Under the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Program (TANF), adults receiving assistance are expected to engage in work activities and develop the capability to support themselves before their time-limited assistance runs out.  Under the TANF rules issued by HHS in 1999, “community service” was included as a type of “work activity” but the rules did not define “community service.”  Thus, states had leeway to define the term “community service” differently.

The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 directed HHS to define work activities to ensure more consistency across states.  On June 29, 2006, HHS published interim final rules, the preamble of which specifically lists both “AmeriCorps” and ‘Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA)” as an activity that fits within the definition of “community service” and therefore within the definition of “work activity” for purposes of TANF eligibility. 

This change in regulation may facilitate more consistency and stronger connections among agencies and organizations striving to promote work participation among low-income families.

The HHS interim rule was published in the Federal Register.  For your convenience, you may obtain an electronic copy of the notice at the following link:  http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/pdf/06-5743.pdf.  See page 37460, column 3, for the particular reference to AmeriCorps and VISTA.