Justification - Member Application 4.27.12

SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT SUBMISSIONS

 

A. Justification

A1.  Need for Information Collection

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

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 for to be an AmeriCorps member. AmeriCorps 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

The Corporation will be eliciting and accepting grantees response to these questions electronically via the My AmeriCorps portal, the Corporation’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 the Corporation 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 for grants. There is no economic burden to any other small entities beyond the cost of staff time to collect and report the data. This is minimized to the degree possible by only asking for the information absolutely necessary to measure progress towards the Corporation’s strategic initiative benchmarks.

A6.  Consideration of Collection

 The Corporation 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 February 3, 2012 on page 5496. The 30 day Notice was published on April 24, 2012 on page 24479.

 

 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 to apply to become AmeriCorps members and their references. The frequency of response will not be greater than annually, and should not exceed 1.5 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 the Corporation 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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