Message from the Director: Transition Begins

As anticipated, President Elect Obama’s Transition Team arrived and started work in mid-November. The members assigned to the Corporation include: Shirley Sagawa (lead), Deb Jospin, and Michael Camuňez. We are fortunate to be working with these seasoned professionals with deep history and knowledge of our field. We have been participating in a series of productive discussions on topics ranging from our budget to technology to President-elect Obama’s service agenda. We will keep you apprised as any new developments emerge. It truly is a pleasure doing business with you, and know how much we appreciate your hard work on behalf of national and community service each and every day.

Reminder: Your 2009 Requests

We covered our current budget situation in some detail in the message that we sent out Monday, December 8, which you can find here. If you have additional questions on this topic, please contact your Program Officer. The key message to reiterate is that our funding level is still unknown. Due to this uncertainty regarding level of appropriations, in your 2009 applications, please request the optimal amount of funding you could use in Program Year 2009-2010, but be prepared to work with less.

For AmeriCorps National Applicants:
How to Enter Performance Measures in eGrants This Year

Now that we have completed the 2008 rulemaking, grantees are no longer required to measure end outcomes. In order to comply with the regulatory requirement that applicants submit one aligned performance measure for your primary service activity, please describe one aligned measure (output, intermediate outcome, and end outcome) in the narrative field for Rationale and Approach. You are required to enter service categories in the performance measure screens in eGrants and enter N/A and 0 for one aligned measure in order to submit. If your application is selected to move forward, you will enter an output and an intermediate outcome in the performance measure screens in eGrants.

December 14: Last Day for Public Comment

On October 15, 2008 we published Requests for Public Comment in the Federal Register for the AmeriCorps Member Application and the AmeriCorps State and National Application Instructions. The Member Application has been slightly revised to align with the screens in the My AmeriCorps Portal. The Application Instructions have also been revised to align with the 2008 AmeriCorps rulemaking on performance measurement. We will be accepting your comments on these information collections through December 14, 2008. To request a copy of these documents to review, e-mail aborgstrom@cns.gov.

Language to Include in Application if Participating in Youth Corps Study

As stated in the AmeriCorps regulations, if you participate in a national study conducted by CNCS including the Youth Corps study currently underway, you have fulfilled your evaluation requirement. Please include language in the evaluation summary field in eGrants in your continuation or recompete application to indicate your participation, such as:

“Name of Program” is one of the sites participating in the National Evaluation of Youth Corps, conducted by the Corporation for National and Community Service in partnership with Abt Associates and The Corps Network. The purpose of the study is to assess the impact of participation in Youth Corps on corps members’ employment, education, life skills, and civic engagement. The Corporation for National and Community Service has authorized this study for the independent evaluation under the AmeriCorps Rule.

Converting Member Slots

Lately we have received some questions about member slot conversions. Although “Changes in Member Status” is no longer in the Grant Provisions, it is still a policy of the Corporation and can be found in the online policy FAQs.

3. Changing a Term of Service (filled positions).Changes in terms of service may not result in an increased number of MSYs for the program.

a. Full-time. State Commissions and Parent Organizations may authorize or approve occasional changes of currently enrolled full-time members to less than full-time members within the first 90 days of the member’s service. Impact on program quality should be factored into approval of requests.

The Corporation will not cover health care or childcare costs for less than full-time members unless they are serving in a full-time capacity, defined as performing service on a normal full-time schedule for a period of six weeks or more. It is not allowable to transfer currently enrolled full-time members to a less than full-time status simply to provide a less than full-time education award. A Change of Status form must be completed in WBRS and forwarded to the Corporation within 30 days.

Although this policy discusses full-time converting to less than full-time only, the Corporation also disallows the transfer of currently enrolled less-than-full-time members to a lesser slot. For example, just as is the case with a full-time member changing to half-time, it is not allowable for a half-time member to convert to quarter-time simply to finish the lesser term and qualify for a pro-rated education award; and to allow the program to count the slot as filled.

Third Term Members?

Lately we have received several questions about supporting third-term AmeriCorps members with non-Corporation funds. If the member's previous two terms of service were in AmeriCorps State or National, then the member can’t serve a third term. We restrict terms of service within State and National to two terms. Whether the member support costs are paid for out of Federal funds or match does not change the fact that the individual in question would not be earning an education award, and so would not be considered an AmeriCorps member. If an individual who has served two years and earned two education awards wants to continue serving with your program, he or she may return as staff, a volunteer, or in some capacity other than as an AmeriCorps member.

Updated CCRAA FAQs

We have updated the College Cost Reduction Access Act FAQs to reflect the new AmeriCorps rule. You can find them here.

Digital Television Transition Information

As you know, television stations will stop broadcasting analog signal and switch to digital after February 17, 2009. Consumers receiving free, over-the-air television on analog televisions will need to act to ensure their televisions continue to work when this occurs. Households may apply now for coupons online at www.DTV2009.gov, by phone at 1-888-DTV-2009, via fax at 1-877-DTV-4ME2, or by mail to PO Box 2000, Portland, OR 97208-2000. For more information, visit www.DTV2009.gov.

Dates to Remember

• January 13, 2009 - State and National application deadline
• January 19, 2009 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service
• January 31, 2009 - Admin-PDAT-Disability FFRs due for period ending 12/31/2008
• April 30, 2009 - AmeriCorps FFRs due for period ending 3/31/2009
• May 5-7, 2009 - AmeriCorps National Best Practices Conference in Washington, DC
• May 9-16, 2009 - AmeriCorps Week

State Formula Applications due July 7, 2009 @ 5:00 p.m. EST
This deadline has been changed based on your feedback.

What Do You Think?

How can we make this periodic update more useful? Contact aborgstrom@cns.gov with your ideas.