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HEHS-95-255R 1 (1995-09-07)

handle is hein.gao/gaobackxx0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 3A United States General Accounting Office Washington, D.C. 20548 Health, Education and Human Services Division B-265924 September 7, 1995 The Honorable Christopher S. Bond The Honorable Charles E. Grassley United States Senate The Corporation for National and Community Service (the Corporation) administers the AmeriCorps*USA program, the largest national service volunteer program since the 1930s. AmeriCorps*USA participants perform community services that match priorities established by the Corporation, such as addressing educational, environmental, and public safety needs. The Corporation provides grants to individual programs, which obtain additional resources from other federal agencies, state and local governments, and the private sector. While there has been interest in assessing AmeriCorps*USA's cost-effectiveness, such an assessment is difficult because the program has operated for less than a year. We recently reported on total resources available to support AmeriCorps*USA programs in the 1994-95 program year and, to a lesser extent, on benefits of certain programs. We found that total resources available per AmeriCorps*USA participant equaled about $26,700 for program year 1994- 95.1 We also found that, at seven programs we visited, participants were providing benefits to their communities, but we did not attempt to quantify these benefits. Recently, in an effort to provide perspective on the potential cost-effectiveness of AmeriCorps*USA programs, a benefit-cost study was conducted of three AmeriCorps*USA programs based on short-term and projected data.2 The 'National Service ProQrams: AmeriCorps*USA--Early Program Resource and Benefit Information (GAO/HEHS-95-222, Aug. 29, 1995). This figure excludes private in-kind contributions. 2George R. Neumann, Roger C. Kormendi, Robert F. Tamura, and Cyrus J. Gardner, The Benefits and Costs of National Service: Methods for Benefit Assessment With ADmlication to Three AmeriCorps Programs (Washington, D.C.: Kormendi\Gardner Partners, 1995). GAO/HEHS-95-255R AmeriCorps*USA Benefit-Cost Study /5U7'W