42 U.S.C. § 4953 — Selection and assignment of volunteers

(a) Covered projects and programs. After receiving an application from a public or nonprofit private organization, the Director^* may assign selected volunteers to suitable projects or programs it sponsors, including work: (1) meeting health, education, welfare, or related needs of Indians on reservations or Federal trust lands, migratory or seasonal farmworkers and families, and residents of the listed territories and the District of Columbia; (2) caring for and rehabilitating people with mental illness, developmental disabilities, or other disabilities, especially severe disabilities; (3) addressing homelessness, unemployment, and low-income youth; (4) addressing alcohol and drug^* abuse through prevention, education, rehabilitation, treatment^*, and related activities consistent with this part; (5) addressing major health-care problems, including mental illness, chronic or life-threatening illness, and care for homeless people, especially children, through prevention, treatment, and community care; (6) programs eligible under this chapter, the Community Service Block Grant Act, specified titles of the Economic Opportunity Act, the Head Start Act, the Community Economic Development Act of 1981, or similar Acts, to further this subchapter; (7) strengthening, supplementing, and expanding literacy efforts nationwide; (8) helping formerly incarcerated youth and adults reenter and reintegrate, including education, employment, and life-skills training and counseling; (9) financial-literacy, planning, budgeting, saving, and reputable-credit-access programs in low-income communities, including homeownership and higher-education financing education; (10) before- and after-school programs for children in low-income communities, including mentoring, tutoring, life and study skills, service learning, physical, nutrition, and health education, and other activities addressing children’s needs; (11) community economic development, prioritizing rural and most-needed areas; (12) assistance to veterans and family members with legal help, health care including mental health care, employment and education counseling or training, affordable housing, and other support; and (13) health and wellness in low-income and underserved communities, including increased access to prevention, insurance, and health services. (b) Recruitment and placement. (1) The Director must create placement procedures involving sponsoring organizations and offering local and national placements. (2)(A) The Director must maintain a national headquarters volunteer-placement office responsible for recruitment and placement, coordinated with the National and Community Service Act activities. (B) The office must maintain a current, comprehensive database showing individuals’ specific unfilled approved opportunities and approved applicants awaiting assignment. (C) The Director must assign or hire enough national, regional, and State^* personnel for timely, effective work under (b) and (c), prioritizing former volunteers and people experienced in volunteer recruitment and management. (3) Volunteers must be selected from qualified applicants whose applications contain information needed to assess suitability and assignment. The Director must approve an applicant who complies and is found qualified. (4) Applications must be publicly available on request from the Corporation^*, including State or regional offices, and the requester must be told how to submit one. Any interested person may submit a completed application to any Corporation office, which must accept it. (5)(A) The Director must assign each approved applicant, as far as practicable, to a project^* matching the applicant’s abilities, experience, and stated preferences and the project’s needs and preferences. (B) The Director must use the database. (C) A VISTA^* sponsor may recruit volunteers, and a locally recruited volunteer gets priority for placement with that sponsor. (D) A volunteer may not be assigned without the project’s express approval and consent. (E) If a locally recruited applicant becomes unavailable before service starts, the grant or contract recipient designated to receive the service may replace the applicant with another qualified applicant approved by the Director. (F) When feasible and appropriate, low-income community volunteers may choose to serve at home with nationally recruited specialists. The Director must try to assign them at home or nearby and make national efforts to attract others. Assignments must consider community needs that cannot be met locally and volunteers’ wishes about geographic service. (c) Public awareness and recruitment. (1) With (b)(2)(C) personnel, the Director must conduct awareness and recruitment, which may include (A) Internet, radio, television, and print public-service announcements; (B) Internet, print, direct-mail, and other advertising; (C) information to higher-education and other schools including libraries, professional associations, community agencies, youth and volunteer groups, businesses, unions, senior groups, economic-development offices, employment-security agencies, employment offices, and other recruitment sources; (D) personal presentations to students, faculty, and those entities; (E) publicizing VISTA student-loan deferment and forgiveness and including it in applications and recruitment materials; (F) publicizing national-service education awards; (G) recruitment technical assistance on request to assisted programs and projects; and (H) a publicized national toll-free number for information and applications. (2) The Director must seek former volunteers’ help in distributing information and may reimburse their participation costs, including travel. (3) The Director must consult the Peace Corps Director to coordinate recruitment and awareness and develop joint recruitment procedures and activities. (d) The Director must give each low-income community volunteer an individual plan for job advancement or transition toward gainful work and, when feasible, coordinate it with a local workforce board under section 3122 of title 29. (e) The Director may provide or arrange educational and vocational counseling for volunteers and recent former volunteers to encourage national-interest use of their skills, especially against poverty in helping professions, and to develop and place them in suitable opportunities. (f) Except as (e) provides, assignments are on terms set by the Director, including suitable political-activity restrictions recognizing volunteers’ special status among served people and assignments in their own or nearby communities. (g) A volunteer cannot be assigned in a community unless the project application shows local support and was submitted to the State Governor or other chief executive. On a timely written request with reasons, the Director must end the project or assignment within 30 days, or a later date agreed with that official. (h) The Director is encouraged to make agreements with federal agencies to use VISTA volunteers for objectives consistent with section 4951. (i) The Director may make agreements under which sufficiently large and financially capable public or private nonprofits pay all or part of volunteer-support costs.