Peace Corps
Office of Volunteer Recruitment and Selection
Peace Corps Volunteer Application Form
OMB Control Number 0420-0005
Supporting Statement
Section A: Justification
Circumstances that make the collection of information necessary.
The Peace Corps is seeking an emergency clearance authorizing use of the Expedited Evacuee Re-entry Application for members of the public who are officially associated with the Peace Corps. This specifically applies to Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) who were recently evacuated from their service Posts around the world in response to coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic (COVID-19). These individuals served as Peace Corps Volunteers within rural communities around the world, prior to their necessary mobilization and return to the U.S. This event abruptly changed the status of nearly 7,000 Peace Corps Volunteers to members of the public. We are seeking an emergency clearance to allow us to with the recently evacuated RPCVs by providing a straightforward process and opportunity to reenter volunteer service. It has been streamlined by removing unnecessary questions that remain in the original application form (OMB Control number 0420-005). It is also critical that the Peace Corps rebuild its volunteer program as soon as possible. Currently, there are not any active Peace Corps Volunteers. This expedited application serves for the Office of Volunteer Recruitment and Selection (VRS). 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 application as the tool to collect information from the applicant that will be used to determine whether an individual has the qualifications to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer.
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. Further description of those terms and conditions, in 22 CFR Part 305, include the need for particular skills, experience, medical condition, and other characteristics.
By whom, how, and for what purpose the information is to be used.
The information collected by the Expedited Evacuee Re-entry Application is used by the Peace Corps to collect essential information from individual applicants who previously served as Peace Corps Volunteers. The information is used by the Peace Corps Office of VRS in its assessment of an individual’s qualifications to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer. It is designed to offer the Evacuee RPCV an efficient means of re-applying to the Peace Corps. Selection for Peace Corps service is based on that assessment. This is a modification of traditional application form that is still in use, PC-1502, OMB Control Number 0420-0005. The information in the re-entry application will be used by VRS staff to evaluate the qualifications of RPCV applicants and to make selection decisions, including reassigning the RPCV to the evacuated service site.
Consideration of the use of improved information technology.
The Peace Corps Expedited Evacuee Re-entry Application is accessed through the Peace Corps website and is collected electronically.
The questionnaire logic reduces the burden to applicants and staff because applicants see only the questions relevant to them. When applicants submit subsequent applications, responses from the previous submissions auto-fills throughout the form, further reducing the burden.
Efforts to identify duplication. Why similar information cannot be used.
The Peace Corps has limited its questions so that the application is the only questionnaire of its type used by the Peace Corps to assess individuals interested in re-applying to the Peace Corps for 27-month assignments after being evacuated as a result of COVID-19. The electronic, web-based nature of the application allows for staff in multiple offices, domestic or overseas, to view the same information without having to ask applicants to provide it again.
Methods to minimize the burden to small business if involved.
N/A
Consequences to the Federal program if collection were conducted less frequently.
Countries overseas request the Peace Corps to provide particular types of trained Volunteers to serve in their countries. Those Peace Corps Volunteers represent the United States in those countries overseas. To ensure that the applicants selected as Volunteers have the appropriate skills, experience and other qualifications from among the many individuals interested in Peace Corps service, the Peace Corps uses the traditional Volunteer Application as the mechanism to collect information, to select the best Volunteers, and to identify the assignments in the best interests of the Volunteers, Peace Corps, and the host countries. The Expedited Evacuee Re-entry Application captures only essential information to properly select RPCVs who have already qualified based on the traditional form.
Explain any special circumstances that would cause the information collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with guidelines.
No special circumstances exist that require the information collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with the guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.6.
Consultation.
We are requesting simultaneous publication of the Federal Register Notice for emergency processing. We have not consulted with other agencies to obtain this information because the information is about Peace Corps RPCV applicant, and therefore other agencies are not likely to have this information.
Explain any decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents.
There is no payment or gift provided to respondents.
Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents.
Applicants are provided the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), the Paperwork Reduction Act Burden Statement, and a statement of non-discrimination.
Additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature.
The following questions summarize changes from the original form (OMB Control Number 0420-0005) with sensitive questions that make it possible for Peace Corps to determine if an applicant might neglect legal responsibilities while serving as a Volunteer, or if they are in compliance with Peace Corps’ restriction on intelligence activities.
Updated Start Your Application
Decreased Estimated Completion Time to 10-15 minutes.
Removed basic eligibility bullets and any reference to them.
Added qualifier about approval from Country Director.
Removed Citizenship section
Removed Age Requirement section
Updated Contact Information
Removed Social Security Number question
Removed question about Sex
Removed question about Date of Birth
Updated Resume section
Removed the question being a requirement to upload.
Removed all the tips on what to include in a resume since they would have already filled one out for their previous application.
Updated Previous Peace Corps History section
Replaced “Are you currently serving or have you been a PCT, PCV, or PCRV within the past five years” with 2 questions soliciting what country they were most recently serving in and whether they went through medical separation, interrupted service, or early close of service (i.e., due to the evacuation) within the last year.
Removed Peace Corps Staff Reference
Updated Couples section
Removed first introduction paragraph
Removed Declaration of Domestic Partnership
Removed Dependents section
Removed Military Obligations section
Updated Legal History section [See next paragraph regarding this section]
Edited existing 2 questions to account for the last legal clearance.
Removed entire Drug and Alcohol Policy section.
Removed Intelligence Background section and updated only existing question to account for previous legal clearance.
Added a Certification check box.
Removed Education section
Removed Peace Corps Prep section
Removed Foreign Language skills section
Kept Additional Information section
Added “Would you like to return to your original country of service?” and “If your original country of service is not available, would you like to return to another country for 27 months?”
Maintained geographic and sector flexibility questions, date of earliest availability, and text field soliciting further details about preferences.
Added Motivation Statement here
Removed References section
Removed Request for Racial and Ethnic Data section
The following questions have been edited from the traditional form that make it possible for Peace Corps to determine if the applicants with a legal history related to drug or alcohol use are in compliance with Peace Corps’ drug and alcohol policy.
Updated Legal History section
Edited existing 2 questions to account for the last legal clearance.
Removed entire Drug and Alcohol Policy section.
Removed Intelligence Background section and updated only existing question to account for previous legal clearance.
Added a Certification check box.
Estimates of reporting and recordkeeping hour and cost burdens of the collection of information.
* If this request for approval covers more than one form, provide separate hour burden estimates for each form and aggregate the hour burdens in Item 13 of OMB Form 83-I.
* Provide estimates of annualized cost to respondents for the hour burdens for collections of information, identifying and using appropriate wage rate categories. The cost of contracting out or paying outside parties for information collection activities should not be included here. Instead, this cost should be included in Item 13.
Estimated burden (hours) of the collection of information:
Peace Corps Application |
|
|
7,000 |
|
One time |
|
15 minutes |
|
1,500 hours |
The estimated total reporting burden is the estimated number of respondents multiplied by the estimated average burden per response.
Estimates of annualized capital and start-up costs.
* The cost estimate should be split into two components: (a) a total capital and start-up cost component (annualized over its expected useful life) and (b) a total operation and maintenance and purchase of services component. The estimates should take into account costs associated with generating, maintaining, and disclosing or providing the information. Include descriptions of methods used to estimate major cost factors including system and technology acquisition, expected useful life of capital equipment, the discount rate(s), and the time period over which costs will be incurred. Capital and start-up costs include, among other items, preparations for collecting information such as purchasing computers and software; monitoring, sampling, drilling and testing equipment; and record storage facilities.
* If cost estimates are expected to vary widely, agencies should present ranges of cost burdens and explain the reasons for the variance. The cost of purchasing or contracting out information collections services should be a part of this cost burden estimate. In developing cost burden estimates, agencies may consult with a sample of respondents (fewer than 10), utilize the 60-day pre-OMB submission public comment process and use 10/95 existing economic or regulatory impact analysis associated with the rulemaking containing the information collection, as appropriate.
* Generally, estimates should not include purchases of equipment or services, or portions thereof, made: (1) prior to October 1, 1995, (2) to achieve regulatory compliance with requirements not associated with the information collection, (3) for reasons other than to provide information or keep records for the government, or (4) as part of customary and usual business or private practices.
The estimated start-up costs were as follows:
There will be no cost to respondents.
Estimates of annualized Federal Government costs.
Year operations & maintenance |
$200K |
Explanation of change in burden.
Within the Volunteer application there are sections that have been edited to improve the accuracy of data collection and reduce the need for staff to request clarification from applicants on a frequent ad hoc bases. Analysis indicates there would be no change in the annual burden.
Information collections data planned to be published for statistical use.
The results of this collection of information will not be published.
Explanation for seeking not to display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection.
N/A. The Agency is not seeking approval to conceal or omit the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection.
Exception to the certification statement.
The agency is able to certify compliance with all provisions under Item 19 of OMB Form 83-I.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| File Title | Peace Corps – Office of Volunteer Recruitment and Selection |
| Author | nfull |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2021-01-14 |