Currently, CNCS delivers several programs that are designed to help communities address poverty, the environment, education, and other unmet human needs. The programs include:
AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps is a national service program designed to engage Americans in a variety of service. Programs under the AmeriCorps umbrella include AmeriCorps National and AmeriCorps State programs, National Civilian Community Corps, and VISTA. On April 21, 2009, the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act was signed into law which reauthorized and dramatically expanded the AmeriCorps volunteer service program. The new law would more than triple the number of available AmeriCorps volunteer slots from then current 75,000 to 250,000 by fiscal year 2017 with 50% of these positions becoming full-time. The measure would also tie college tuition aid to demonstrated favorable community impacts; create a pilot Social Innovation Fund; expand eligibility for the Senior Companion and Foster Grandparent program; and expand participation by military veterans.
On September 12, 2014, President Barack Obama launched the Employers of National Service initiative at the 20th Anniversary of AmeriCorps event on the South Lawn of the White House. Employers participating in the initiative connect to the talent pipeline of AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, and other service year alumni, by indicating in their hiring processes that they view national service experience as a plus. The initiative is a collaboration between CNCS with the Peace Corps, Service Year Alliance, AmeriCorps Alums, and the National Peace Corps Association. To date, over 500 employers have joined the initiative.
History
The Commission on National and Community Service was a new, independent federal agency created as a consequence of the National and Community Service Act of 1990, signed into law by President George H. W. Bush. The Commission was intentioned to mean to bring about a renewed focus on encouraging volunteering in the United States and was charged with supporting four streams of service:
Service-learning programs for school-aged youth
Higher education service programs
Youth corps
National service demonstration models
In 1993 the Corporation for National and Community Service was created by merging another agency, ACTION, and the Commission on National and Community Service together, thus ending the Commission.
1990: President George H.W. Bush signs the National and Community Service Act of 1990 into law, ushering in a renewed federal focus on encouraging volunteering in the U.S. This legislation created the new independent federal agency called the Commission on National and Community Service. 1992: Enacted as part of the 1993 National Defense Authorization Act, the National Civilian Community Corps is created as a demonstration program to explore the possibility of using post-Cold War military resources to help solve problems here at home. It is modeled on the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps and the United States military. 1993: President Bill Clinton signs into passage The National and Community Service Trust Act, formally merging the federal offices of ACTION and the Commission on National and Community Service, including Serve America and NCCC, to form CNCS, along with the addition of the new AmeriCorps program. 2002: President George W. Bush creates the USA Freedom Corps.
