[Federal Register: March 4, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 43)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 10188-10189]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04mr04-23]
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CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE
45 CFR Chapters XII and XXV
Notice Inviting Preliminary Informal Public Input in Advance of
Rulemaking
AGENCY: Corporation for National and Community Service.
ACTION: Notice inviting preliminary informal public input in advance of
rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: The Corporation for National and Community Service (the
Corporation) intends to undertake formal rulemaking in 2004, to address
significant program and policy issues. The Corporation is initiating
this rulemaking pursuant to Congressional interest, expressed in the
Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2004, indicating that the
Corporation should undertake notice and comment rulemaking for ``any
significant changes to program requirements or policy.'' Congress also
states that the Corporation should ``increase significantly the level
of matching funds and in-kind contributions provided by the private
sector,'' and ``reduce the total Federal costs per participant in all
programs.'' In addition, the Corporation's Board of Directors has
directed the Corporation to consolidate its grant provisions and
application guidelines and move them into regulation. Finally, on
February 27, 2004, President Bush signed an Executive Order entitled
``National and Community Service Programs'' in which he expressed his
vision of a culture of service, citizenship, and responsibility in the
United States, and a strong, accountable, and efficient national and
community service field. The Executive Order directs the Corporation to
adhere to certain fundamental principles in implementing policies
governing national and community service programs authorized by the
national service laws, including (1) Supporting and encouraging greater
engagement of Americans in volunteering; (2) increasing responsiveness
to State and local needs; (3) making Federal support more accountable
and effective; and (4) providing greater involvement for faith-based
and other community organizations.
The Corporation intends to undertake two rulemaking processes in
2004--the first to address any significant program and policy issues in
time for the 2005 AmeriCorps grant cycle, and the second to respond to
the Board's directive that we streamline our guidance and incorporate
it into regulation. The Corporation believes that these rulemaking
processes will improve the impact, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness
of national and community service programs, and the quality and
transparency of program guidance and rules.
The issues we plan to address through these rulemaking processes
include: AmeriCorps grantee sustainability, including the parameters
for capacity-building activities by AmeriCorps members and volunteer
recruitment; current limitations on the Federal share of costs (match
requirements); performance measures and evaluation; qualifications for
AmeriCorps members serving as reading tutors and requirements for
programs engaged in literacy activities; timing of the AmeriCorps grant
cycle; program selection criteria; and the application process for and
funding of the second and third years in a three-year grant. In
addition, the Corporation intends to undertake formal rulemaking to
reorganize the Corporation's current regulations as codified in chapter
25 of title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations and publish
AmeriCorps grant provisions and guidelines in regulation.
To inform the rulemaking process, the Corporation is inviting
preliminary informal input from the public concerning the specific
issues identified above, as well as any other issues relating to the
Corporation's current grant provisions, guidelines, or regulations. The
Corporation's current AmeriCorps grant provisions, and the
Corporation's regulations are available at http://www.cns.gov/about/ogc/regulations.html
, and the Corporation's current AmeriCorps
guidelines are posted at http://www.americorps.org/resources/guidelines2004.html.
We will accept comments in writing, as described
below, or orally in one of four conference calls, and five public input
meetings we will hold across the country in March and early April,
2004. The Corporation will not respond to this input, but will consider
it in drafting any Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The public will have
a separate opportunity to provide formal comment on any proposed rule
the Corporation publishes for comment in 2004 or thereafter. Please
note that this Notice does not request comments on individual
application forms used under the various programs of the Corporation.
The Corporation periodically publishes separate requests for comments
concerning such application forms.
DATES: Please submit written input to the Corporation as soon as
possible. We will consider input as we begin drafting the Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking. In addition, the Corporation will hold five public
input meetings across the country, and four conference calls to seek
oral input under this Notice. See Supplementary Information for
conference call and input meetings information.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written input to the Corporation by any of
the following methods:
(1) Electronically through the Corporation's e-mail address system
to rulemaking@cns.gov.
(2) By fax to 202-565-2796, Attention Nicola Goren, Associate
General Counsel.
(3) By mail sent to: Corporation for National and Community
Service, Attn: Nicola Goren, Associate General Counsel, 1201 New York
Avenue NW., Room 8209, Washington, DC 20525.
(4) By hand delivery or by courier to the Corporation's mailroom at
Room 6010 at the mail address given in paragraph (3) above, between 9
a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Due to continued delays in the Corporation's receipt of mail, we
strongly encourage responses via e-mail or fax. You may request this
notice in an alternative format for the visually impaired.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about the
substance of this notice, contact Nicola Goren at 202-606-5000 x.259
ngoren@cns.gov). For further information about the conference calls
and public input meetings, please refer to our Web site at http://www.americorps.org/rulemaking
or call Angela Martin at (202) 606-5000
x.448 (amartin@cns.gov). The TDD/TTY number is (800) 833-3722.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: For more information on the Corporation,
please
[[Page 10189]]
visit our Web site at http://www.nationalservice.org. When providing
oral or written input on the issues outlined above, please especially
consider the following questions:
General question: As AmeriCorps continues to grow, what changes can
you identify to make the program more efficient and effective?
Sustainability: How can the Corporation ensure that Federal funds
are used most effectively to meet community needs? How can the
Corporation and the field achieve the right balance of federal and
private support? What criteria should the Corporation use to promote
sustainability of national and community service programs? To what
extent should AmeriCorps members be engaged in fundraising and other
capacity-building activities? Should the Corporation limit the number
of years for which a program or project may receive funding? To promote
grantee sustainability, to what extent should the level of Corporation
support for a program or project decrease over time? If the level of
Corporation support were to decrease over time, what should be the
minimum level of Corporation support? Should the Corporation calibrate
sustainability requirements to reflect the differences among the
programs, such as size, location, time in operation, or mission? How
can the Corporation further support and encourage greater engagement of
Americans in volunteering?
Federal share: Should the Corporation calibrate matching
requirements to reflect the differences among programs, such as size,
location, or track record? How can the Corporation and the field
achieve the right balance of federal and private support? Should the
Corporation adopt matching requirements for member-related costs that
are different from requirements for other program operation costs?
Performance measures and evaluation: How can the Corporation ensure
that its grantees are achieving identifiable measurable outcomes? How
should the Corporation and its grantees establish appropriate
performance measures? How can we identify best practices that merit
replication? How can the Corporation ensure that its grantees regularly
and effectively evaluate national and community programs?
Qualifications for members serving as reading tutors and
requirements for programs engaged in literacy activities: How can we
ensure that members serving as reading tutors have the skill and
ability to provide the necessary instruction to the populations they
serve? How can we ensure that programs engaged in literacy activities
achieve reasonable and measurable outcomes?
Timing of grant cycle: For how many months before commencing or
continuing a project does a grantee need to know that its application
is approved? For how many months before commencing or continuing a
project does a grantee need to know that its grant is awarded? What is
a reasonable amount of time to prepare an application? Is it useful for
the Corporation to have multiple application processes during the
course of the year? Does the current cycle work?
Selection Criteria: What criteria should the Corporation use in
selecting programs?
Three-year grants: How can the Corporation streamline its grant
application process for continuation applications?
Conference Calls and Public Input Meetings
The Corporation is planning five public input meetings across the
country and four conference calls in March and early April. Please
check our Web site at http://www.americorps.org/rulemaking for further
information on dates, times, locations, and other information regarding
these conference calls and meetings, or contact Angela Martin at (202)
606-5000 x.448 (amartin@cns.gov).
Dated: March 1, 2004.
Frank R. Trinity,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 04-4856 Filed 3-3-04; 8:45 am]