Authorizing Citation

§ 12584a

TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

688, as amended, which is classified generally to chapter 33 (§ 1601 et seq.) of Title 43, Public Lands. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short
Title note set out under section 1601 of Title 43 and
Tables.
PRIOR PROVISIONS
A prior section 132 of Pub. L. 101–610 was renumbered
section 199L and classified to section 12655k of this
title, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 103–82, § 101(e)(8)(A).

§ 12584a. Prohibited activities and ineligible organizations
(a) Prohibited activities
An approved national service position under
this division may not be used for the following
activities:
(1) Attempting to influence legislation.
(2) Organizing or engaging in protests, petitions, boycotts, or strikes.
(3) Assisting, promoting, or deterring union
organizing.
(4) Impairing existing contracts for services
or collective bargaining agreements.
(5) Engaging in partisan political activities,
or other activities designed to influence the
outcome of an election to Federal office or the
outcome of an election to a State or local public office.
(6) Participating in, or endorsing, events or
activities that are likely to include advocacy
for or against political parties, political platforms, political candidates, proposed legislation, or elected officials.
(7) Engaging in religious instruction, conducting worship services, providing instruction as part of a program that includes mandatory religious instruction or worship, constructing or operating facilities devoted to religious instruction or worship, maintaining facilities primarily or inherently devoted to religious instruction or worship, or engaging in
any form of proselytization, consistent with
section 12584 of this title.
(8) Consistent with section 12584 of this title,
providing a direct benefit to any—
(A) business organized for profit;
(B) labor union;
(C) partisan political organization;
(D) nonprofit organization that fails to
comply with the restrictions contained in
section 501(c) of title 26, except that nothing
in this paragraph shall be construed to prevent participants from engaging in advocacy
activities undertaken at their own initiative; and
(E) organization engaged in the religious
activities described in paragraph (7), unless
the position is not used to support those religious activities.
(9) Providing abortion services or referrals
for receipt of such services.
(10) Conducting a voter registration drive or
using Corporation funds to conduct a voter
registration drive.
(11) Carrying out such other activities as the
Corporation may prohibit.
(b) Ineligibility
No assistance provided under this division
may be provided to any organization that has
violated a Federal criminal statute.

Page 7456

(c) Nondisplacement of employed workers or
other volunteers
A participant in an approved national service
position under this division may not be directed
to perform any services or duties, or to engage
in any activities, prohibited under the nonduplication, nondisplacement, or nonsupplantation requirements relating to employees and
volunteers in section 12637 of this title.
(Pub. L. 101–610, title I, § 132A, as added Pub. L.
111–13, title I, § 1310, Apr. 21, 2009, 123 Stat. 1507.)
EFFECTIVE DATE
Section effective Oct. 1, 2009, see section 6101(a) of
Pub. L. 111–13, set out as an Effective Date of 2009
Amendment note under section 4950 of this title.

§ 12585. Consideration of applications
(a) Corporation consideration of certain criteria
The Corporation shall apply the criteria described in subsections (c) and (d) in determining
whether—
(1) to approve an application submitted
under section 12582 of this title and provide assistance under section 12571 of this title to the
applicant; and
(2) to approve service positions described in
the application as national service positions
that include the national service educational
award described in division D and provide such
approved national service positions to the applicant.
(b) Application to subgrants
(1) In general
A State or other entity that uses assistance
provided under section 12571(a) of this title to
support national service programs selected on
a competitive basis to receive a share of the
assistance shall use the criteria described in
subsections (c) and (d) when considering an application submitted by a national service program to receive a portion of such assistance or
an approved national service position.
(2) Contents
The application of the State or other entity
under section 12582 of this title shall contain—
(A) a certification that the State or other
entity used these criteria in the selection of
national service programs to receive assistance;
(B) a description of the positions into
which participants will be placed using such
assistance, including descriptions of specific
tasks to be performed by such participants;
and
(C) a description of the minimum qualifications that individuals shall meet to become participants in such programs.
(c) Assistance criteria
The criteria required to be applied in evaluating applications submitted under section 12582 of
this title are as follows:
(1) The quality of the national service program proposed to be carried out directly by
the applicant or supported by a grant from the
applicant.
(2) The innovative aspects of the national
service program, and the feasibility of replicating the program.

Page 7457

TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

(3) The sustainability of the national service
program, based on evidence such as the existence—
(A) of strong and broad-based community
support for the program; and
(B) of multiple funding sources or private
funding for the program.
(4) The quality of the leadership of the national service program, the past performance
of the program, and the extent to which the
program builds on existing programs.
(5) The extent to which participants of the
national service program are recruited from
among residents of the communities in which
projects are to be conducted, and the extent to
which participants and community residents
are involved in the design, leadership, and operation of the program.
(6) The extent to which projects would be
conducted in the following areas where they
are needed most:
(A) Communities designated as empowerment zones or redevelopment areas, targeted
for special economic incentives, or otherwise
identifiable as having high concentrations of
low-income people.
(B) Areas that are environmentally distressed.
(C) Areas adversely affected by Federal actions related to the management of Federal
lands that result in significant regional job
losses and economic dislocation.
(D) Areas adversely affected by reductions
in defense spending or the closure or realignment of military installations.
(E) Areas that have an unemployment rate
greater than the national average unemployment for the most recent 12 months for
which satisfactory data are available.
(7) In the case of applicants other than
States, the extent to which the application is
consistent with the application under section
12582 of this title of the State in which the
projects would be conducted.
(8) Such other criteria as the Corporation
considers to be appropriate.
(d) Other considerations
(1) Geographic diversity
The Corporation shall ensure that recipients
of assistance provided under section 12571 of
this title are geographically diverse and include projects to be conducted in those urban
and rural areas in a State with the highest
rates of poverty.
(2) Priorities
The Corporation may designate, under such
criteria as may be established by the Corporation, certain national service programs or
types of national service programs described
in subsection (a), (b), or (c) of section 12572 of
this title for priority consideration in the
competitive distribution of funds under section 12581(d) of this title. In designating national service programs to receive priority,
the Corporation may include—
(A) national service programs that—
(i) conform to the national service priorities in effect under section 12572(f) of this
title;

§ 12585

(ii) are innovative; and
(iii) are well established in 1 or more
States at the time of the application and
are proposed to be expanded to additional
States using assistance provided under
section 12571 of this title;
(B) grant programs in support of other national service programs if the grant programs are to be conducted by nonprofit organizations with demonstrated and extensive expertise in the provision of services to
meet human, educational, environmental, or
public safety needs; and
(C) professional corps programs described
in section 12572(c)(1)(D) of this title.
(3) Additional priority
In making a competitive distribution of
funds under section 12581(d) of this title, the
Corporation may give priority consideration
to a national service program that is—
(A) proposed in an application submitted
by a State Commission; and
(B) not one of the types of programs described in paragraph (2),
if the State Commission provides an adequate
explanation of the reasons why it should not
be a priority of such State to carry out any of
such types of programs in the State.
(4) Review panel
The Corporation shall—
(A) establish panels of experts for the purpose of securing recommendations on applications submitted under section 12582 of this
title for more than $250,000 in assistance, or
for national service positions that would require more than $250,000 in national service
educational awards; and
(B) consider the opinions of such panels
prior to making such determinations.
(e) Emphasis on areas most in need
In making assistance available under section
12571 of this title and in providing approved national service positions under section 12573 of
this title, the Corporation shall ensure that not
less than 50 percent of the total amount of assistance to be distributed to States under subsections (d) and (e) of section 12581 of this title
for a fiscal year is provided to carry out or support national service programs and projects
that—
(1) are conducted in any of the areas described in subsection (c)(6) or on Federal or
other public lands, to address unmet human,
educational, environmental, or public safety
needs in such areas or on such lands; and
(2) place a priority on the recruitment of
participants who are residents of any of such
areas or Federal or other public lands.
(f) Views of State Commission
In making competitive awards under section
12581(d) of this title, the Corporation shall solicit and consider the views of a State Commission regarding any application for assistance to
carry out a national service program within the
State.
(g) Rejection of State applications
(1) Notification of State applicants
If the Corporation rejects an application
submitted by a State Commission under sec-

§ 12591

TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

tion 12582 of this title for funds described in
section 12581(e) of this title, the Corporation
shall promptly notify the State Commission of
the reasons for the rejection of the application.
(2) Resubmission and reconsideration
The Corporation shall provide a State Commission notified under paragraph (1) with a
reasonable opportunity to revise and resubmit
the application. At the request of the State
Commission, the Corporation shall provide
technical assistance to the State Commission
as part of the resubmission process. The Corporation shall promptly reconsider an application resubmitted under this paragraph.
(3) Reallotment
The amount of any State’s allotment under
section 12581(e) of this title for a fiscal year
that the Corporation determines will not be
provided for that fiscal year shall be available
for distribution by the Corporation as provided in section 12581(f) of this title.
(Pub. L. 101–610, title I, § 133, as added Pub. L.
103–82, title I, § 101(b), Sept. 21, 1993, 107 Stat. 805;
amended Pub. L. 111–13, title I, § 1311, Apr. 21,
2009, 123 Stat. 1509.)
PRIOR PROVISIONS
A prior section 133 of Pub. L. 101–610 was renumbered
section 199K and is classified to section 12655l of this
title.
AMENDMENTS
2009—Subsec. (b)(2)(B). Pub. L. 111–13, § 1311(1), struck
out ‘‘jobs or’’ before ‘‘positions’’.
Subsec. (d)(2). Pub. L. 111–13, § 1311(2)(A)(i), substituted ‘‘subsection (a), (b), or (c) of section 12572’’ for
‘‘section 12572(a)’’ and ‘‘section 12581(d)’’ for ‘‘section
12581(d)(2)’’ in introductory provisions.
Subsec. (d)(2)(A) to (G). Pub. L. 111–13, § 1311(2)(A)(ii),
added subpars. (A) to (C) and struck out former subpars. (A) to (G), which set forth programs the Corporation could include in designating national service programs to receive priority.
Subsec. (d)(3). Pub. L. 111–13, § 1311(2)(B), substituted
‘‘section 12581(d)’’ for ‘‘section 12581(d)(2)’’ in introductory provisions.
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 111–13, § 1311(3), substituted ‘‘subsections (d) and (e) of section 12581’’ for ‘‘subsections (a)
and (d)(1) of section 12581’’ in introductory provisions.
Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 111–13, § 1311(6), added subsec. (f).
Former subsec. (f) redesignated (g).
Subsec. (f)(1). Pub. L. 111–13, § 1311(4)(A), substituted
‘‘section 12581(e)’’ for ‘‘section 12581(a)(1)’’.
Subsec. (f)(3). Pub. L. 111–13, § 1311(4)(B), substituted
‘‘section 12581(e)’’ for ‘‘section 12581(a)’’ and ‘‘section
12581(f) of this title’’ for ‘‘paragraph (3) of such subsection’’.
Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 111–13, § 1311(5), redesignated subsec. (f) as (g).
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2009 AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 111–13 effective Oct. 1, 2009,
see section 6101(a) of Pub. L. 111–13, set out as a note
under section 4950 of this title.

PART III—NATIONAL SERVICE PARTICIPANTS
§ 12591. Description of participants
(a) In general
For purposes of this division, an individual
shall be considered to be a participant in a na-

Page 7458

tional service program carried out using assistance provided under section 12571 of this title if
the individual—
(1) meets such eligibility requirements, directly related to the tasks to be accomplished,
as may be established by the program;
(2) is selected by the program to serve in a
position with the program;
(3) is 17 years of age or older at the time the
individual begins the term of service;
(4) has received a high school diploma or its
equivalent, agrees to obtain a high school diploma or its equivalent (unless this requirement is waived based on an individual education assessment conducted by the program)
and the individual did not drop out of an elementary or secondary school to enroll in the
program, or is enrolled in an institution of
higher education on an ability to benefit basis
and is considered eligible for funds under section 1091 of title 20; and
(5) is a citizen or national of the United
States or lawful permanent resident alien of
the United States.
(b) Special rules for certain youth programs
An individual shall be considered to be a participant in a youth corps program described in
section 12572(a)(3)(B)(x) of this title that is carried out with assistance provided under section
12571(a) of this title if the individual—
(1) satisfies the requirements specified in
subsection (a), except paragraph (3) of such
subsection; and
(2) is between the ages of 16 and 25, inclusive,
at the time the individual begins the term of
service.
(c) Waiver
The Corporation may waive the requirements
of subsection (a)(4) with respect to an individual
if the program in which the individual seeks to
become a participant conducts an independent
evaluation demonstrating that the individual is
incapable of obtaining a high school diploma or
its equivalent.
(Pub. L. 101–610, title I, § 137, as added Pub. L.
103–82, title I, § 101(b), Sept. 21, 1993, 107 Stat. 808;
amended Pub. L. 103–304, § 3(b)(3), Aug. 23, 1994,
108 Stat. 1567; Pub. L. 111–13, title I, § 1312, Apr.
21, 2009, 123 Stat. 1509.)
PRIOR PROVISIONS
A prior section 12591, Pub. L. 101–610, title I, § 155,
Nov. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 3156, related to limitation on
grants for innovative and demonstration programs and
projects, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 103–82, § 104(a).
AMENDMENTS
2009—Subsec. (a)(3) to (6). Pub. L. 111–13, § 1312(1), redesignated pars. (4) to (6) as (3) to (5), respectively, and
struck out former par. (3), which read as follows: ‘‘will
serve in the program for a term of service specified in
section 12593 of this title to be performed before, during, or after attendance at an institution of higher education;’’.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 111–13, § 1312(2)(A), substituted
‘‘section 12572(a)(3)(B)(x)’’ for ‘‘section 12572(a)(2) of this
title or a program described in section 12572(a)(9)’’ in
introductory provisions.
Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 111–13, § 1312(2)(B), substituted
‘‘paragraph (3)’’ for ‘‘paragraph (4)’’.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 111–13, § 1312(3), substituted
‘‘(a)(4)’’ for ‘‘(a)(5)’’.