2013 new york state americorps project director training & annual meeting gideon putnam hotel

2013 New York State 2013 New York State AmeriCorps Project Director Training & AmeriCorps Project Director Training &

Annual MeetingAnnual Meeting

Gideon Putnam HotelGideon Putnam HotelOctober 7-9, 2013October 7-9, 2013

Saratoga Springs, New YorkSaratoga Springs, New York

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WELCOME Overview/ Program Staff Introductions

Agenda

Logistics

INTRODUCTIONS

State and Federal Updates

20th Anniversary of AmeriCorps

State News

Federal News

o Corporation Initiatives

2013 Successes and Achievements

Number of individuals who applied to be an AmeriCorps member in New York State:

o14,060

Number of individuals who served as AmeriCorps members in New York State:

o2,860

New York State AmeriCorps 2012

AMERICORPS MEMBERS

New York State AmeriCorps 2012

MEMBERS BY FOCUS AREA

Disaster Services 36

Economic Opportunity 288

Education 1,025

Environmental Stewardship 123

Healthy Futures 130

Veterans and Military Families 21

Capacity Building 83

Other 86

New York State AmeriCorps 2012

GEOGRAPHY

46 AmeriCorps Programs

Members serving at 567sites across NY State

IMPACT

Number of volunteers recruited, coordinated, or supported by your programs

o 1,150,925

Number of disadvantaged children and youth servedo 161,828

Number of individuals mentoredo 22,425

New York State AmeriCorps 2012

IMPACT cont.

Number of clients who received independent living serviceso 2,357

Number of individuals affected by disaster who received assistance from members

o 25,280

New York State AmeriCorps 2012

2,860 Member Slots

Enrollment Rate 100%

Retention Rate 78%

New York State AmeriCorps 2012

ENROLLMENT AND RETENTION RATES

BEST PRACTICES

Partner with a national or local clothing company based in the area for donated member gear.

Engage local Colleges or Universities:o as a source of pro-bono member training;o as a source of community volunteer groups to augment AmeriCorps and

agency initiatives;o to match a portion or all of the Member’s Education Award.

Program Directors and Staff develop “Life After AmeriCorps” resources to help members transition into a career after serving in AmeriCorps.

New York State AmeriCorps 2012

BEST PRACTICES contIf members do not serve in the same location:

o hold trainings where members can share best practices, brainstorm ideas for service days, or develop solutions to program/member challenges.

o hold bi-weekly or monthly conference calls with all AmeriCorps members and staff to keep a unified spirit among the team even though they may be serving in different locations.

To prevent losing members who find fulltime jobs;o tool was created to demonstrate the benefits of completing an

AmeriCorps term versus ending an AmeriCorps term early for a full time position.

o The tool includes living stipend/average salary of entry level position, taxes, insurance costs, and education award to show AmeriCorps stipend and an entry level full-time position are comparable.

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New York State AmeriCorps 2012

BEST PRACTICES cont

Develop a Facebook page, Twitter account, and other social media”o members to share experiences about their service;o helps members promote AmeriCorps by blogging about their

experience, market the mission of the agency;o engage community stakeholders, future members, alumni, and others

through social media.

New York State AmeriCorps 2012

BEST PRACTICES contSupport Members in Service:

o conduct monthly site visits to maintain constant communication;o hold monthly professional development trainings;o use monthly surveys to gauge needs and get suggestions for future

trainings or member networking opportunities;o host social events to provide an opportunity for Members to enjoy the

company of one another and to expose them to local entertainment, restaurants, etc.;

o call local businesses to request free passes or discount coupons for your Members. This is an opportunity to celebrate your member’s service, and promote AmeriCorps among businesses in the community.

New York State AmeriCorps 2012

COMMON CHALLENGES

The economy and the increasing cost of living has affected Member recruitment and retention.

Funding and/or program cuts among non-profit agencies are making it a challenge for programs to retain Host Sites where AmeriCorps members can be placed. This constant transition of Host Sites makes it difficult for AmeriCorps programs to develop a performance baseline, estimate appropriate performance measure targets, and maintain consistency.

AmeriCorps programs are experiencing constraints in the area of fund development, and rising costs reduce the availability of funding to support the AmeriCorps program. This is leading to the inability of some programs to meet their regulatory match on time or at all..

New York State AmeriCorps 2012

COMMON CHALLENGES cont

AmeriCorps programs report challenges collecting information from youth beneficiaries that measure progress towards targeted outcomes. Specifically, many of these same programs expressed great difficulty developing the specific instruments (pre/post-tests, surveys) that are designed to capture enough information to meet reporting requirements with respect to young adults, without being too lengthy or complicated to implement.

AmeriCorps program staff has expressed that the increasing policy and procedure requirements from CNCS without additional resources to comply has made program operations and member management difficult to accomplish.

National Service Criminal History Check Rule is costly, time-consuming, and deters potential applicants from serving with AmeriCorps due to the lengthy and intrusive process.

New York State AmeriCorps 2012

AmeriCorps Funding Update

There will be significant changes to this year’s New York State Request For Proposal:

Draft Federal Notice of Funding Availability (NOFO) was released 8/30/2013.

DRAFT APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONSState and National Competitive New and

Continuation – for 60 day public comment, was released 8/30/2013.

AmeriCorps Funding Update

Revised Federal NOFO was later released, September 27, 2013

We project releasing the New York State Request for Proposal (RFP)in late October, 2013

The due date is projected for late November, 2013.

AmeriCorps Funding Update

The New York State AmeriCorps Request for Proposal (RFP) may have differences to what is in the federal Corporation for National & Community Service AmeriCorps NOFO.

If you choose to start your proposal, using the federal NOFO and/or Application Instructions as your guide, be sure to cross reference requirements in the State RFP, once it is released.

AmeriCorps Funding Update

In particular, the due date listed in the federal NOFO only applies to multi-state applicants and State Commissions only.

Single-state applicants will have a due date much earlier than what appears in the federal NOFO.

AmeriCorps Funding Update

Competitive Clarification will occur in February and March 2014.

CNCS projects making their Competitive grant funding announcements in April 2014.

The New York State Commission projects making Formula funding announcements in May 2014.

AmeriCorps Funding Update

IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS: The entire grant schedule deadlines are earlier than 2013-14 process.

Though we are projecting release of the New York State AmeriCorps Request for Proposal in late Fall 2013, a publication date has not been announced yet. Please check the New Yorkers Volunteer Website http://newyorkersvolunteer.ny.gov / during this period for information regarding release of the RFP.

All currently operating programs must reapply for 2014 AmeriCorps funding!

AmeriCorps Funding Update

Volunteer Generation Program

Super Storm Sandy Block Grant

Changes to AmeriCorps Provisions

and Policies

Change #1: Affiliation with the AmeriCorps National Service Program & Identification as an AmeriCorps Program or Member

AmeriCorps grantee agencies must identify themselves as an AmeriCorps program and members as AmeriCorps members.

All partnership agreements/MOUs related to the AmeriCorps program must state that the program is an AmeriCorps program and AmeriCorps members are the resources provided.

The AmeriCorps name and logo must be displayed on:o Websiteso Service gearo Public materials

2013-14 AmeriCorps Provisions

Change #2: AmeriCorps Member Death or Injury

The State Commission Office must immediately report any member deaths or serious injuries to the Corporation of National and Community Service

Grantee Incident Notification to State Commission Officeo Appendix A-1 of NY State Contract:

• Grantee shall notify ONCS of any unusual incident, occurrence or event that involves the staff, volunteers or officers of the grantee or AmeriCorps members.

July 22, 2011 Policy Memo o Grantee shall immediately notify State Commission Office if Prohibited Activities are detected.

2013-2014 Provision Change #2 2013-14 AmeriCorps Provisions

Process Change : Citizenship Verification Process

Individuals that cannot be automatically verified by the Social Security Administration (SSA) in the AmeriCorps Portal will no longer receive an email from the National Service Hotline requesting documentation.

Instead, AmeriCorps grantees will receive an email notifying them that the individual's Social Security # (SSN) and citizenship could not be verified.

What to do:Obtain and review copies of the required documentation to keep in the individual’s physical file.

CNCS Process Change #12013-14 CNCS Process Change

Policy Update: AmeriCorps Member Healthcare

CNCS is currently working with the Administration on the requirements that you will have for implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) starting on 1/1/14.

CNCS will be updating AmeriCorps provisions to address the ACA.

Grantees may continue to provide the same healthcare coverage that they are currently providing and that meets current AmeriCorps provisions through 12/31/13.

Questions may be directed to: memberhealthcare@cns.gov

CNCS Policy UpdateCNCS Process Change #12013-14 CNCS Policy Update

Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act (IPERA)

IPERA

Signed by Obama in 2010

The law requires federal agencies to periodically review and report on major programs that are susceptible to improper payment.

Testing a random sampling of payments made to CNCS grantees.

First phase randomly-selects payments charged to CNCS- grantees provide list of transactions.

Second phase randomly-selects payments from first phase- grantees provide back up for selected transactions.

THANK YOU

2013 New York State 2013 New York State AmeriCorps Project Director Training & AmeriCorps Project Director Training &

Annual MeetingAnnual Meeting

Gideon Putnam HotelGideon Putnam HotelOctober 7-9, 2013October 7-9, 2013

Saratoga Springs, New YorkSaratoga Springs, New York

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