AC Member Application Justification Final

SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT SUBMISSIONS

 

A. Justification

A1.  Need for Information Collection

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) awards grants to states, institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations, Indian tribes, and U.S. Territories to operate AmeriCorps State, AmeriCorps National, and Senior Corps programs. CNCS operates AmeriCorps NCCC and AmeriCorps VISTA. This information collection comprises the questions applicants answer to apply to be an AmeriCorps member in an AmeriCorps State, AmeriCorps National, AmeriCorps NCCC or AmeriCorps VISTA.

A2.  Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used.

Applicants respond to the questions included in these instructions in order to apply to be an AmeriCorps member. AmeriCorps members serve in communities and at the end of their term of service, receive an education award or a cash stipend.

 

 A3.  Minimize Burden: Use of Improved Technology to Reduce Burden

CNCS will be eliciting and accepting responses to these questions from potential AmeriCorps members electronically via the My AmeriCorps portal CNCS’s secure online grants management system, or via e-mail. If applicants are unable to apply or report on-line, they can use the attached forms and instructions to submit their application.

A4.  Non-Duplication

There are no other sources of information by which CNCS can meet the purposes described in A2 (above).

 

A5.  Minimizing for economic burden for small businesses or other small entities.

This collection of information does not impact small businesses because they are not eligible to apply. This collection of information simplifies the AmeriCorps application process and should reduce the burden on small non-profits and public entities by reducing their need to recruit and coordinate the applications of AmeriCorps members.

A6.  Consideration of Collection

 CNCS will be unable to accept applications from citizens interested in becoming AmeriCorps members without approval of this collection.

A7.  Special circumstances that would cause information collection to be collected in the specified ways.

There are no special circumstances that would require the collection of information in any other ways specified.

A8.  Provide copy and identify the date and page number of publication in the Federal Register of the Agency’s notice.

The 60 day Notice soliciting comments was published on May 18, 2015 on page 28245. Two comments were received on this information collection. All comments were incorporated or will be incorporated in the next more substantive revision.

 

 A9.  Payment to Respondents

There are no payments or gifts to respondents

  

A10.  Confidentiality

Information provided by this collection may be shared with federal, state, and local agencies for law enforcement purposes. Information provided by respondents is subject to the Privacy Act and a Privacy Act Notice is included on the information collection.

A11.  Sensitive Questions

 The information collection does not include questions of a sensitive nature.

 

A12. Hour burden of the collection

This is the application to become an AmeriCorps member.

We expect approximately 225,000 respondents to use these instructions, including those who apply to become AmeriCorps members and their references. The frequency of response will not be greater than annually, and should not exceed 1.25 hours of effort per respondent. There is no estimated annual hour burden outside of the customary and usual business practices.

 

A13. Cost burden to the respondent

The total cost burden based on an average cost of $18.77 per hour (value of a volunteer hour according to Independent Sector) is $6,334,875. The cost of reporting is covered by the grants awarded by CNCS to programs who supervise the AmeriCorps members.

 

A14. Cost to Government

There are no additional costs to the Government.

A15. Reasons for program changes

Not applicable.

 

 A16.  Publication of results

Not applicable because the responses to this information collection will not be published. 

 

A17.  Explain the reason for seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection.

Not applicable.

 

 A18.  Exceptions to the certification statement

There are no exceptions to the certification statement in the submitted ROCIS form.

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