Young Adult Service Corps (YASC) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What service activities are appropriate or not appropriate?
Service activities should follow YASC
and AmeriCorps guidelines including:
- Service in one or more of the AmeriCorps service
focus areas: Education, Public Safety, Environmental Stewardship, Homeland
Security, or Human Needs;
- Direct Service hours must be voluntary and
follow AmeriCorps’ Prohibited
Activities guidelines;
- Member Development hours must follow program guidelines
in being clear, serious and detailed goals that contribute to your personal
and professional development and service experience.
- Direct Service will constitute at least 80% of
the total hours; Member Development hours will constitute no more than
20% of the total hours; Fundraising will constitute no more than 10%
of the total hours.
- A list of Prohibited Activities is in the YASC
Member Contract and can be found on line at: http://www.americorps.gov/for_organizations/manage/index.asp#provisions.
Can my direct service position be paid?
All creditable service hours must be unpaid (including
internships, academic course-related service, and general volunteer
service).The ONLY positions for which you may be paid while also accruing
AmeriCorps service hours are service-related Federal/State-funded Work
Study positions.
Is serving in a soup kitchen located in a
church considered a “prohibited
activity”?
The Young Adult Service Corps program encourages
partnering with faith-based organizations. You should first consider the
type of the activity, and secondly the location. If you are serving food
in a soup kitchen that happens to be in a church, that activity in and
of itself is absolutely appropriate. However, if you are also expected,
as part of the soup kitchen experience, to discuss or promote the particular
ideology or mission of the hosting religious organization, that would
be an example of an unacceptable direct service activity since you would
be engaging in religious instruction or proselytizing. This may be a helpful
example in determining prohibited activities.
Where do I send my paperwork?
You are responsible for completing and submitting
your program paperwork to the JMGF office. Although you
work with a faculty or staff person in your community, you are ultimately
responsible for mailing in all paperwork.
Can documents be faxed?
Please do not fax paperwork to the YASC.
If you cannot submit your paperwork within 30 days of the due date because
of unforeseen circumstances, notify the JMGF office. You
will still need to send the original document with original signatures
as soon as possible.
Should I make copies of my paperwork?
Yes! Copy ALL the paperwork you complete before
sending into the JMGF office. Sometimes, things really do get “lost
in the mail”,
so your ability to supply a copy of your documents may be crucial. Not
only will you have a record of the paperwork you have completed for recordkeeping,
but you can continuously reference that information throughout your Term
of Service. Time Sheets are especially important to copy as those copies
may be the only record of your activities.
How can I check if my file is up to date or
if I’m missing any
paperwork?
Contact the JMGF program office at 406.443.2413.
It is your responsibility to make sure your paperwork is completed in
a timely manner. Remember to keep copies of your documents and notify
us if you have new contact information, etc.
I don’t have a copy of my birth certificate!
How do I get one?
You can call the Health Department of the state where you were born.
This is the office responsible for birth/death certificates or vital
records. Some Western states Health Department websites:
Another option is to call the company VITALCHECK at 1.800.255.2414.
This is a fast service but can be a potentially expensive method.
Why do I have to write a Great Story and complete evaluations?
The Great Stories you write provide written document
of the impact you have on your community. We may use excerpts of your
Great Story in a grant proposal or in newsletters and other marketing
material to promote the Young Adult Service Corps (YASC).
The evaluations provide a reflection tool
for you and for us. Hopefully, the questions on the evaluation will help
you think about your Term of Service and what you gained while also providing
important program improvement suggestions to the Young
Adult Service Corps (YASC).
What is Member Development?
Service-Learning not only provides service to your community but also
provides a service to you. AmeriCorps allows 20% of your Term of Service
hours to be Member Development. Member Development has these components
professional/personal and service-related.
Professional/Personal hours
are spent achieving a goal outside of your direct service. For example,
a personal goal could be completing a CPR class or taking a sign language
class. A professional goal could be studying for the SAT. A service-related
goal connects to a goal you have set for your direct service. For example,
if you are working in a school you may want to shadow a teacher to learn
more about what they do.
What is a Criminal Record Check? What if I’ve
already had one?
All individuals who apply for service with AmeriCorps must pass checks
in the National Sexual Offender Public Registry (NSOPR) and a criminal
background check.
All designated Site Supervisors must also
pass checks in the National Sexual Offender Public Registry (NSOPR) and
a criminal background check. In order to count the in-kind contributions
of our site supervisors they must have passed both checks.The results
of these checks are housed at JMGF in Helena and are treated as confidential.
What if I can’t complete my hours by
the end of my Term of Service? Can I get an extension?
In most instances, we are NOT able to change
Terms of Service or automatically provide extensions. For special circumstances
(compelling personal circumstances) AmeriCorps may grant members, on
a case-by-case basis, an extension to complete their hours. The approval
is not “automatic,” and
you must contact the YASC Program Director PRIOR to the end of your
Term to discuss whether you may qualify for an extension.
Can I participate in another AmeriCorps program
after I serve as a Young Adult Service Corps Member?
The Corporation for National and Community
Service has imposed restrictions within the service various programs
regarding the number of terms an individual may serve. The following
table outlines the limitations on the number of terms one may serve within
the different YASC programs. JMGF is an AmeriCorps*State Program.
| AmeriCorps National Service Network |
Maximum Number
of Terms within each type of AmeriCorps Program |
AmeriCorps*State/National/ITT/Leaders |
2 |
AmeriCorps*NCCC |
2 |
AmeriCorps*VISTA |
3 |
AmeriCorps Promise Fellows |
2 |
The Corporation for National and Community Service has determined that
individuals may, nonetheless, serve up to three terms of service across
the different types of AmeriCorps programs and may receive Corporation-funded
member benefits as long as the caps on the number of terms of service
within each program are maintained. In no event may an individual
serve more than a total of three terms in any combination of AmeriCorps
programs. A term of service includes full-time, part-time, and
reduced part-time service, as well as an uncompleted term (e.g., if a
member leaves a program part-way through the term).
How many AmeriCorps terms can I serve?
You can only earn two AmeriCorps Education Awards
during your lifetime. You may choose to serve with YASC and once you
graduate serve in a full-time program. If you serve twice with YASC,
you will may be eligible to serve in a full-time program. However, serving
two AmeriCorps terms does not prevent you from serving in VISTA (Volunteers
in Service To America).
What if my supervisor is gone for two weeks
and I can’t get my
Time Sheet signed! What do I do?
Don’t send it in to us without a Supervisor’s
signature! We will just send it right back to you! If you cannot submit
your log within 15 days of its due date, you may call to alert the YASC
Program Director, that your Monthly Time Sheet will be late.
What is a Site Supervisor?
A Site Supervisor is someone at your service site
who can verify your hours and support your direct service. Your Site
Supervisor is also the person who signed your Site and Member Agreements
and signs your Time Sheets.
What do I do if my supervisor has changed?
You must fill out a new Position Description.
Even if your service site did not change, just your Site Supervisor,
we must have your new Supervisor’s
contact information and signature on a Position Request Form.
If I get sick and have to drop out of my service position can I still
receive part of my Education Award?
You can receive a pro-rated Education Award
if you had to stop serving for “compelling personal circumstances.” The
YASC AmeriCorps Program Director can decide if a situation is a compelling
personal circumstance (examples: a serious illness/injury to the member
or a death in the member’s
immediate family).
HOWEVER, to qualify for a pro-rated Education Award
you must have completed at least 15% of your Term of Service and you
must notify JMGF before the end of your Term of Service.
If I do volunteer projects on top of the hours I do at my regular service
site(s), can these hours count?
If the projects are in one of the areas of education,
public safety, environmental initiative, homeland security, or human
needs, and your supervisor can verify the hours, AND the hours are appropriate
either for Direct Service hours (non-Prohibited Activities) or Member
Development hours, then those hours can be counted. It is
common for members to have more than one service site. Remember,
you are required to submit a Position Description for each service site. Each
Position Description requires a separate Time Sheet each month. For
example, if you serve at two sites in a month, you willl need to
submit two signed Time Sheets for that month.
What do I do when I finish all my hours?
You are required to exit the program upon completion
of the hours for your Term of Service. To do so, send in your completed
exit paperwork to the JMGF office within two weeks of completing
your service hours.
Who is the AmeriCorps Program Director that signs the authorization
section of the Member
Contact?
That is the Young
Adult Service Corps Director (Sarah
R. Sadowski) housed at the JMGF office.
If I have student loans, should I put my loans on forbearance?
If you have qualified loans that are currently
accumulating interest, the Corporation for National & Community (CNCS) service will pay
part of the interest accrued during your Term of Service. Putting your
loans on forbearance notifies CNCS of your current loans. If you don’t
put your loans on forbearance and they are not already in forbearance
or deferment status, the CNCS will not partially pay your accrued interest
at the end of your Term.
What is an Interest Accrual Form?
If you have qualified loans that were accruing
interest during your Term, you’ll fill out an Interest Accrual Form at the end of your service
to notify the Corporation for National & Community Service (CNCS)
that you have finished your Term. From there, the CNCS will calculate
the percentage of your accrued interest to be paid and pay your lending
institution directly. To verify payment you’ll need to contact
CNCS and your lending institution.
How can I use my Education Award?
The Education Award can be used to repay qualified student loans, toward
the Cost of attendance at a Title IV institute of higher education, and/or
toward expenses incurred while participating in school-to-work programs.
For more information refer to “Education
Award Frequently Asked Questions”.
When you receive your voucher, refer to the Education Award section
for more information and/or contact the National Service Trust. |