Justification for Nonsubstantive Change

Justification for No Material/NonSubstantive Change

The Peace Corps proposes to make changes to the Peace Corps Volunteer Application, OMB Control Number: 0420-0005, Expiration Date: 2/28/2015. The changes present no material and no substantive changes. They serve to clarify questions and add an additional category to existing questions. There will be no change to burden. The changes are nonsubstantive and, as a result, do not require approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.

The Peace Corps Act, in 22 U.S.C. 2504(a), gives the Peace Corps the authority to set the terms and conditions for enrollment of individuals as Peace Corps Volunteers. Those terms and conditions are set forth generally in 22 CFR Part 305 and include the need for particular skills, experience, medical condition, and other characteristics.

The Peace Corps Office of Volunteer Recruitment and Selection (VRS) is responsible for recruiting individuals to serve in the Peace Corps. The Volunteer Application is the mechanism by which interested members of the public apply to serve in the Peace Corps. The Peace Corps uses the Peace Corps Application as the tool to collect information from the applicant that it will use to determine whether an individual has the qualifications to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

The Peace Corps has long placed married couples together overseas as Volunteers, assigning them to the same “site.” Consistent with the President’s Memoranda of June 17, 2009 and June 2, 2010, asking federal agencies to provide benefits to same-sex domestic partners similar to those provided to spouses, the Peace Corps will for the first time begin accepting applications from same-sex domestic partners whose relationship meets certain criteria for placement together as Volunteer couples. The proposed changes to the Peace Corps Application clarify that the same questions currently directed to married couple applicants are applicable to same sex couple applicants, reflecting identical treatment of both kinds of couples.

Specifically, the proposed revised application form refers in the first paragraph on page 10 to the definition of “domestic partnership” in the Office of Personnel Management’s regulation at 5 CFR §315.608(e)(7). Additionally, the proposed revised application changes the term “partner” to “domestic partner” or adds the terms “same sex domestic partnership” and “same sex domestic partner” wherever the terms “spouse” and “married” appear on page 2 and pages 10-12 so as to clarify these terms.