§ 4955 — Support Services

(A) The Director may provide a stipend to volunteers, while they are in training and during their assignments, enrolled for periods of service of not less than one year under this part, except that the Director may, on an individual basis, make an exception to provide a stipend to a volunteer enrolled under this part for an extended period of service not totaling one year. (B) Such stipend shall be set at a rate that is not less than a minimum of $125 per month and not more than a maximum of $150 per month, subject to the availability of funds to provide such a maximum rate. The Director may provide a stipend set at a rate that is not more than a maximum of $250 per month in the case of persons who have served as volunteers under this part for at least 1 year and who, in accordance with standards established in such regulations as the Director shall prescribe, have been designated volunteer leaders on the basis of experience and special skills and a demonstrated leadership among volunteers. (C) The Director shall not provide a stipend under this subsection to an individual who elects to receive a national service educational award under subtitle D of title I of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 [42 U.S.C. 12601 et seq.]. (2) Stipends shall be payable only upon completion of a period of service, except that under such circumstances as the Director shall determine, in accordance with regulations which the Director shall prescribe, the accrued stipend, or any part of the accrued stipend, may be paid to the volunteer, or, on behalf of the volunteer, to members of the volunteer’s family or others during the period of the volunteer’s service. In the event of the death of a volunteer during service, the amount of any unpaid stipend shall be paid in accordance with the provisions of section 5582 of title 5. (1) The Director shall also provide volunteers such living, travel (including travel to and from places of training and to and from locations to which volunteers are assigned during periods of service) and leave allowances, and such housing, supplies, equipment, subsistence, clothing, health and dental care, transportation, supervision, pre-service training and where appropriate in-service training, technical assistance, and such other support as the Director deems necessary and appropriate to carry out the purpose and provisions of this part, and shall insure that each such volunteer has available such allowances and support as will enable the volunteer to carry out the purpose and provisions of this part and to effectively perform the work to which such volunteer is assigned. (2) The Director shall set the subsistence allowance for volunteers under paragraph (1) for each fiscal year so that— (A) the minimum allowance is not less than an amount equal to 95 percent of such poverty line (as defined in section 9902(2) of this title) for a single individual as expected for each fiscal year; and (B) the average subsistence allowance, excluding allowances for Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, and Alaska, is no less than 105 percent of such poverty line. (3) The Director shall adjust the subsistence allowances for volunteers serving in areas that have a higher cost of living than the national average to reflect such higher cost. The Director shall review such adjustments on an annual basis to ensure that the adjustments are current. (1) The Director shall— (A) make child care available for children of each volunteer enrolled under this part who need such child care in order to participate as volunteers; or (B) provide a child care allowance to each such volunteer who needs such assistance in order to participate as volunteers. (2) The Corporation shall establish guidelines regarding the circumstances under which child care shall be made available under this subsection and the value of any child care allowance to be provided.