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August 25, 2010

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Prohibited Activities

Objective:To give all participants an opportunity to learn and/or revisit the updated list of prohibited activities and understand (better) how they might actually apply in the Member experience.

Format: Each group, which includes new and returning program leaders, develops a 1 minute skit to the whole group to represent their assigned “activity.”

Prohibited Activities: While charging time to the AmeriCorps program, accumulating service or training hours, or otherwise performing activities supported by the AmeriCorps program or CNCS, staff and members may not engage in the following activities (see 45 CFR § 2520.65):

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;

Prohibited Activities: While charging time to the AmeriCorps program, accumulating service or training hours, or otherwise performing activities supported by the AmeriCorps program or CNCS, staff and members may not engage in the following activities (see 45 CFR § 2520.65):

5. Engaging in partisan political activities, or other activities designed to influence the outcome of an election to any 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;

Prohibited Activities: While charging time to the AmeriCorps program, accumulating service or training hours, or otherwise performing activities supported by the AmeriCorps program or CNCS, staff and members may not engage in the following activities (see 45 CFR § 2520.65):

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 religious proselytization;

Prohibited Activities: While charging time to the AmeriCorps program, accumulating service or training hours, or otherwise performing activities supported by the AmeriCorps program or CNCS, staff and members may not engage in the following activities (see 45 CFR § 2520.65):

8. Providing a direct benefit to—i. A business organized for profit;

ii. A labor union;

iii. A partisan political organization;

iv. A nonprofit organization that fails to comply with the restrictions contained in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 related to engaging in political activities or substantial amount of lobbying except that nothing in these provisions shall be construed to prevent participants from engaging in advocacy activities undertaken at their own initiative; and

v. An organization engaged in the religious activities described in paragraph 3.g. above, unless CNCS assistance is not used to support those religious activities;

Prohibited Activities: While charging time to the AmeriCorps program, accumulating service or training hours, or otherwise performing activities supported by the AmeriCorps program or CNCS, staff and members may not engage in the following activities (see 45 CFR § 2520.65):

9. Conducting a voter registration drive or using CNCS funds to conduct a voter registration drive;

10.Providing abortion services or referrals for receipt of such services; and

11.Such other activities as CNCS may prohibit.

Prohibited Activities: • AmeriCorps members may not engage in the above activities directly

or indirectly by recruiting, training, or managing others for the primary purpose of engaging in one of the activities listed above.

• Individuals may exercise their rights as private citizens and may participate in the activities listed above on their initiative, on non-AmeriCorps time, and using non- CNCS funds. Individuals should not wear the AmeriCorps logo while doing so.

• Initiative and perceptions matter

QuizInstalling window insulation for individuals, churches and businesses to promote conservation.•Prohibited when the activity is for business and churches.

Enrolling clients for public assistance when the same form will register them as voters.•Not prohibited when this format is the required by local/state government as the method to access such services.

Organizing clients to participate in the protest of budget cuts that will close shelters. •Prohibited. Members MAY foster civic education – teaching how budgets are created, factors that influence them and how citizens make their voices heard. But this must not endorse a candidate or specific legislative act. •On their own time and initiative without wearing A* Corps gear? This could violate 501c3 restrictions or professional ethics. It “depends” and increases risk.

QuizRecruiting local churches to offer weekly religious services to fill the lifeskills calendar at the men’s shelter. •Prohibited. Members may not indirectly engage in prohibited activities by recruiting other people to engage in these activities. Another volunteer or staff member would need to organize this task.

Inviting the local League of Women Voters to register voters at the health fair.•Prohibited. As above.

Handing out a list of women’s health resources to women during intake at the domestic violence legal clinic. •If the list or resources includes abortion service providers, this would be prohibited. The information can be passively shared (lit racks) or shared by other staff/volunteers.

Why is this a big deal?• Climate of Accountability and Shared Responsibility

• Congressional Scrutiny

• Continuous improvement within National Service Programs, CVN AmeriCorps, sub-grantees and placement sites

• Consequences can include corrective actions, fines, and reimbursing funds to CNCS.

Allowable/un-allowable ActivitiesQuestions to consider in developing service roles.

•Does the Member’s proposed role directly support the CVN AmeriCorps target areas? Increasingly, we will be expected to align our new positions with these stated and approved targets.•Does the role represent a NEW project in direct service to change attitudes, behaviors skills, or conditions for individuals or the environment? Positions should reflect the service to people – not organizations. Positions that support a status quo will be increasingly harder to justify.•If the Member is being used in a role that IS normally held by a staff member, can the site verify (with evidence) that they can’t find a qualified applicant to fill the vacancy OR that the Member directly expands the number of persons receiving services? We need to be prepared to SHOW that we’re not taking jobs out of the economy by using Members as low-cost staff replacements.

Supplantation, Non Duplication and Non Displacement Policy

a. Supplementation.  Grant funds may not be used to replace state or local public funds that had been used to support Programs or projects of the type eligible to receive Corporation Grant funds.  For any given Program, this condition will be satisfied if the aggregate non-federal public expenditure for that Program or project in the fiscal year that support is to be provided is not less than the previous fiscal year.

b. Non-Duplication.  Grant funds may not be used to duplicate services that are available in the locality of a Program or project.   The Grantee may not conduct activities that are the same or substantially equivalent to activities provided by a state or local government agency in which the Grantee entity resides.

Supplantation, Non Duplication and Non Displacement Policyc. Non-Displacement.

i. Prohibition on Displacing an Employee or a Position. The Grantee may not displace an employee or position, including partial displacement such as reduction in hours, wages or employment benefits, as a result of the use by such employer of a member in a Program or project.

ii. Prohibition on Selecting an Employee for Participation.  The Grantee may not select a member who is employed by the Grantee or who was employed by the Grantee in the previous six months, unless the Corporation’s AmeriCorps Program Office waives this requirement upon a sufficient demonstration of non-displacement.

iii. Prohibition on Promotional Infringement.  The Grantee may not create a community service opportunity that will infringe in any manner on the promotional opportunity of an employed individual.

Supplantation, Non Duplication and Non Displacement Policy

iv. Prohibition on Displacing Employee Services, Duties or Activities.  A member in a Program or project may not perform any services or duties, or engage in activities that would otherwise be performed by an employee, as part of the assigned duties of such employee.

v. Prohibition on Supplanting, Hiring or Infringing on Recall Rights.  A member in a Program or project may not perform any services or duties, or engage in activities, that:

(a.) Will supplant the hiring of employed workers; or

(b.) Are services, duties or activities with respect to which an individual has recall rights pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement or applicable personnel procedures.

Strategies to ensure compliance

Our Programs have many excellent strategies in place to monitor the Non Duplication policy. Strategies include:

- Signed agreements between placement sites and sub-grantees

- Review of all placement site positions- Reserving specific roles for AmeriCorps

members- Seek out new projects and placements- Regular site visits/member shadowing- Training, training, training!

Supplantation, Non Duplication and Non Displacement Policy

vi. Other Prohibitions.  A member in a Program or project may not perform services or duties that have been performed by or were assigned to any:

(a) Currently employed worker;

(b) Employee who recently resigned or was discharged;

(c) Employee who is subject to a reduction in force or who has recall rights pursuant to a collective bargaining

agreement or applicable personnel procedures;

(d) Employee who is on leave (terminal, temporary, vacation, emergency or sick); or

(e) Employee who is on strike or is being locked out.

Allowable/un-allowable ActivitiesMembers are not appropriate resources for:

•Substitute teaching• This is a job in the economy – Members can’t be used to sub for a class when a substitute would

otherwise be called because you’re eliminating the opportunity to earn wages. • Members should be assigned standing and important responsibilities. They shouldn’t be available to sub.

•Driving, janitorial work, housekeeping/cleaning• These are paid positions in the economy and are not appropriate assigned roles. • Some functions may be appropriate when they are ancillary and in support of the Member’s primary

service role. • Members who coordinates afterschool programs can be expected to ensure the space is clean when

activities conclude for the evening. • Members who serve as a case managers might expect to need to drive a client to a hearing. • Members serving as nurses or medical assistants may be expected to prep exam rooms and tools for

appointments.

Strategies to ensure compliance

Our Programs have many excellent strategies in place to monitor the Non Duplication policy. Strategies include:

- Signed agreements between placement sites and sub-grantees

- Review of all placement site positions- Reserving specific roles for AmeriCorps

members- Seek out new projects and placements- Regular site visits/member shadowing- Training, training, training!

Discussion

• Discuss amongst your group strategies that you currently have in place, or would like to have in place, to monitor the Non Duplication policy. Do you already utilize some of the suggestions we’ve listed? Have you ever had an issue with Non Duplication within one of your placements?

• Select a group representative to present your findings.

Allowable/un-allowable ActivitiesMembers are not appropriate resources for:

•Thrift stores, produce or product sales, co-operative business activities

•Fundraising and administrative support

Quiz:A Member is serving as a tutor, and she wants to get more books for her students that better reflect their heritage and culture. She wants to write to a publisher to ask for book donations and her students want to organize a used book sale. Allowable?* YES. This kind of fundraising is directly related to her primary service role. The intent of the book sale is to acquire materials for her students to support their reading. Insofar as used book sales are allowable by the school/site/municipality, this would be fine.

She is not allowed to apply for federal funding. She would not be allowed to organize a book sale if the funds were to provide general operating funds for the school/organization.

Terms to avoid• Volunteer, staff, employee

• Ministry

• Advocacy/Advocate

• Organizing/Organizer

• Canvasser/Canvassing

• Rally

• “Other duties as assigned”

• “Assists staff”

… Instead• AmeriCorps Member, Member,

[Your program] Participant

• Outreach, support services• Advocacy/Advocate – ONLY IN

REFERENCE TO DIRECT SERVICE FOR CLIENTS

• “Other duties that are in support of the Member’s primary service role.”

• “Assists clients”

Monitoring & the OIG

Office of Inspector General: Most frequent timesheet findings

•Lack of oversight/controls

•Alteration and obliterations (whiteout/eraser marks)

•Incomplete sheets (blank blocks)

•Copies appear to have been made at onetime

•Hours claimed don’t match service performed

•Holiday/weekend hours recorded when site is closed

•Approval signatures by unauthorized individuals

•No sub‐site oversight/verification

•Claiming prohibited/unallowable service

•Excess training/administrative hours (80/20)

•Member timesheets are not signed by both the member and supervisor

•Member timesheets do not add up to the term of service claimed

OIG Hotline:Phone: 1-800-452-8210

Email: hotline@cncsig.gov

Audit findings

AmeriCorps Enrollment

Grantees allow members to begin service before members sign contracts. The auditors deduct hours served before the member signed the contract and question the education award earned if the decrease in hours results in less hours served than required to earn the education award. CNCS may have had to rule that the education award is not valid because the grant provisions stipulate the conditions for enrollment. Grant Provision change (08/09).

Corrective Action:

Going Forward: Establish and implement written policies that address members’ signing contracts before commencement of service so they are fully aware of their rights and responsibilities.