Considering the Effect of Policies on People with Disabilities in National Service

Presenters Brian Lock - Disability Coordinator, Washington Commission for National and Community Service Bob Shogren - Director, Arizona Governor's Commission on Service and Volunteerism Amy Borgstrom - Associate Director for Policy, AmeriCorps State/National, CNCS Lanny Taulbee – Disability Coordinator, Kentucky Eddie Aguero - Facilitator

Introduction A discussion highlighting examples of CNCS policies negatively affecting actual or potential members with disabilities.  Session Goals To identify and recommend a process for “field-testing” new policies as they are being developed and; To recommend a companion process for providing continuous feedback on the unintended consequences of current policies.

Introduction (Con’t) Who is in the room? Presenters?    Who is in the room? Presenters? Representatives from AmeriCorps, Learn & Serve, Senior Corps, Disability Organizations? CNCS Staff?

Framing AmeriCorps Policy 101 Amy Borgstrom Director of AmeriCorps Policy

Presenters Sampling of Policies/Rules/Regulations H.S. Diploma/GED Requirement The Education Award – requirements for receipt of… Slot Conversion Rule (s) Compelling Personal Circumstances Enrollment/Retention

Flexibility around start/end times Sampling of Other Policies/Rules/Regulations with Potential Implications Flexibility around start/end times Penmanship or data entry (if computer based) possible issues Computation skills; time calculating skills

Sampling of Other Policies/Rules/Regulations with Potential Implications (Con’t) AmeriCorps Grant Guidance and Template Instructions Strategic Initiatives Tracking Time Logs Authoring Great Stories

Questions? How can we mitigate the unintended consequences of AC policies for people with disabilities as we move forward? What mechanisms do we need or can we put in place, now?

Recommendations - Part I 1:  Permanent CNCS focus group to review policies as they are being developed… 2:  Establish on-going channel of communication to report impacts on members with disabilities… 3:  Provide for Disability Inclusion representation on CNCS policy committee…

Recommendations - Part II General recommendations: 1: Review AC applications, guidelines, provisions and all public CNCS documents and websites to ensure accessibility/Universal Design language. 2: Include “inclusion of people with disabilities” as an emphasis area or strategic priority area in AC application instructions 3: Develop/update FAQ

Next Steps & Close CNCS Response Field Response