HR 605 — Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Act

(a) Covered projects and programs The Director, on the receipt of applications by public or nonprofit private organizations to receive volunteers under this part, may assign volunteers selected under subsection (b) to work in appropriate projects and programs sponsored by such organizations, including work— (1) in meeting the health, education, welfare, or related needs of Indians living on reservations or Federal trust lands, of migratory and seasonal farmworkers and their families, and of residents of the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Virgin Islands; (2) in the care and rehabilitation of mentally ill, developmentally disabled, and other individuals with disabilities, especially individuals with severe disabilities; (3) in addressing the problems of the homeless, unemployed individuals, and low-income youths; (4) in addressing the special needs connected with alcohol and drug abuse through prevention, education, rehabilitation, treatment, and related activities, consistent with the purpose of this part; (5) in addressing significant health care problems, including mental illness, chronic and life-threatening illnesses, and health care for homeless individuals (especially homeless children) through prevention, treatment, and community-based care activities; (6) in connection with programs or activities authorized, supported, or of a character eligible for assistance under this chapter or the Community Service Block Grant Act [42 U.S.C. 9901 et seq.], titles VIII and X of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 [42 U.S.C. 2991 et seq., 2996 et seq.], the Head Start Act [42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.], the Community Economic Development Act of 1981 [42 U.S.C. 9801 et seq.], or other similar Acts, in furtherance of the purpose of this subchapter; (7) in strengthening, supplementing, and expanding efforts to address the problem of illiteracy throughout the United States; (8) in assisting with the reentry and reintegration of formerly incarcerated youth and adults into society, including providing training and counseling in education, employment, and life skills; (9) in developing and carrying out financial literacy, financial planning, budgeting, saving, and reputable credit accessibility programs in low-income communities, including those programs that educate individuals about financing home ownership and higher education; (10) in initiating and supporting before-school and after-school programs, serving children in low-income communities, that may engage participants in mentoring, tutoring, life skills and study skills programs, service-learning, physical, nutrition, and health education programs, and other activities addressing the needs of the children; (11) in establishing and supporting community economic development initiatives, with a priority on work on such initiatives in rural areas and the other areas where such initiatives are needed most; (12) in assisting veterans and their family members through establishing or augmenting programs that assist such persons with access to legal assistance, health care (including mental health care), employment counseling or training, education counseling or training, affordable housing, and other support services; and (13) in addressing the health and wellness of individuals in low-income communities and individuals in underserved communities, including programs to increase access to preventive services, insurance, and health services. (b) Recruitment and placement procedures for local and national placement of volunteers; establishment, requirements, etc. (1) The Director shall establish placement procedures that involve sponsoring organizations and that offer opportunities for both local and national placement of volunteers for service under this part. (2) (A) The Director shall establish and maintain within the national headquarters of the Corporation (or any successor entity of such ...

(a) Program grants for national problems of local concern; minimum amounts available; scope; implementation (1) With not less than one-third of the funds made available under subsection (d) in each fiscal year, the Director shall make grants under the programs authorized in parts A, B, and C to support programs that address national problems of local concern. (2) An applicant for a grant under paragraph (1) shall determine whether the program to be supported by the grant is a program under part A, B, or C, and shall submit an application as required for such program. (3) Each program for which a grant is received under this subsection shall be carried out in accordance with the requirements applicable to the program under part A, B, or C under which the program supported by such grant is to be carried out. (4) To the maximum extent practicable, the Director shall ensure that not less than 25 percent of the funds appropriated under this section are used to award grants— (A) to applicants for grants under this section that are not receiving assistance from the Corporation at the time of such grant award; or (B) to applicants from locations where no programs supported under part A, B, or C are in effect at the time of such grant award. (5) Notwithstanding paragraph (4), if, for a fiscal year, less than 25 percent of the applicants for grants under this section are applicants described in paragraph (4), the Director may use an amount that is greater than 75 percent of the funds appropriated under this subsection to award grants to applicants that are already receiving assistance from the Corporation at the time of such grant award. (b) Program grants for problems concerning Nation The Director shall make grants under subsection (a) to support one or more of the following programs to address problems that concern the Nation: (1) Programs that assist individuals with chronic and debilitating illnesses, such as acquired immune deficiency syndrome. (2) Programs designed to decrease drug and alcohol abuse through education, prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation. (3) Programs that work with teenage parents. (4) Programs that establish and support mentoring programs for low-income youth, including mentoring programs that match such youth with mentors and match such youth with employment and training programs, including apprenticeship programs. (5) Programs that provide adult and school-based literacy assistance, including literacy programs that serve youth, and adults, with limited English proficiency. (6) Programs that provide respite care, including care for elderly individuals and for children and individuals with disabilities or chronic illnesses who are living at home. (7) Programs that provide before-school and after-school activities, serving children in low-income communities, that may engage participants in mentoring relationships, tutoring, life skills, and study skills programs, service-learning, physical, nutrition, and health education programs, and other activities addressing the needs of the children in the communities, including children of working parents. (8) Programs that serve children who are enrolled in child care programs, giving priority to such programs that serve children with special needs. (9) Programs that provide care to developmentally disabled adults who reside at home and in community-based settings, including programs that, when appropriate, involve older developmentally disabled individuals as volunteers under this subchapter. (10) Programs that provide volunteer tutors to assist students, on a one-to-one basis, to improve the academic achievement of such students. (11) Programs that engage older individuals with children and youth to complete service in energy conservation, environmental stewardship, or other environmental needs of a community, including service relating to conducting energy audits, insulating homes, or conducting other activities to promote energy efficiency. (12) Programs that...

(a) Provision of assistance Subject to the availability of appropriations for this purpose, the Corporation for National and Community Service may make grants to States, subdivisions of States, territories, Indian tribes, public or private nonprofit organizations, and institutions of higher education for the purpose of assisting the recipients of the grants— (1) to carry out full- or part-time national service programs, including summer programs, described in subsection (a), (b), or (c) of section 12572 of this title; and (2) to make grants in support of other national service programs described in subsection (a), (b), or (c) of section 12572 of this title that are carried out by other entities. (b) Restrictions on agreements with Federal agencies (1) Agreements authorized The Corporation may enter into an interagency agreement (other than a grant agreement) with another Federal agency to support a national service program carried out or otherwise supported by the agency. The Corporation, in entering into the interagency agreement may approve positions as approved national service positions for a program carried out or otherwise supported by the agency. (2) Prohibition on grants The Corporation may not provide a grant under this section to a Federal agency. (3) Consultation with State Commissions A Federal agency carrying out or supporting a national service program shall consult with the State Commissions for those States in which projects will be conducted through that program in order to ensure that the projects do not duplicate projects conducted by State or local national service programs. (4) Support for other national service programs A Federal agency that enters into an interagency agreement under paragraph (1) shall, in an appropriate case, enter into a contract or cooperative agreement with an entity that is carrying out a national service program in a State that is in existence in the State as of the date of the contract or cooperative agreement and is of high quality, in order to support the national service program. (5) Application of requirements A requirement under this chapter that applies to an entity receiving assistance under this section (other than a requirement limited to an entity receiving assistance under subsection (a)) shall be considered to apply to a Federal agency that enters into an interagency agreement under this subsection, even though no Federal agency may receive financial assistance under such an agreement. (c) Provision of approved national service positions As part of the provision of assistance under subsection (a), and in providing approved national service positions under subsection (b), the Corporation shall— (1) approve the provision of national service educational awards described in division D for the participants who serve in national service programs carried out using such assistance; and (2) deposit in the National Service Trust established in section 12601(a) of this title an amount equal to the product of— (A) the value of a national service educational award under section 12603 of this title; and (B) the total number of approved national service positions to be provided or otherwise approved. (d) Five percent limitation on administrative costs (1) Limitation Not more than 5 percent of the amount of assistance provided to the original recipient of a grant or transfer of assistance under subsection (a) for a fiscal year may be used to pay for administrative costs incurred by— (A) the recipient of the assistance; and (B) national service programs carried out or supported with the assistance. (2) Rules on use The Corporation may by rule prescribe the manner and extent to which— (A) assistance provided under subsection (a) may be used to cover administrative costs; and (B) that portion of the assistance available to cover administrative costs should be distributed between— (i) the original recipient of the grant or transfer of assistance under such subsection; and (ii) national...

(a) National service corps 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: (1) Education Corps (A) In general 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) Activities 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) Education Corps indicators 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 whi...

(a) Project requirements The service projects carried out by the National Civilian Community Corps shall— (1) meet an identifiable public need, with specific emphasis on projects in support of infrastructure improvement, energy conservation, and urban and rural development; (2) emphasize the performance of community service activities that provide meaningful community benefits and opportunities for service-learning and skills development; (3) to the maximum extent practicable, encourage work to be accomplished in teams of diverse individuals working together; and (4) include continued education and training in various technical fields. (b) Project proposals (1) Development of proposals (A) Specific executive departments Upon the establishment of the Program, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Transportation, and the Chief of the Forest Service shall develop proposals for Corps projects pursuant to guidance which the Director shall prescribe. (B) Other sources Other public and private organizations and agencies, including community-based entities and representatives of local communities in the vicinity of a Corps campus, may develop proposals for projects for a Corps campus. Corps members shall also be encouraged to identify projects for the Corps. (2) Consultation requirements The process for developing project proposals under paragraph (1) shall include consultation with the Corporation, representatives of local communities, State Commissions, and persons involved in other youth service programs. (c) Project selection, organization, and performance (1) Selection The campus director of a Corps campus shall select the projects to be performed by the members of the Corps assigned to the units in that campus. The campus director shall select projects from among the projects proposed or identified pursuant to subsection (b). (2) Innovative local arrangements for project performance The Director shall encourage campus directors to negotiate with representatives of local communities, to the extent practicable, innovative arrangements for the performance of projects. The arrangements may provide for cost-sharing and the provision by the communities of in-kind support and other support.

(a) Findings Congress finds the following: (1) Social entrepreneurs and other nonprofit community organizations are developing innovative and effective solutions to national and local challenges. (2) Increased public and private investment in replicating and expanding proven effective solutions, and supporting new solutions, developed by social entrepreneurs and other nonprofit community organizations could allow those entrepreneurs and organizations to replicate and expand proven initiatives, and support new initiatives, in communities. (3) A network of Social Innovation Funds could leverage Federal investments to increase State, local, business, and philanthropic resources to replicate and expand proven solutions and invest in supporting new innovations to tackle specific identified community challenges. (b) Purposes The purposes of this section are— (1) to recognize and increase the impact of social entrepreneurs and other nonprofit community organizations in tackling national and local challenges; (2) to stimulate the development of a network of Social Innovation Funds that will increase private and public investment in nonprofit community organizations that are effectively addressing national and local challenges to allow such organizations to replicate and expand proven initiatives or support new initiatives; (3) to assess the effectiveness of such Funds in— (A) leveraging Federal investments to increase State, local, business, and philanthropic resources to address national and local challenges; (B) providing resources to replicate and expand effective initiatives; and (C) seeding experimental initiatives focused on improving outcomes in the areas described in subsection (f)(3); and (4) to strengthen the infrastructure to identify, invest in, replicate, and expand initiatives with effective solutions to national and local challenges. (c) Definitions In this section: (1) Community organization The term “community organization” means a nonprofit organization that carries out innovative, effective initiatives to address community challenges. (2) Covered entity The term “covered entity” means— (A) an existing grantmaking institution (existing as of the date on which the institution applies for a grant under this section); or (B) a partnership between— (i) such an existing grantmaking institution; and (ii) an additional grantmaking institution, a State Commission, or a chief executive officer of a unit of general local government. (3) Issue area The term “issue area” means an area described in subsection (f)(3). (d) Program From the amounts appropriated to carry out this section that are not reserved under subsections (l) and (m), the Corporation shall establish a Social Innovation Funds grant program to make grants on a competitive basis to eligible entities for Social Innovation Funds. (e) Periods; amounts The Corporation shall make such grants for periods of 5 years, and may renew the grants for additional periods of 5 years, in amounts of not less than $1,000,000 and not more than $10,000,000 per year. (f) Eligibility To be eligible to receive a grant under subsection (d), an entity shall— (1) be a covered entity; (2) propose to focus on— (A) serving a specific local geographical area; or (B) addressing a specific issue area; (3) propose to focus on improving measurable outcomes relating to— (A) education for economically disadvantaged elementary or secondary school students; (B) child and youth development; (C) reductions in poverty or increases in economic opportunity for economically disadvantaged individuals; (D) health, including access to health services and health education; (E) resource conservation and local environmental quality; (F) individual or community energy efficiency; (G) civic engagement; or (H) reductions in crime; (4) have an evidence-based decisionmaking strategy, including— (A) use of evidence produced by prior rigorous evaluations of program effectiveness including, where available, well-implem...