Corporation for National and Community Service 

NationalService.gov 

April 18, 2018

TO: 

FROM: 

SUBJECT: 

Directors of Foster Grandparent, Senior Companion, RSVP, Senior 

Demonstration, and VISTA Projects

Timothy F. Noelker 

General Counsel 

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Income Disregard Provisions for participants in Senior Corps and AmeriCorps 

VISTA Programs 

CNCS has statutory provisions that address "income disregard." The provisions apply when 

Federal, state, and local governmental entities determine whether people who serve through 

Senior Corps and AmeriCorps VISTA are eligible for assistance and benefits. We have written this 

memorandum so that you can help ensure that our provisions are applied correctly. 

Section 404 of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973, as amended (DVSA), addresses income 

disregard. It applies to participants in AmeriCorps VISTA and in Senior Corps programs: Senior 

Companions, Foster Grandparents, RSVP, and Senior Demonstration Program Volunteers. 

The relevant part of Section 404 states: 

(f)(l) Notwithstanding any other provision oflaw except as may be provided expressly in 

limitation of this subsection, payments to volunteers under this Act shall not in any way 

reduce or eliminate the level of, or eligibility for, assistance or services any such volunteers 

may be receiving under any governmental program, except that this paragraph shall not 

apply in the case of such payments when the Director determines that the value of all such 

payments, adjusted to reflect the number of hours such volunteers are serving, is equivalent 

to or greater than the mini.mum wage then in effect under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 

1938 (29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq.) or the minimum wage, under the laws of the State where such 

volunteers are serving, whichever is greater. 

(f)(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person enrolled for full-time service as 

a volunteer under Title I of this Act who was otherwise entitled to receive assistance or 

services under any governmental program prior to such volunteer's enrollment shall not be 

denied such assistance or services because of such volunteer's 

250 E Street, SW 

Washington, D.C. 20525 

202-606-5000 1800-942-2677 I TTY 800-833-3722 

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Title: Income Disregard Provisions

Date issued: April 2018

Date posted: February 28, 2020

Unique identifier: CNCS 001

Topic: Income Disregard Provisions

Summary: This details statutory provisions that address income disregard for people who serve in Senior Corps 

and AmeriCorps VISTA

The contents of this document do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public in 

any way. This document is intended only to provide clarity to the public regarding existing requirements under 

the law or agency policies.
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failure or refusal to register for, seek, or accept employment or training during the 

period of such service. 

42 U.S.C. § 5044 (f) (1) and (2). 

Subsection (f) (1) says that income disregard provisions do not apply if participants get 

payments for their service that are equivalent to or greater than the applicable minimum wage. 

It is important for governmental entities to know that only CNCS may :,nake this determination. 

To date, payments to participants have not equaled or exceeded the greater of the federal or 

state minimum wage. Therefore, income disregard rules apply. 

Section 418 of the DVSA applies only to Senior Corps programs. It states: 

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no payment for supportive services or 

reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses made to persons serving pursuant to Title II of 

this Act shall be subject to any tax or charge or be treated as wages or compensation for 

the purposes of unemployment, temporary disability, retirement, public assistance, 

workers' compensation, or similar benefit payments, or minimum wage laws. This 

section shall become effective with respect to all payments made after the effective date 

of this Act [October 1, 1973}. 

42 u.s.c. § 5058 

In summary, sections 404 and 418 mean that: 

(1) When a government program is determining a person's eligibility for public assistance or 

services, or whether to reduce or eliminate these, it may not take into account payments the 

person got through service under the DVSA. 

(2) A government program may not deny assistance because a service participant fails or 

refuses to look for or accept employment or training. This includes welfare to work programs. 

(3) Payments to service participants cannot be treated as wages or compensation for any 

government purposes. 

Please share this memorandum with anyone with questions concerning this issue. In the event 

this memorandum does not resolve the issue, please contact any of these attorneys in the Office 

of General Counsel: 

Tom Bryant (202-606-6678) 

Andrea Grill (202-606-6674) 

John Greenhaugh (202-606-6872) 

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