Section 610.60  Applicant Selection Procedures

 

a)         The Advisory Council shall have the responsibility of reviewing the Illinois AmeriCorps program proposals in both the formula-funded and competitive categories and selecting the proposals for submission for federal funding to the Corporation. As part of this review process, the Advisory Council shall have the authority to consult with persons with specialized knowledge in the subject matter of any of the priorities established by the Act for national service. The decisions of the Advisory Council shall be final and binding.  Applicants shall be notified by mail of the decision of the Advisory Council.  Programs whose proposals have been selected for submission for federal funding to the Corporation shall be notified by the Lieutenant Governor of the decision of the Corporation relating to their proposals.

 

b)         The Advisory Council shall first determine whether the applicant's proposal meets the following three (3) program requirements of community impact, strengthening communities, and improving citizenship and skills of members:

 

1)         The proposal shall meet educational, public safety, human, or environmental needs in the community served and provide a direct and demonstrable benefit that is valued by the community.

 

A)        Service that provides a direct benefit includes physical projects such as renovating low-income housing or creating a playground in a vacant lot, and human service projects such as tutoring, mentoring, or conflict resolution. Eligible activities also include supervising participants or volunteers whose service provides a direct benefit to the community. In all cases, service activities shall result in a specific identifiable service or improvement that otherwise would not be provided with existing funds or volunteers and that does not duplicate the routine functions of workers or displace paid employees. Activities that do not provide a direct benefit to the community, such as clerical work or research, may be performed if they are in support of a direct service. However, such activities may not be the primary activity of a service program.  For example, a team whose project involves providing meals, transportation, and health services to the homebound may need to conduct a door-to-door survey of community residents to help locate those in need of services. If they then go on to provide those services, this kind of research would be an appropriate activity for the team.

 

B)        To determine whether the community values or will value the service proposed, the Advisory Council shall consider the nature, sustainability, and quality of the proposed service and how it meets community needs as identified by needs assessment activities.

 

2)         The program shall strengthen communities, bring together both institutions and individuals to cooperate in bringing about lasting and constructive change.

 

A)        Programs must perform projects that are designed, implemented, and evaluated with extensive and broad-based local input, including consultation with representatives from the community served, members (or potential members) in the program, community-based agencies with a demonstrated record of experience in providing services, foundations, businesses, and local labor organizations representing employees of service sponsors if these entities exist in the area observed by the program.

 

B)        Applicants shall agree to seek actively to include members from the communities in which projects are conducted, as well as individuals of different races and ethnicities, socioeconomic backgrounds, both men and women, and individuals with disabilities. Programs that lack diversity in some manner must strive for diversity in other ways. For example, programs that do not achieve diversity among members in all areas may seek it by involving a diverse group of additional volunteers in other service alongside members. The Council recognizes that certain programs require the recruitment of members who share a specific characteristic or background, such as a professional corps that requires members to possess specific post-secondary training which might inadvertently cause a lack of diversity.  Such programs must still not violate non-discrimination provisions of the Act and the rules promulgated thereunder or this Part relating to member selection.

 

3)         Programs shall improve the citizenship and the skills of members.

 

A)        Programs shall help members develop, through their service experiences, the ethic and skills needed for productive, active citizenship which includes developing their skills in solving community problems and cultivating a lifelong ethic of productive, active citizenship. Programs shall ensure, in a non-partisan manner, that each member who is eligible to vote registers to vote.

 

B)        Programs shall be designed to have particular impacts on members related to the mission of the program. For example, members may improve particular skills, learn the importance of using specialized skills to address pressing needs, or develop leadership and managerial skills.

 

C)        Programs shall provide members with the training, skills, and knowledge necessary to perform the tasks required in their respective projects. Programs shall provide members with background information on the community to help them understand why the service project is needed. Programs may also provide, if appropriate, specific training and education designed to help members explore career possibilities in areas such as child development, teaching, public health, or public safety.

 

D)        Programs shall provide support services to members at the end of their term of service to make the transition to other educational or career opportunities and to assist members who are school dropouts to earn the equivalent of a high school diploma.

 

c)         Programs applying for operating grants including educational awards or for educational awards only, which have been found by the Advisory Council to meet the three (3) program requirements as provided above, will be competitively evaluated by the Advisory Council based on the following criteria.

 

1)         The Advisory Council shall take into consideration the extent to which both the program overall and its particular projects will address needs important to the community and be conducted in areas of need as defined in the Act.  This portion of the evaluation shall compose ten (10) percent of the total.

 

2)         The Advisory Council shall consider the quality of the program based on the program design and organizational capacity.

 

A)        Consideration of the program design shall comprise forty (40) percent of the evaluation and is based upon the following criteria:

 

i)          The potential impact of using proposed national service members to meet the community needs being addressed.

 

ii)         Inclusion of a clear and compelling mission statement.

 

iii)         Identification of specific objectives and indicators of success.

 

iv)        Development of an effective recruitment, selection, and training plan for staff and members, including recruitment of members and staff from the community to be served.

 

v)         Ability to provide appropriate supervision, counseling, service-learning and other education opportunities, and outplacement to members.

 

vi)        The involvement of members and community residents in the design, operation, and leadership of the program.

 

vii)        Development of a sound plan for continually improving the program based on self-assessment and monitoring of community and member satisfaction with work performed.

 

viii)       Inclusion of an appropriate organization and staffing plan.

 

ix)        The program's cost-effectiveness in achieving identified outcomes, including per member cost.

 

B)        Consideration of organizational capacity shall comprise thirty (30) percent of the evaluation and is based upon the following criteria.

 

i)          The quality of the leadership of the program.

 

ii)         The past performance of the organization or program.

 

iii)         The organization's connection to the community.

 

iv)        The extent to which the program builds on existing programs.

 

v)         Evidence of strong and broad-based community support for the program.

 

vi)        Availability of additional funding sources for the program.

 

C)        In addition to the above, an application proposing the replication of an existing program shall be evaluated on the following criteria.

 

i)          The success of the program in its original site, including the results of any evaluation undertaken.

 

ii)         The program's analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the original program.

 

iii)         Reasons for selecting the replication site and discussion of the adjustments needed for adaption to a new site.

 

iv)        The qualification of the leaders of the program at the new site.

 

3)         The Advisory Council shall consider the ability of the program to sustain itself beyond the period of Corporation support. This portion shall comprise ten (10) percent of the evaluation and is based upon the following criteria.

 

A)        Evidence of strong and broad-based community support.

 

B)        Presence of multiple or private funding sources.

 

C)        Cost-effectiveness.

 

D)        Additional consideration will be given to programs that significantly exceed the local match with non-federal funds and to federal agencies that are providing a substantial match to Corporation funds.

 

4)         The Advisory Council shall consider the degree to which needs coincide to program design, the innovative aspects of the program, and the appropriateness of replicating the program in the future. This portion shall comprise ten (10) percent of the evaluation.

 

5)         In addition to the criteria on which individual applications will be rated, the Advisory Council shall give priority consideration to the following issues.

 

A)        The Advisory Council seeks a broadly diverse member pool that includes the following:

 

i)          A large representation of young adults.

 

ii)         A proportionate ratio of individuals who have not attended college and those with college-education experience.

 

iii)         Approximately equal numbers of men and women.

 

iv)        Individuals of all races and ethnicities.

 

v)         Individuals with physical and cognitive disabilities.

 

B)        The Advisory Council anticipates funding a range of program types that will yield the desired member pool.

 

C)        The Advisory Council shall ensure that the programs funded are geographically diverse and include projects in both urban and rural areas.

 

D)        The Advisory Council may fund programs that will enable it to test the effect of concentrating a critical mass of members in a small geographic area such as a rural community, small city, or part of a larger city.

 

E)         The Advisory Council shall give special consideration to programs able to start-up quickly as a result of having completed a planning phase, programs having start dates in late August or September or January, and programs able to leverage funds at a level beyond that required by the Act.

 

6)         The program shall be in conformance with all requirements of the Act and the rules promulgated thereunder.

 

d)         Programs applying for planning grants that have been found by the Advisory Council to meet the three (3) program requirements as provided in subsection (a) of this Section shall be competitively evaluated by the Advisory Council based on the following criteria.

 

1)         The criteria enumerated in subsections (c)(1), (c)(2)(A), and (c)(6) of this Section shall apply to the Advisory Council's consideration of applications for planning grants.  For the purposes of this subsection, such criteria shall be construed to apply to potential or proposed programs.

 

2)         The quality of the plan for developing the program.

 

3)         The track record of the organization in launching new initiatives.

 

4)         The appropriateness of the planning budget.

 

5)         The ability of the proposed program to become operational.

 

6)         The degree to which planning objectives coincide with the design of the proposed program.

 

7)         Consideration of the criteria enumerated in subsections (c)(2) through (c)(6) of this Section shall each comprise ten (10) percent of the evaluation.