Strengthening Opportunities to Serve In America's Communities

During his State of the Union Address, President Bush called on all Americans to give at least two years of their lives - the equivalent of 4,000 hours - to service to their neighborhoods, communities and Nation.

Today, the President will travel to Bridgeport, Connecticut to outline his principles for reforming and strengthening the community service programs operated by the Corporation for National and Community Service.

The President's principles are outlined in a package that he will send to Congress today calling for a Citizen Service Act. They include:

• Supporting and encouraging greater engagement of citizens in volunteering by reforming and enhancing national and community service programs to increase the quantity and quality of service opportunities for Americans.
• Making Federal funds more responsive to state and local needs by giving state, local and community officials more authority and flexibility to provide service opportunities to the citizens they represent.
• Making Federal support more accountable and effective by investing in opportunities that will produce results for the communities they serve.
• Providing greater assistance to secular and faith-based community organizations by including more such organizations in national and community service programs.

Background on Citizen Corps

President Bush is calling on Congress to pass a Citizen Service Act this legislative session that will encompass reforms and principles he will outline today. Together, these reforms and principles will create meaningful changes in the domestic service programs that are administered primarily by the Corporation for National and Community Service - an independent Federal agency created to administer most of the major federally funded domestic volunteer and community service programs.

The National and Community Service Act is the statute that originally authorized several of the programs administered by the Corporation including: AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve America and the National Civilian Community Corps. The Domestic Volunteer Service Act authorizes the Corporation's Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program and the National Senior Volunteer Corps - known as Senior Corps. Both statutes have been pending reauthorization by Congress since the end of fiscal year 1996. As a result, none of the Corporation's programs has had the benefit of a thorough review and discussion by the Congress for nearly a decade.

The programs fall into three groups:

• AmeriCorps grants support a network of community and volunteer service opportunities for participants to work with community service organizations working to meet the educational, public safety or environmental needs of America's communities. Since the President's call to service, applicant interest in the AmeriCorps program is up dramatically, with online applications increasing 73 percent.
• Senior Corps includes the Foster Grandparent Program, the Senior Companion Program, and the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, each of which is designed to utilize the skills of senior citizens within their communities. Since the President's call to service, interest in Senior Corps is also up, with hits to its web site increasing 437 percent .
• Learn and Serve America includes three service-learning programs: community based programs for school-age children, school-based programs for K-12 students, and higher education initiatives to involve college and university students in community service. Service-learning is a teaching method by which students or participants learn and develop skills and concepts through active participation in service activities that meet the needs of their communities.

Principles and Reforms

In his 2003 budget, the President requested a more than $290 million increase in funding over 2002 levels for the Corporation's programs. His proposal will support:

• 25,000 new AmeriCorps participants, who will supervise and train at least 75,000 additional community volunteers;
• 100,000 new Senior Corps volunteers; and
• an estimated 200,000-300,000 students in colleges and universities who participate in the Federal Work-Study program administered by the U.S. Department of Education.

The principles and reforms he announced today are intended to make certain those increased resources will go to support stronger and more effective volunteer service programs, and are based upon four main principles:

• Support and encourage greater engagement of citizens in volunteering by reforming and enhancing national and community service programs to increase the quantity and quality of service opportunities for Americans.
• Make Federal funds more responsive to state and local needs by giving state, local and community officials more authority and flexibility to provide service opportunities to the citizens they represent.
• Make Federal support more accountable and effective by investing in opportunities that will produce results for the communities they serve.
• Provide greater assistance to secular and faith-based community organizations by including more such organizations in national and community service programs.

The principles and reforms the President is proposing today would:

• Make maximum community impact and involvement hallmarks of each of the Corporation's service programs.
• Expand the role of the states in sponsoring these service programs, while offering them greater administrative flexibility in receiving and using federal funds.
• Establish accountability systems for the service organizations that receive federal funds that will include performance goals, measurement of progress toward those goals, and sanctions or corrective actions when those goals are not met.
• Help community and faith-based organizations gain access to volunteers supported by the Corporation's programs.
• Encourage more students to embark upon a lifetime commitment to service by making the Federal Work-Study program for college and university students more supportive of service activities, and by helping America's youngest students to participate in effective service-learning programs.
• Offer volunteers more flexible education awards that may be transferred for the benefit of others, by working with Congress to improve the tax treatment and other features of the new and existing awards, and by eliminating age and income barriers to participation in service programs.

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