will receive another voucher reflecting the revised balance in your Trust account.
The Segal AmeriCorps Education Award must be used within seven years of the date you finish your service, unless you apply for and receive an extension prior to the end of your seventh year in accordance with 45 CFR §2526. If you have questions about your education award, you should contact the Trust office at 1-888-507-5962, or at edawardvoucher@cns.gov.
Beginning late summer 2006, you may also create an online account with the Trust to better manage and access your education award. With the online system, you can create electronic requests for interest accrual payments or education award payments. You will no longer need to submit paper forms, and you will have a faster turnaround of your payment requests and the ability to track the status of your requests. (See Chapter 6 for further details on how to access your Segal AmeriCorps Education Award account online.)
Additional AmeriCorps*VISTA service
At the discretion of the Corporation, you may be afforded the opportunity to serve as an AmeriCorps*VISTA member beyond the initial year of enrollment. Although you have no entitlement to another term of service with the AmeriCorps*VISTA program, you are strongly encouraged to consider a second term of service.
Additional service is predicated on a clear indication that you will continue to provide a substantial contribution to the program. Approval is required for all continuations of service following endorsement by the sponsoring organization. The Corporation has established a policy that limits AmeriCorps*VISTA members to three terms of service.
In the tenth month of service, you receive the Future Plans Form, which asks whether you wish to complete service as scheduled or to reenroll or extend. In approving a request for continuation of service, your performance, as evaluated by the project supervisor and the Corporation State Director, along with your skills and experience, are considered. Continuation of service is also subject to the availability of an appropriate assignment and to the availability of funds for member support.
To request continuation of service, you must submit the Future Plans Form to the Corporation State Office at least six weeks before your scheduled end-of-service date. Otherwise, the usual process to terminate allowances will go into effect.
You and the sponsoring organization will be notified whether the request for continuation of service was approved at least four weeks before the end of service. The early termination provisions and volunteer grievance procedures do not apply to continuation of service denials (see Appendix C).
POST-SERVICE HEALTH COVERAGE
AmeriCorps*VISTA's health benefits coverage ends at midnight on the day you end service or are terminated from the AmeriCorps*VISTA program. Upon termination from service, you may convert from the health plan provided by AmeriCorps*VISTA's contractor to a designated private health insurance plan as described in the Member Health Care Guide. Conversion enables you to continue your health benefits for a period of time at your own expense. Your option to convert to this private insurance plan must be exercised within 31 days of the date you end service. If you exercise this conversion option, the private plan becomes effective on the day after you end your AmeriCorps*VISTA service.
Conversion is offered through the Celtic Insurance Company. For information about conversion through this company, call 800-365-2365. You must exercise the option to convert to a health plan through Celtic within 31 days of your end-ofservice date.
LIFE AFTER AMERICORPS*VISTA
CERTIFICATION OF SERVICE
Once you have completed service, log onto the My AmeriCorps portal to print a letter of AmeriCorps*VISTA certification. This letter will serve as proof of your AmeriCorps*VISTA service and includes your dates of service. Visit http://my.americorps.gov to register at the My AmeriCorps portal. Click the “My Service Letter” link to create and print your letter. If your letter is incorrect or the portal cannot locate your record, please contact the VISTA Member Support Unit at VISTAMemberSupportUnit@cns.gov.
STAYING INVOLVED
AmeriCorps*VISTA encourages you to stay in touch with our program and become involved with the Alumni Network after you complete your year of service. As an alumnus/alumna, you can help mentor or house current members, help recruit new AmeriCorps*VISTA members, and help develop new initiatives. You can also stay involved with AmeriCorps*VISTA by connecting with other members and alumni through the AmeriCorps eCommunity. Access is free to members and alumni. For information and services that help you stay involved with the AmeriCorps community, visit: http://www.americorps.gov/for_individuals/alumni/index.html.SERVICE AND YOUR CAREER
For many, AmeriCorps*VISTA service is the first step in a rewarding career in public service. Helping to address critical community needs can be inspiring-and the needs never go away. Putting your idealism, energy, and experience to work in a career that helps others can be the perfect way to incorporate your service into the rest of your life.AmeriCorps has created a workbook that may help you sort out your options for the future. Next Steps: Life After AmeriCorps includes exercises to help you assess your skills and accomplishments, consider your next steps, and reflect on and make important decisions about future employment, training, education, and service. You can order the workbook by downloading the form on The National Service Resource Center Web site: http://www.nationalserviceresources.org/publications/order/index.php.
Non-Competitive Eligibility for Federal Government Service
If you served as an AmeriCorps*VISTA member, your experience may help you get hired by the federal government. After you satisfactorily complete a full year of service, you earn non-competitive eligibility for federal jobs for one year.This one year of non-competitive eligibility begins the first day after you complete your full year of service. Non-competitive eligibility does not mean that you are guaranteed a federal civil service job. You must locate an agency with a vacancy and interest that agency in hiring you. This benefit does not apply for other AmeriCorps programs.
To establish your non-competitive status, you will need proof of eligibility. Once you have completed service, log onto the My AmeriCorps portal to print an AmeriCorps*VISTA certification letter. Visit http://my.americorps.gov to register at the My AmeriCorps portal. Click the “My Service Letter” link to create and print your letter. If your letter is incorrect or the portal cannot locate your record, please contact the VISTA Member Support Unit at VISTAMemberSupportUnit@cns.gov.
Submit copies of this statement with your federal job applications. Information on federal positions can be obtained from USAJOBS, the federal government's one-stop source for federal jobs and employment information. USAJOBS is accessible at http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/.
