End of Service

1. End of Service Resources to help your Post-VISTA Transition Metropolitan Community College Re-Engage Omaha VISTA Program

2. Congratulations! You have successfully completed your Year of Service… Now what?

3. End of Service • First of all, Metropolitan Community College and the Corporation for National and Community Service would like to thank you for service.

4. Resources for a successful transition End of Service Checklist Forms and Travel Stipend/Education Award Additional Service Health Coverage Life after VISTA Links and other resources

5. End of Service Checklist Things to do before and after ending service

11. Forms and Travel

12. Future Plans Form In the tenth month of service, you will need to complete the AmeriCorps VISTA Future Plans or Early Termination Request Form. This form is on your member homepage in the My AmeriCorps portal under “Close-of-Service”. It asks whether you wish to: • Complete service as scheduled • Continue service for less than one year at the same project (extension) if you did not initially elect an education award • Continue service for one year at the same project or at a different project (re-enrollment) After you complete the Future Plans Form, your project supervisor will fill out the Performance Evaluation section. Follow up to make sure your supervisor has completed the form 45 days before your end-of-service date. Even members who choose to end service early must complete the Future Plans Form.

13. Evaluation of your Service The Future Plans Form requires the sponsoring organization to evaluate the performance of members approaching the end of their term of service or requesting a reenrollment or extension of service. You are entitled to review the evaluation section before it is sent to the Corporation State Office. During this time you should also arrange an exit interview with your supervisor to summarize the work you have done and to talk through and agree with your evaluation. The exit interview is also an opportunity for you to give feedback, to discuss your future plans, and to finalize your arrangements for leaving.

14. Travel Payment The corporation will pay for you to travel from your assignment location to your home-of-record in the same way they paid for you to travel to your site at the beginning of service. The VISTA Member Support Unit (VMSU) will contact you to arrange travel home or reimbursement vouchers in the My AmeriCorps Portal. Tickets and travel reimbursement vouchers will be posted in the My AmeriCorps Portal within one week before your scheduled departure. You will need to return the signed vouchers to the VISTA Member Support Unit to receive your travel payment. The signed vouchers should be sent to:           Close of ServiceVISTA Member Support Unit300 E. 8th Street, Suite G-169Austin, TX 78701

15. Direct Deposit of funds The travel payment, made by direct deposit, will arrive 6-8 weeks after the VISTA Member Support Unit receives your signed voucher. If you fail to sign and return the termination voucher within 30 days after completion of service, payment may be delayed.

16. Home of Record Home of record shall be either: • The legal residence of your parent(s) or legal guardian if you had been residing with your parent(s) or legal guardian immediately prior to entering AmeriCorps VISTA service, or if you were a full-time student whose permanent residence was with parent(s) or legal guardian, or • The residence established by you: • While attending college immediately prior to entering AmeriCorps VISTA service • While employed immediately prior to entering AmeriCorps VISTA service • For purposes of voting or payment of state taxes

17. Baggage Shipment If your home of record is at least 100 miles from your project site, you are authorized a baggage allowance to ship your personal effects between the project site and your home of record at end of service. Notify the Corporation State Office before your departure date if you are shipping baggage. If you are relocating to some place other than your home of record, the shipping cost cannot exceed the initial allowance amount 

18. Stipend/Education Award

19. End of Service Stipend The end-of-service stipend is a post-service readjustment allowance intended to offset expenses after members complete their period of service. If you select the stipend, you automatically receive the payment with your last subsistence payment, provided your term of service is completed as scheduled and your end-of-service documents are submitted to the Corporation State Office. Federal income tax and Social Security (FICA) deductions are withheld from the stipend at the time of payment.

20. Segal AmeriCorps Education Award • If you elected to receive the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award, the award becomes available for your use after you successfully complete service. The value of the award is tied to the maximum Pell Grant level during the fiscal year in which you served • The Segal AmeriCorps Education Award must be used within seven years of the date you finish your service, unless you apply for and receive an extension prior to the end of your seventh year in accordance with 45 CFR §2526. If you have questions about your education award, you should contact the National Service Hotline at 800-942-2677, or visit the National Service Hotline website, click on the "Ask a Question" tab, and complete the help request form and submit

21. Additional VISTA Service

22. At the discretion of the Corporation, you may be afforded the opportunity to serve as an AmeriCorps VISTA member beyond the initial year of enrollment. Although you have no entitlement to another term of service with the AmeriCorps VISTA program, you are strongly encouraged to consider a second term of service. • Additional service is predicated on a clear indication that you will continue to provide a substantial contribution to the program. Approval is required for all continuations of service following endorsement by the sponsoring organization. The Domestic Volunteer Service Act limits AmeriCorps VISTA members to five terms of service.

23. In approving a request for continuation of service, your performance, as evaluated by the project supervisor and the Corporation State Director, along with your skills and experience, are considered. Continuation of service is also subject to the availability of an appropriate assignment and to the availability of funds for member support. • To request continuation of service, you must complete the Future Plans Form at least six weeks before your scheduled end-of-service date. (This form is on your member homepage in My AmeriCorps under “Close-of-Service”.) Otherwise, the usual process to terminate allowances will go into effect. • AmeriCorps VISTA will notify you and the sponsoring organization whether the request for continuation of service was approved at least four weeks before the end of service.

24. Taking The Lead • AmeriCorps VISTA Leaders are former AmeriCorps VISTA members who successfully completed at least a full term of full-time service and demonstrated exemplary skills and leadership in community service. AmeriCorps VISTA Leaders have demonstrated exceptional abilities to work constructively with community volunteers, supervisors, sponsoring organizations, and the low-income community. • An AmeriCorps VISTA member is not entitled to an AmeriCorps VISTA Leader assignment for simply having satisfactorily completed a previous assignment. It is solely up to the Corporation State Office to select which projects may have AmeriCorps VISTA Leaders, to determine the number of AmeriCorps VISTA Leaders that may serve at designated projects, and to select the AmeriCorps VISTA Leaders to serve at the designated projects.

25. Post-Service Health Coverage

26. AmeriCorps VISTA's health benefits coverage ends at midnight on the day you end service or are terminated from the AmeriCorps VISTA program. Upon termination from service, you may convert from the health plan provided by AmeriCorps VISTA's contractor to a designated private health insurance plan as described in the Member Health Care Guide. Conversion enables you to continue your health benefits for a period of time at your own expense. Your option to convert to this private insurance plan must be exercised within 31 days of the date you end service. If you exercise this conversion option, the private plan becomes effective on the day after you end your AmeriCorps VISTA service. • Conversion is offered through the Celtic Insurance Company. For information about conversion through this company, call 800-365-2365. You must exercise the option to convert to a health plan through Celtic within 31 days of your end-of-service date.

27. Life after VISTA

28. Staying Involved In Service Options for continued service: • Corporation for National and Community Service • Peace Corps • Graduate program with Public Policy focus • Non-Profit work • Volunteering regularly • Public office (political)/Public Servant (Fire/Police/EMT)

29. Federal Employment • After successfully completing your year of service, you are eligible for “Non-Competitive Status” when applying for jobs with the federal government. • This status takes effect the day after you complete your full year of service and is in effect for one year. • Non-competitive status does not guarantee you a position with the federal government. You must apply to an agency which interests you and successfully navigate the application process on www.usajobs.gov

30. USAJobs Search When searching for federal jobs, you want to make sure you use the advanced search option and are viewing the results that include positions for “A person with non-competitive appointment eligibility.”

31. Once you find a position you qualify for and are interested in, create an account on USAJobs to apply.

32. To prove your Non-competitive status to potential employers, mention it in your cover letter and include a copy of your service letter from myAmericorps.

34. Google Chrome Users can enter Ctrl+P to print and select “Print to PDF.” On other browsers, letter may open in Adobe Acrobat and let you save

35. Upload your letter to USAJobs and attach it to every application

36. Helpful Links

37. National Service Links • http://www.nationalserviceresources.org/americorps-next-steps-life-after-americorps • http://vistacampus.org/mod/book/view.php?id=2093&chapterid=2149 • http://encorps.nationalserviceresources.org/whatsnext/writing-resume.shtml • https://my.americorps.gov/mp/login.do • http://www.americorps.gov/for_individuals/current/lifetime.asp

38. Other Links • Non-Competitive FAQs http://nebraskavista.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/non-competitive_eligibility_frequently_asked_questions.pdf • Grad School Statement of Purpose examples http://nebraskavista.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/graduate-school.pdf • Institutions that Match the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award http://www.americorps.gov/for_individuals/benefits/ed_award_match.asp

39. Job search sites http://www.usajobs.gov/ http://www.indeed.com/ http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites

40. Thank you and good luck! We hope you enjoyed this presentation and we welcome any questions at this time.