Washington, D.C. - The 50 million Americans who are living with disabilities will have an easier time learning about and participating in national service and volunteer programs thanks to new initiatives announced today by the Corporation for National and Community Service.

The Corporation is the latest partner in DisabilityInfo.gov, a collaborative effort among 22 federal government agencies dedicated to making it the leading, one-stop federal source for disability-related information. The site provides information on benefits, civil rights, community life, education, employment, housing, health, technology and other subjects. The Corporation will be providing content about service and volunteering opportunities, grants, special initiatives, and training resources geared to including people with disabilities in service.

“We hope people with disabilities will come to DisabilityInfo.gov not just to receive services, but to find ways to serve,” said David Eisner, CEO of the Corporation. “We know that service connects people with disabilities to skills, networks, and career paths that can bring added value to their lives.”

Eisner announced the agency’s participation at event marking the fifth anniversary of the website this morning at the Department of Labor. The department’s Office of Disability Employment Policy manages the website.

The Corporation has a longstanding commitment to bring more people with disabilities into its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, VISTA, NCCC, and Learn and Serve America programs. It has committed over $50 million to inclusion of people with disabilities over the last 10 years, and supported more than 144 national and local organizations since 2001. Through the National Service Inclusion Project, it has provided training and technical assistance to over 11,000 participants at 300 regional and state events and developed over 88 training tools.

As part of its inclusion goal, the agency is working with Congress and the Social Security Administration on a legislative change to make AmeriCorps more welcoming to people with disabilities. Under current law, participation in the AmeriCorps VISTA program does not affect an individual’s eligibility for Supplemental Security Income or Social Security Disability Insurance. However, participation in the AmeriCorps State and National and NCCC programs is not currently treated the same way, and some individuals have been directed to repay disability payments because they served in an AmeriCorps program other than VISTA.

One of the provisions of the “Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2007” which was discussed in a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on October 17 takes an important first step in addressing this difference, by excluding AmeriCorps benefits from being counted as income for purposes of SSI eligibility. David Rust, Acting Deputy Commissioner for the Disability and Income Security Programs of the Social Security Administration, expressed the Administration’s support for the AmeriCorps policy change, noting that “Expanding the earning exclusions to participants in the other two programs would provide equity for our beneficiaries, administrative simplification, and presumably enable AmeriCorps to enroll more participants with disabilities.”

The Corporation for National and Community Service improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. Providing service opportunities for millions of Americans of all ages and backgrounds, Corporation programs include Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America. For more information, visit http://www.nationalservice.gov.

###