The Senate is poised to vote on Monday, March 23, on a cloture motion setting the stage for passage of H.R. 1388 the Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act referred to as the GIVE Act sponsored by Representative Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) and 37 co-sponsors. The bill amends the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (NSCA) and the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (DVSA).
The bill provides for service from individuals of all ages. Some aspects of the bill relate specifically to service opportunities and programs for older Americans. Among other features, the legislation requires states to develop comprehensive plans for volunteer and paid service by Baby Boomers and older adults.
It also establishes within the Investment for Quality and Innovation program: (1) a ServeAmerica Fellowships program providing fellowships to individuals chosen by states to participate in service projects addressing certain areas of national need; (2) a Silver Scholarship Grant Program providing scholarships to individuals age 55 or older who complete at least 500 hours of service in a year in an area of national need; and (3) an Encore Fellowships program providing one-year fellowships to individuals age 55 or older who serve in areas of national need and receive training to transition to public service employment. ServeAmerica fellows will be eligible for national service educational awards.
The bill makes revisions to components of the DVSA including: (1) the VISTA program; and (2) the Senior Corps, including the Retired and Senior Volunteer program (RSVP), the Foster Grandparent program, and the Senior Companion program.
The GIVE Act also prioritizes VISTA participant selection to include disadvantaged youth and retired adults of any profession along with prioritizing RSVP projects in specified areas. Anyone 55 years of age or older is eligible to be a Senior Corps volunteer. Under the Senior Corps demonstration program incentive matching grants will be available to Senior Corps programs that exceed specified performance measures, enroll most of their volunteers in outcome-based service programs, and increase their enrollment of Baby Boomer volunteers. Congress intends that the number of AmeriCorps, VISTA, and NCCC participants should reach 250,000 by 2014.
For the full text of the bill visit http://www.thomas.loc.gov/ and search for bill number H.R. 1388
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