§ 12572 — National Service Programs Eligible For Program Assistance

(a) The recipient of a grant under section 12571(a) of this title and a Federal agency operating or supporting a national service program under section 12571(b) of this title shall use a portion of the financial assistance or positions involved, directly or through subgrants to other entities, to support or carry out the following national service corps or programs, as full- or part-time corps or programs, to address unmet needs: (A) The recipient may carry out national service programs through an Education Corps that identifies and meets unmet educational needs within communities through activities such as those described in subparagraph (B) and improves performance on the indicators described in subparagraph (C). (B) An Education Corps described in this paragraph may carry out activities such as— (i) tutoring, or providing other academic support to elementary school and secondary school students; (ii) improving school climate; (iii) mentoring students, including adult or peer mentoring; (iv) linking needed integrated services and comprehensive supports with students, their families, and their public schools; (v) providing assistance to a school in expanding the school day by strengthening the quality of staff and expanding the academic programming offered in an expanded learning time initiative, a program of a 21st century community learning center (as defined in section 7171 of title 20), or a high-quality after-school program; (vi) assisting schools and local educational agencies in improving and expanding high-quality service-learning programs that keep students engaged in schools by carrying out programs that provide specialized training to individuals in service-learning, and place the individuals (after such training) in positions as service-learning coordinators, to facilitate service-learning in programs eligible for funding under part I of division B; (vii) assisting students in being prepared for college-level work; (viii) involving family members of students in supporting teachers and students; (ix) conducting a preprofessional training program in which students enrolled in an institution of higher education— (I) receive training (which may include classes containing service-learning) in specified fields including early childhood education and care, elementary and secondary education, and other fields such as those relating to health services, criminal justice, environmental stewardship and conservation, or public safety; (II) perform service related to such training outside the classroom during the school term and during summer or other vacation periods; and (III) agree to provide service upon graduation to meet unmet human, educational, environmental, or public safety needs related to such training; (x) assisting economically disadvantaged students in navigating the college admissions process; (xi) providing other activities, addressing unmet educational needs, that the Corporation may designate; or (xii) providing skilled musicians and artists to promote greater community unity through the use of music and arts education and engagement through work in low-income communities, and education, health care, and therapeutic settings, and other work in the public domain with citizens of all ages. (C) The indicators for a corps program described in this paragraph are— (i) student engagement, including student attendance and student behavior; (ii) student academic achievement; (iii) four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate (as defined in section 7801 of title 20); (iv) rate of college enrollment and continued college enrollment for recipients of a high school diploma; (v) any additional indicator relating to improving education for students that the Corporation, in consultation (as appropriate) with the Secretary of Education, establishes; or (vi) any additional local indicator (applicable to a particular recipient and on which an improvement in performance is needed) relating to improving education for students, that is approved by the Corporation or a State Commission. (A) The recipient may carry out national service programs through a Healthy Futures Corps that identifies and meets unmet health needs within communities through activities such as those described in subparagraph (B) and improves performance on the indicators described in subparagraph (C). (B) A Healthy Futures Corps described in this paragraph may carry out activities such as— (i) assisting economically disadvantaged individuals in navigating the health services system; (ii) assisting individuals in obtaining access to health services, including oral health services, for themselves or their children; (iii) educating economically disadvantaged individuals and individuals who are members of medically underserved populations about, and engaging individuals described in this clause in, initiatives regarding navigating the health services system and regarding disease prevention and health promotion, with a particular focus on common health conditions, chronic diseases, and conditions, for which disease prevention and health promotion measures exist and for which socioeconomic, geographic, and racial and ethnic health disparities exist; (iv) improving the literacy of patients regarding health, including oral health; (v) providing translation services at clinics and in emergency rooms to improve health services; (vi) providing services designed to meet the health needs of rural communities, including the recruitment of youth to work in health professions in such communities; (vii) assisting in health promotion interventions that improve health status, and helping people adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles and habits to improve health status; (viii) addressing childhood obesity through in-school and after-school physical activities, and providing nutrition education to students, in elementary schools and secondary schools; or (ix) providing activities, addressing unmet health needs, that the Corporation may designate. (C) The indicators for a corps program described in this paragraph are— (i) access to health services among economically disadvantaged individuals and individuals who are members of medically underserved populations; (ii) access to health services for uninsured individuals, including such individuals who are economically disadvantaged children; (iii) participation, among economically disadvantaged individuals and individuals who are members of medically underserved populations, in disease prevention and health promotion initiatives, particularly those with a focus on addressing common health conditions, addressing chronic diseases, and decreasing health disparities; (iv) literacy of patients regarding health; (v) any additional indicator, relating to improving or protecting the health of economically disadvantaged individuals and individuals who are members of medically underserved populations, that the Corporation, in consultation (as appropriate) with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, establishes; or (vi) any additional local indicator (applicable to a particular recipient and on which an improvement in performance is needed) relating to improving or protecting the health of economically disadvantaged individuals and individuals who are members of medically underserved populations, that is approved by the Corporation or a State Commission. (A) The recipient may carry out national service projects through a Clean Energy Service Corps that identifies and meets unmet environmental needs within communities through activities such as those described in subparagraph (B) and improves performance on the indicators described in subparagraph (C). (B) A Clean Energy Service Corps described in this paragraph may carry out activities such as— (i) weatherizing and retrofitting housing units for low-income households to significantly improve the energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions of such housing units; (ii) building energy-efficient housing units in low-income communities; (iii) conducting energy audits for low-income households and recommending ways for the households to improve energy efficiency; (iv) providing clean energy-related services designed to meet the needs of rural communities; (v) working with schools and youth programs to educate students and youth about ways to reduce home energy use and improve the environment, including conducting service-learning projects to provide such education; (vi) assisting in the development of local recycling programs; (vii) renewing and rehabilitating national and State parks and forests, city parks, county parks and other public lands, and trails owned or maintained by the Federal Government or a State, including planting trees, carrying out reforestation, carrying out forest health restoration measures, carrying out erosion control measures, fire hazard reduction measures, and rehabilitation and maintenance of historic sites and structures throughout the national park system, and providing trail enhancements, rehabilitation, and repairs; (viii) cleaning and improving rivers maintained by the Federal Government or a State; (ix) carrying out projects in partnership with the National Park Service, designed to renew and rehabilitate national park resources and enhance services and learning opportunities for national park visitors, and nearby communities and schools; (x) providing service through a full-time, year-round youth corps program or full-time summer youth corps program, such as a conservation corps or youth service corps program that— (I) undertakes meaningful service projects with visible public benefits, including projects involving urban renewal, sustaining natural resources, or improving human services; (II) includes as participants youths and young adults who are age 16 through 25, including out-of-school youth and other disadvantaged youth (such as youth who are aging out of foster care, youth who have limited English proficiency, homeless youth, and youth who are individuals with disabilities), who are age 16 through 25; and (III) provides those participants who are youth and young adults with— (aa) team-based, highly structured, and adult-supervised work experience, life skills, education, career guidance and counseling, employment training, and support services including mentoring; and (bb) (xi) carrying out other activities, addressing unmet environmental and workforce needs, that the Corporation may designate. (C) The indicators for a corps program described in this paragraph are— (i) the number of housing units of low-income households weatherized or retrofitted to significantly improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions; (ii) annual energy costs (to determine savings in those costs) at facilities where participants have provided service; (iii) the number of students and youth receiving education or training in energy-efficient and environmentally conscious practices; (I) the number of acres of national parks, State parks, city parks, county parks, or other public lands, that are cleaned or improved; and (II) the number of acres of forest preserves, or miles of trails or rivers, owned or maintained by the Federal Government or a State, that are cleaned or improved; (v) any additional indicator relating to clean energy, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, or education and skill attainment for clean energy jobs, that the Corporation, in consultation (as appropriate) with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of the Interior, or the Secretary of Labor, as appropriate, establishes; or (vi) any additional local indicator (applicable to a particular recipient and on which an improvement in performance is needed) relating to clean energy, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, or education or skill attainment for clean energy jobs, that is approved by the Corporation or a State Commission. (A) The recipient may carry out national service programs through a Veterans Corps that identifies and meets unmet needs of veterans and members of the Armed Forces who are on active duty through activities such as those described in subparagraph (B) and improves performance on the indicators described in subparagraph (C). (B) A Veterans Corps described in this paragraph may carry out activities such as— (i) promoting community-based efforts to meet the unique needs of military families while a family member is deployed and upon that family member’s return home; (ii) recruiting veterans, particularly returning veterans, into service opportunities, including opportunities that utilize their military experience; (iii) assisting veterans in developing their educational opportunities (including opportunities for professional certification, licensure, or credentials), coordinating activities with and assisting State and local agencies administering veterans education benefits, and coordinating activities with and assisting entities administering veterans programs with internships and fellowships that could lead to employment in the private and public sectors; (iv) promoting efforts within a community to serve the needs of veterans and members of the Armed Forces who are on active duty, including helping veterans file benefits claims and assisting Federal agencies in providing services to veterans, and sending care packages to Members of the Armed Forces who are deployed; (v) assisting veterans in developing mentoring relationships with economically disadvantaged students; (vi) developing projects to assist veterans with disabilities, veterans who are unemployed, older veterans, and veterans in rural communities, including assisting veterans described in this clause with transportation; or (vii) other activities, addressing unmet needs of veterans, that the Corporation may designate. (C) The indicators for a corps program described in this paragraph are— (i) the number of housing units created for veterans; (ii) the number of veterans who pursue educational opportunities; (iii) the number of veterans receiving professional certification, licensure, or credentials; (iv) the number of veterans engaged in service opportunities; (v) the number of military families assisted by organizations while a family member is deployed and upon that family member’s return home; (vi) the number of economically disadvantaged students engaged in mentoring relationships with veterans; (vii) the number of projects designed to meet identifiable public needs of veterans, especially veterans with disabilities, veterans who are unemployed, older veterans, and veterans in rural communities; (viii) any additional indicator that relates to education or skill attainment that assists in providing veterans with the skills to address identifiable public needs, or that relates to improving the lives of veterans, of members of the Armed Forces on active duty, and of families of the veterans and the members on active duty, and that the Corporation, in consultation (as appropriate) with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, establishes; or (ix) any additional local indicator (applicable to a particular recipient and on which an improvement in performance is needed) relating to the education or skill attainment, or the improvement, described in clause (viii), that is approved by the Corporation or a State Commission. (A) The recipient may carry out national service programs through an Opportunity Corps that identifies and meets unmet needs relating to economic opportunity for economically disadvantaged individuals within communities, through activities such as those described in subparagraph (B) and improves performance on the indicators described in subparagraph (C). (B) An Opportunity Corps described in this paragraph may carry out activities such as— (i) providing financial literacy education to economically disadvantaged individuals, including financial literacy education with regard to credit management, financial institutions including banks and credit unions, and utilization of savings plans; (ii) assisting in the construction, rehabilitation, or preservation of housing units, including energy efficient homes, for economically disadvantaged individuals; (iii) assisting economically disadvantaged individuals, including homeless individuals, in finding placement in and maintaining housing; (iv) assisting economically disadvantaged individuals in obtaining access to health services for themselves or their children; (v) assisting individuals in obtaining information about Federal, State, local, or private programs or benefits focused on assisting economically disadvantaged individuals, economically disadvantaged children, or low-income families; (vi) facilitating enrollment in and completion of job training for economically disadvantaged individuals; (vii) assisting economically disadvantaged individuals in obtaining access to job placement assistance; (viii) carrying out a program that seeks to eliminate hunger in low-income communities and rural areas through service in projects— (I) involving food banks, food pantries, and nonprofit organizations that provide food during emergencies; (II) seeking to address the long-term causes of hunger through education and the delivery of appropriate services; (III) providing training in basic health, nutrition, and life skills necessary to alleviate hunger in communities and rural areas; or (IV) assisting individuals in obtaining information about federally supported nutrition programs; (ix) addressing issues faced by homebound citizens, such as needs for food deliveries, legal and medical services, nutrition information, and transportation; (x) implementing an E–Corps program that involves participants who provide services in a community by developing and assisting in carrying out technology programs that seek to increase access to technology and the benefits of technology in such community; and (xi) carrying out other activities, addressing unmet needs relating to economic opportunity for economically disadvantaged individuals, that the Corporation may designate. (C) The indicators for a corps program described in this paragraph are— (i) the degree of financial literacy among economically disadvantaged individuals; (ii) the number of housing units built or improved for economically disadvantaged individuals or low-income families; (iii) the number of economically disadvantaged individuals with access to job training and other skill enhancement; (iv) the number of economically disadvantaged individuals with access to information about job placement services; (v) any additional indicator relating to improving economic opportunity for economically disadvantaged individuals that the Corporation, in consultation (as appropriate) with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and the Secretary of the Treasury, establishes; or (vi) any additional local indicator (applicable to a particular recipient and on which an improvement in performance is needed) that is approved by the Corporation or a State Commission. (1) The recipient of a grant under section 12571(a) of this title and a Federal agency operating or supporting a national service program under section 12571(b) of this title may use the financial assistance or positions involved, directly or through subgrants to other entities, to carry out national service programs and model programs under this subsection that are focused on meeting community needs and improve performance on the indicators described in paragraph (3). (2) The programs may include the following types of national service programs: (A) A community service program designed to meet the needs of rural communities, using teams or individual placements to address the development needs of rural communities, including addressing rural poverty, or the need for health services, education, or job training. (B) A program— (i) that engages participants in public health, emergency and disaster preparedness, and other public safety activities; (ii) that may include the recruitment of qualified participants for, and placement of the participants in, positions to be trainees as law enforcement officers, firefighters, search and rescue personnel, and emergency medical service workers; and (iii) that may engage Federal, State, and local stakeholders, in collaboration, to organize more effective responses to issues of public health, emergencies and disasters, and other public safety issues. (C) and college-age individuals to enter into mentoring relationships), either through— (i) provision of direct mentoring services; (ii) provision of supportive services to direct mentoring service organizations (in the case of a partnership); (iii) the creative utilization of current and emerging technologies to connect youth with mentors; or (iv) supporting mentoring partnerships (including statewide and local mentoring partnerships that strengthen direct service mentoring programs) by— (I) increasing State resources dedicated to mentoring; (II) supporting the creation of statewide and local mentoring partnerships and programs of national scope through collaborative efforts between entities such as local or direct service mentoring partnerships, or units of State or local government; and (III) assisting direct service mentoring programs. (D) A program— (i) in which not less than 75 percent of the participants are disadvantaged youth; (ii) that may provide life skills training, employment training, educational counseling, assistance to complete a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent, counseling, or a mentoring relationship with an adult volunteer; and (iii) for which, in awarding financial assistance and approved national service positions, the Corporation shall give priority to programs that engage retirees to serve as mentors. (E) A program— (i) that reengages court-involved youth and adults with the goal of reducing recidivism; (ii) that may create support systems beginning in correctional facilities; and (iii) that may have life skills training, employment training, an education program (including a program to complete a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent), educational and career counseling, and postprogram placement services. (F) A demonstration program— (i) that has as 1 of its primary purposes the recruitment and acceptance of court-involved youth and adults as participants, volunteers, or members; and (ii) that may serve any purpose otherwise permitted under this chapter. (G) A program that provides education or job training services that are designed to meet the needs of rural communities. (H) A program that seeks to expand the number of mentors for youth in foster care through— (i) the provision of direct academic mentoring services for youth in foster care; (ii) the provision of supportive services to mentoring service organizations that directly provide mentoring to youth in foster care, including providing training of mentors in child development, domestic violence, foster care, confidentiality requirements, and other matters related to working with youth in foster care; or (iii) supporting foster care mentoring partnerships, including statewide and local mentoring partnerships that strengthen direct service mentoring programs. (I) Such other national service programs addressing unmet human, educational, environmental, or public safety needs as the Corporation may designate. (3) (1), (2), (3), (4), or (5) of subsection (a) or any additional local indicator (applicable to a participant or recipient and on which an improvement in performance is needed) relating to meeting unmet community needs, that is approved by the Corporation or a State Commission. (1) In addition to any activities described in subparagraph (B) of paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection (a), and subsection (b)(2), a recipient of a grant under section 12571(a) of this title and a Federal agency operating or supporting a national service program under section 12571(b) of this title may directly or through grants or subgrants to other entities carry out a national service corps program through the following program models: (A) A community corps program that meets unmet health, veteran, and other human, educational, environmental, or public safety needs and promotes greater community unity through the use of organized teams of participants of varied social and economic backgrounds, skill levels, physical and developmental capabilities, ages, ethnic backgrounds, or genders. (B) A service program that— (i) recruits individuals with special skills or provides specialized preservice training to enable participants to be placed individually or in teams in positions in which the participants can meet such unmet needs; and (ii) if consistent with the purposes of the program, brings participants together for additional training and other activities designed to foster civic responsibility, increase the skills of participants, and improve the quality of the service provided. (C) A campus-based program that is designed to provide substantial service in a community during the school term and during summer or other vacation periods through the use of— (i) (ii) teams composed of students described in clause (i); or (iii) teams composed of a combination of such students and community residents. (D) A professional corps program that recruits and places qualified participants in positions— (i) as teachers, nurses and other health care providers, police officers, early childhood development staff, engineers, or other professionals providing service to meet human, educational, environmental, or public safety needs in communities with an inadequate number of such professionals; (ii) for which the salary may exceed the maximum living allowance authorized in subsection (a)(2) of section 12594 of this title, as provided in subsection (c) of such section; and (iii) that are sponsored by public or private employers who agree to pay 100 percent of the salaries and benefits (other than any national service educational award under division D) of the participants. (E) A program that provides opportunities for veterans to participate in service projects. (F) A program carried out by an intermediary that builds the capacity of local nonprofit and faith-based organizations to expand and enhance services to meet local or national needs. (G) Such other program models as may be approved by the Corporation or a State Commission, as appropriate. (2) A recipient of financial assistance or approved national service positions for a corps program described in subsection (a) may use the assistance or positions to carry out the corps program, in whole or in part, using a program model described in this subsection. The corps program shall meet the applicable requirements of subsection (a) and this subsection. (1) The Corporation shall establish qualification criteria for different types of national service programs for the purpose of determining whether a particular national service program should be considered to be a national service program eligible to receive assistance or approved national service positions under this division. (2) In establishing qualification criteria under paragraph (1), the Corporation shall consult with organizations and individuals with extensive experience in developing and administering effective national service programs or regarding the delivery of veteran services, and other human, educational, environmental, or public safety services, to communities or persons. (3) The qualification criteria established by the Corporation under paragraph (1) shall also be used by each recipient of assistance under section 12571(a) of this title that uses any portion of the assistance to conduct a grant program to support other national service programs. (4) The Corporation shall encourage national service programs eligible to receive assistance or approved national service positions under this division to establish, if consistent with the purposes of the program, an intergenerational component of the program that combines students, out-of-school youths, disadvantaged youth, and older adults as participants to provide services to address unmet human, educational, environmental, or public safety needs. (e) In awarding financial assistance and approved national service positions to eligible entities proposed to carry out the corps described in subsection (a)— (1) in the case of a corps described in subsection (a)(2)— (A) the Corporation may give priority to eligible entities that propose to provide support for participants who, after completing service under this section, will undertake careers to improve performance on health indicators described in subsection (a)(2)(C); and (B) the Corporation shall give priority to eligible entities that propose to carry out national service programs in medically underserved areas (as designated individually, by the Secretary of Health and Human Services as an area with a shortage of personal health services); and (2) in the case of a corps described in subsection (a)(3), the Corporation shall give priority to eligible entities that propose to recruit individuals for the Clean Energy Service Corps so that significant percentages of participants in the Corps are economically disadvantaged individuals, and provide to such individuals support services and education and training to develop skills needed for clean energy jobs for which there is current demand or projected future demand. (A) In order to concentrate national efforts on meeting human, educational, environmental, or public safety needs and to achieve the other purposes of this chapter, the Corporation, after reviewing the strategic plan approved under section 12651b(g)(1,) 2 of this title shall establish, and may periodically alter, priorities regarding the types of national service programs and corps to be assisted under section 12581 of this title and the purposes for which such assistance may be used. (B) Consistent with paragraph (4), States shall establish, and through the national service plan process described in section 12638(e)(1) of this title, periodically alter priorities as appropriate regarding the national service programs to be assisted under section 12581(e) of this title. The State priorities shall be subject to Corporation review as part of the application process under section 12582 of this title. (2) The Corporation shall provide advance notice to potential applicants of any national service priorities to be in effect under this subsection for a fiscal year. The notice shall specifically include— (A) a description of any alteration made in the priorities since the previous notice; and (B) a description of the national service programs that are designated by the Corporation under section 12585(d)(2) of this title as eligible for priority consideration in the next competitive distribution of assistance under section 12571(a) of this title. (3) The Corporation shall by regulation establish procedures to ensure the equitable treatment of national service programs that— (A) receive funding under this division for multiple years; and (B) would be adversely affected by annual revisions in such national service priorities. (4) Any national service priorities established by the Corporation under this subsection shall also be used by each recipient of funds under section 12571(a) of this title that uses any portion of the assistance to conduct a grant program to support other national service programs. (g) The Corporation shall consult with the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of the Interior, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and the Secretary of the Treasury, as appropriate, in developing additional indicators for the corps and programs described in subsections (a) and (b). (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Corporation shall require that each recipient of assistance under the national service laws that operates a tutoring program involving elementary school or secondary school students certifies that individuals serving in approved national service positions as tutors in such program have— (A) obtained their high school diplomas; and (B) successfully completed pre- and in-service training for tutors. (2) The requirements in paragraph (1) do not apply to an individual serving in an approved national service position who is enrolled in an elementary school or secondary school and is providing tutoring services through a structured, school-managed cross-grade tutoring program. (i) Each tutoring program that receives assistance under the national service laws shall— (1) offer a curriculum that is high quality, research-based, and consistent with the State academic content standards required by section 6311 of title 20 and the instructional program of the local educational agency; and (2) offer high quality, research-based pre- and in-service training for tutors. (j) The Corporation shall establish guidelines for recipients of assistance under the national service laws, that are consistent with the principles on which citizenship programs administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services are based, relating to the promotion of citizenship and civic engagement among participants in approved national service positions and approved summer of service positions, and appropriate to the age, education, and experience of the participants. (k) Not later than 60 days after the end of each fiscal year for which the Corporation makes grants under section 12571(a) of this title, the Corporation shall prepare and submit to the authorizing committees a report containing— (1) information describing how the Corporation allocated financial assistance and approved national service positions among eligible entities proposed to carry out corps and national service programs described in this section for that fiscal year; (2) information describing the amount of financial assistance and the number of approved national service positions the Corporation provided to each corps and national service program described in this section for that fiscal year; (3) a measure of the extent to which the corps and national service programs improved performance on the corresponding indicators; and (4) information describing how the Corporation is coordinating— (A) the national service programs funded under this section; with (B) applicable programs, as determined by the Corporation, carried out under division B of this subchapter, and part A of title I and parts A and B of title II of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4951 et seq., 5001, 5011) that improve performance on those indicators or otherwise address identified community needs.