Senior Corps Timeline

Click on any of the decades or events below to 

navigate to that event in the timeline.

• 1950: President Truman initiates the First National Conference on Aging (CoMs)

• 1961: First White House Conference on Aging under President Eisenhower (CoMs)

• 1963: National Service Corps proposed by President Kennedy but defeated in Congress (L) 

• 1964: Johnson declares War on Poverty and creates Office of Economic Opportunity (L) 

• 1965: Older Americans Act creates the Administration on Aging (AoA) (L) 

• 1965: Foster Grandparent Program demonstration projects begin (SCPEs)

• 1965: Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) begins (L) 

• 1965: Green Thumb program (L) 

• 1966: Greenleigh Associates conducts the first FGP evaluation (Es)

• 1968: “Senior Friends” demonstration project (L) 

• 1968-1973: Rosalyn Saltz conducts a series of longitudinal FGP evaluations (Es)

• 1969: Older Americans Volunteer Program (OAVP) created authorizing FGP and RSVP .(L) 

• 1970s: FGP expands services beyond institutional settings (SCPEs)

• 1970: Gray and Kasteler FGP evaluation (Es)

• 1971: ACTION agency created (L) 

• 1971: Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) projects begin (SCPEs)

• 1971: Second White House Conference on Aging under President Nixon (CoMs)

• 1971: National Association of FGP Directors (NAFGPD) founded (SCPEs)

• 1972: Congress dramatically increases funding for RSVP and FGP (L) 

• 1973: Domestic Volunteer Service Act (DVSA) authorizes FGP, RSVP, and SCP (L) 

• 1973: Rosalyn Saltz’s FGP longitudinal study (Es)

• 1974: Senior Companion Program begins (SCPEs)

• 1976: Amendments to the DVSA expand FGP services (L) 

• 1976: National Association of RSVP Directors (NARSVPD) founded (SCPEs)

• 1978: National Association of SCP Directors (NASCPD) founded (SCPEs)

• 1980: FGP celebrates 15th anniversary (SCPEs)

• 1980: National Older American Volunteer Program Directors Association founded (SCPEs)

• 1981: Third White House Conference on Aging under President Reagan (CoMs)

• 1982: Ziegler and King’s evaluation (Es)

• 1982: “To Love a Child” song and book released by Frank Sinatra and Nancy Reagan (SCPEs)

• 1983: Reagan declares National Year of Volunteerism (L) 

• 1984: Domestic Volunteer Service Act (DVSA) reauthorized (L) 

• 1984: Litigation Services conducts a 3-year longitudinal FGP evaluation (Es)

• 1985: Booz, Allen, and Hamilton conduct a 3-year longitudinal RSVP evaluation (Es)

• 1985: SRA Technologies completes a 5-year longitudinal SCP evaluation (Es)

• 1989: FGP expands in new areas (SCPEs)

• 1989: Saltz 7-year longitudinal FGP evaluation 

• 1990: National and Community Service Act of 1990 signed (L) 

• 1990: FGP celebrates 25th anniversary (SCPEs)

• 1990: ACTION’s SCP Long-Term Care Demonstration Project Evaluation (Es)

• 1991: SCP Alzheimer’s Association In-Home Respite Care Demonstration (Es)

Event Key:

Blue = Conferences or Meetings (CoMs)

Purple = Legislation (L)

Red = Senior Corps Programmatic Events

(SCPEs)

Green = Evaluations (Es)

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s
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• 1992: RTI evaluates RSVP’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Education (Es)

• 1993: Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) created (SCPEs)

• 1993: Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) passed (L) 

• 1994: CNCS/ACTION nationwide evaluation of FGP (Es)

• 1994: CNCS nationwide evaluation of the Joint Initiative for the Vulnerable Elderly (Es)

• 1995: Fourth White House Conference on Aging hosted by President Clinton (CoMs)

• 1995: Congress provides $1 million in funding for new SC demonstration projects (L) 

• 1996: CNCS begins “Programming for Impact” initiative to implement GPRA (Es)

• 1997: Clinton announces the America Reads Initiative (L) 

• 1997: CNCS RSVP evaluation from 1996-1997 (Es)

• 1998: Clinton launches 21st Century Community Learning Centers initiative (L) 

• 1998: Civic Ventures Experience Corps 18-month Pilot Study (Es)

• 1998: Westat conducts FGP Head Start Evaluation (Es)

• 1998: CNCS launches the Experience Corps for Independent Living initiative with AARP (SCPEs)

• 1999: CNCS Accomplishment Reports (Es)

• 1999: SCP celebrates 25th anniversary (SCPEs)

• 2000: Amendments added to the Older Americans Act (L) 

• 2001: RSVP celebrates 30th anniversary (SCPEs)

• 2002: Bush’s State of the Union Address Calling Americans to Volunteer Service (L) 

• 2002: Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) instituted (L) 

• 2002: Congress prohibits the use of appropriated funds for SC demonstration projects (L) 

• 2002: CNCS Senior Corps Futures Study (Es)

• 2003: ECIL becomes an AmeriCorps National Direct Service program (SCPEs)

• 2003: CNCS SCP Quality of Care evaluation (Es)

• 2004-2013: Experience Corps Baltimore Randomized Control Trial (RCT) (Es)

• 2005: Westat conducts Service Recipient Studies for FGP and SCP (Es)

• 2005: Fifth White House Conference on Aging under President George W. Bush (CoMs)

• 2006: Sandra Butler conducts a SCP Outcome Evaluation (Es)

• 2007: CNCS releases report on the health benefits of volunteering for baby boomers (Es)

• 2008: CNCS releases Senior Corps Outcome Evaluation (Es)

• 2009: Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act signed (L) 

• 2009: OMB releases “Increased Emphasis on Program Evaluations” memorandum (L) 

• 2010: GPRA Modernization Act passed (L) 

• 2011: Experience Corps becomes part of the AARP Foundation (SCPEs)

• 2012: RSVP Disaster Services Evaluation of 2012 Colorado Wildfire Response (Es)

• 2013-2014: CNCS Cross-sectional Evaluation of FGP and SCP (Es)

• 2013-2019: Van Orden and Conwell RSVP Suicide RCT (Es)

• 2014: CNCS SCP Independent Living Study (Es)

• 2015: Sixth White House Conference on Aging under President Obama (CoMs)

• 2015: FGP celebrates 50th anniversary (SCPEs)

• 2015: CNCS RSVP National Study (Es)

• 2016: CNCS combats the opioid epidemic (SCPEs)

• 2017: SCP Caregivers Study (Es)

• 2018: CNCS FGP/SCP Longitudinal study (from 2015-2018) (Es)

• 2019: CNCS releases new regulations for Senior Corps Programs (SCPEs)

• 2020 and Beyond: Based on evidence of positive impact, Senior Corps develops plans to serve 

the expanding needs of the aging U.S. population (SCPEs)

2000s 

2010s 

2020s 
Senior Corps Timeline: Celebrating over 50 years of National Service (1965-Present)

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1950s 

• 1950: President Truman initiates the First National 

Conference on Aging (CoMs) designed to 

understand and address the needs of an increasingly 

older population. At this time 17% of the U.S. 

population (25.6 million) is 55 years of age or older 

(U.S. Census, 1950) and the average life expectancy 

is 68.2 years of age (National Vital Statistics, 1949-

1951). The conference emphasizes the need to 

provide employment and meaningful activities 

beyond the supports offered by the 1935 Social 

Security program and lays the groundwork for senior 

service.

1960s 

• 1961: First White House Conference on Aging (CoMs) is initiated by President Eisenhower. 

The conference includes more than 3,000 people and more than 300 organizations and

leads to the creation of the 1961 Social Security amendments and eventually the 1965 

Older Americans Act. 

• 1963: National Service Corps proposed by President Kennedy but defeated in Congress. 

(L) Initial hearings introduce the idea of engaging older adults in a National Service Corps 

similar to the Peace Corps. 

• 1964: President Johnson declares War on Poverty (L) , appoints Sargent Shriver to develop 

and pass The Economic Opportunity Act (L) and to create the Office of Economic 

Opportunity (OEO) (L) . The act includes 11 major anti-poverty programs including Job 

Corps, Head Start, Neighborhood Youth Corps, and VISTA. Shriver goes on to become the 

first director of OEO.

• 1965: Older Americans Act creates the Administration on Aging (AoA) (L) within the 

Department of Health, 

Education and Welfare (Title 

II), provides grants for 

community planning, services, 

and training (Title III), provides 

grants for research and 

development projects (Title 

IV), and provides grants for 

programs designed to provide 

specialized training to older 

adults (Title V). Figure 2. President Lyndon B. Johnson offers Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus (the 

founder of the American Association of Retired Persons, AARP) the pen 

he used to sign the Older Americans Act in 1965. Image retrieved from 

the LBJ Library, photo by Yoichi Okamoto.

Figure 1. Program cover from the first 

national conference on aging organized by 

President Truman in 1950

32.1 Million Adults 55+ 

25.6 Million Adults 55+ 68.2 years 

69.7 years 

17%

18%
Senior Corps Timeline: Celebrating over 50 years of National Service (1965-Present)

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• 1965: Foster Grandparent 

Program demonstration projects

begin. (SCPEs) A total of 21 

projects are funded through the 

Office of Economic Opportunity

(OEO) and are administered by 

the Administration on Aging

(AoA). The program is designed 

to be an anti-poverty program 

that provides meaningful 

opportunities to older adults 

while also fostering personal 

relationships between the adult 

and a child with exceptional or special needs. 

Key components include:

 Serving children (up to five years of 

age) in institutionalized care 

settings such as hospitals, 

orphanages, and homes for 

developmentally disabled or 

emotionally disturbed children

 Providing low-income (within 125% 

of the federal poverty level) older 

adults (60+) with a stipend matching 

the federal minimum wage 

($1.25/hour), a free meal, 

transportation reimbursement, and 

a free annual physical examination

 Having older adults serve for 4 hours 

a day, 5 days a week (20 hours total)

• 1965: Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) begins (L) (supported by

Title V of the Older Americans Act). SCSEP uses older (55+), unemployed, low-income 

adults (within 125% the federal poverty level) to perform short-term (usually less than 6 

months), part-time (20 hours/week) jobs for community service organizations. The 

program is designed to help older workers to earn a minimum wage, develop job skills, and 

find longer term employment placements. Over the years SCSEP volunteers have often 

served alongside Senior Corps volunteers and the program continues to operate under the 

Department of Labor (DOL) today. 

• 1965: Green Thumb program (L) is funded by OEO and is sponsored by the National 

Farmers Union. The program focuses on engaging rural, low-income older adults in 

Figure 3. An early Foster Grandparent program participant works with a 

hospitalized child. Image obtained from materials in the CNCS archive.

Figure 4. News clipping from the August 29, 1965 St. Louis 

Post Dispatch announcing the start of the Foster 

Grandparent Program
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highway and park beautification projects. Over time, Green Thumb moved to DOL and was 

subsumed under SCSEP. 

• 1966: Greenleigh Associates conducts the first 

FGP evaluation (Es) funded by OEO and AOA. The 

evaluation included studies of ten of the 21 

originally funded FGP projects and included site 

visits, observations, in-depth interviews, survey 

questionnaires, and a review of primary and 

secondary materials and documents related to 

the program. Overall, the report concluded that 

“the FGP is an effective and viable instrument to 

reduce poverty and poverty-linked problems 

among the aged... [and] also has a positive effect 

on the social, emotional, and physical functioning 

of the vast majority of institutionalized children 

who received this care.” 

• 1968: “Senior Friends” demonstration project (L) 

initiated by the Social Security Administration and 

the Administration on Aging. The project lays the 

groundwork for the Senior Companion Program. 

• 1968-1973: Rosalyn Saltz conducts a series of 

longitudinal FGP evaluations (Es) funded by the Merrill-Palmer Institute and designed to 

examine the impact of the FGP run by the Sarah Fisher Home (a children’s institution in

Detroit, Michigan) on both children and older adults. A two-year longitudinal study finds

significant positive impacts of FGP on children’s vocalization, intelligence, and social 

competence over time (comparing institutionalized children receiving FGP services to 

similar institutionalized children in Baltimore, MD) and finds that the program results in 

increased life satisfaction, health, and vigor in older adult 

participants (relative to a comparison group of program 

applicants and other program-eligible adults in the 

community). 

• 1969: National Older Americans Volunteer Program 

(OAVP) is created as part of the Older Americans Act 

Amendments of 1969 and authorizes FGP and RSVP. (L) 

The program is housed under the Administration on 

Aging and includes formal authorization for: 

 Foster Grandparent Program (which is 

expanded to serve children up to age 17) 

 Retired Senior Volunteer Program (modeled 

after Serve and Enrich Retirement by 

Volunteer Experience [SERVE] program piloted in Staten Island, NY). Projects did 

not begin until 1971.

Figure 6. Early volunteers of the Retired 

Senior Volunteer Program. Photo from 

RSVP 30th Anniversary report.

Figure 5. Cover of the first evaluation report for the Foster

Grandparent Program conducted by Greenleigh Associates 

in 1966 (one year after the start of the program)
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1970s 

• 1970s: FGP expands services 

(SCPEs) from institutions to 

local schools, day care centers, 

and Head Start programs. 

• 1970: Gray and Kasteler FGP 

evaluation (Es) showed that 

after a year of participation, 

volunteers are better adjusted 

and more satisfied with their 

lives than a comparable group 

of older persons who were not 

involved in the program.

• 1971: ACTION agency

created (L) (under Reorganization Plan No.1 of 1971) to administer all community-based 

service programs sponsored by the Federal government. The agency houses domestic 

volunteer programs originally established by:

 The Department of Health, Education and Welfare 

(HEW)-- including the Older Americans Volunteer 

Program (FGP and RSVP) 

 The Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO)--

including Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) 

and the National Student Volunteer Program

 The Department of State - the Peace Corps

 The Small Business Administration—including Service 

Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) and the Active 

Corps of Executives (ACE) 

• 1971: Retired Senior Volunteer Program begins; (SCPEs) the first 11 pilot projects are 

funded for $500,000. The program is designed to provide older adults (60+) with flexible 

opportunities to use their skills and expertise to help solve the problems affecting their 

local communities. The program’s motto is “People Serving People” and key components 

include allowing volunteers to:

 Participate regardless of income level (volunteers do not receive a stipend). 

 Serve anywhere from 4-40 hours a week (to allow greater flexibility)

 Meet pressing needs in their local community

 Choose their volunteer placement from a wide range of settings such as crisis 

hotlines, literacy programs, job training programs, teen pregnancy and support 

services, drug abuse prevention and treatment centers, refugee support 

services, disaster relief services, and many more

• 1971: Second White House Conference on Aging (CoMs). President Nixon convenes more 

than 4,000 attendees and recommendations lead to the creation of the Senate Special 

Figure 8. The official logo of the 

ACTION agency.

Figure 7. A Foster Grandparent volunteer working with school children 

(image featured in ACTION’s 1980 FGP 15th Anniversary Report)

19% 38.7 Million Adults 55+ 70.8 years 
Senior Corps Timeline: Celebrating over 50 years of National Service (1965-Present)

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Committee on Aging and the Federal Council on Aging. During the conference, Nixon places 

a special emphasis on the important role of senior service programs and advocates for the 

expansion of RSVP and FGP. The conference also recommends that the FGP be expanded to 

include services “by older persons to older persons” (aka- the Senior Companion Program). 

• 1971: National Association of FGP Directors (NAFGPD) founded (SCPEs) to serve as the 

principal advocate for the FGP in general, for the furtherance of the goals of the FGP, and 

for the well-being of its volunteers. NAFGPD supports and connects directors nationwide 

and regionally, facilitates communication between FGP staff and CNCS, and employs a fulltime Washington, DC representative to advocate on the organization’s behalf to Congress.

• 1972: Congress dramatically 

increases funding for RSVP and 

FGP. (L) In the aftermath of the 

1971 White House Conference 

on aging, Nixon follows through 

on his commitment to increase 

funding for RSVP and FGP. 

 RSVP funding goes 

from $500,000 to 

$15 million (2900% 

increase, 30x larger)

 FGP funding goes 

from $10 million to 

$25 million (150% 

increase, 2.5x larger)

• 1973: Domestic Volunteer Service Act (DVSA) of 1973 authorizes FGP, RSVP, and SCP (L) 

—Formally re-authorizes RSVP and FGP, provides the initial authorization for the Senior 

Companion Program (under Title II, Section 211(b)), and replaces Title 6 of the Older 

Americans Act as ACTION’s enabling legislation. 

• 1973: Saltz’s 4-year longitudinal 

evaluation of FGP impact on

institutionalized children’s IQ 

and social competence. (Es) The

evaluation compares 81

institutionalized children (aged 

16 months to 6 years) who 

received FGP services to 

children in a similar institution 

and found a significant 

difference in IQ in favor of the 

FGP group. The FGP group made 

average progress over long periods of institutionalization in IQ-test scores and in the 

development of social competence, as measured by Vineland Social Maturity Scale. 

Figure 8. Inflation-Adjusted Federal Funding for Senior Corps Programs 

from 1965 to Present. Notice the large jump in funding from 1971 to 1972, 

following the 2nd White House Conference on Aging.

Figure 9. This photo from the 1980 Foster Grandparent 15th

Anniversary report shows an early photo of a Foster Grandparent 

volunteer holding a child while sitting in a rocking chair.

 
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• 1974: Senior Companion Program 

begins; (SCPEs) the first 18 projects 

are funded with an initial 

appropriation of $2.3 million. The SCP 

is based on the FGP model but with 

the goal of providing support to older 

adults with loneliness, illnesses, or 

disabilities to stay in their homes and 

avoid nursing home care. The 

program’s core components include: 

 Serving many clients in 

their own homes (a controversial idea at the time due to concerns about the 

liability and capability of SCP volunteers in unstructured, unsupervised settings)

 Providing low-income (within 125% of the federal poverty level) older adults 

(60+) with the federal minimum wage ($1.25/hour), a free meal, transportation 

reimbursement, and a free annual physical examination

 Having older adults serve for 4 hours a day, 5 days a week (20 hours total)

• 1976: Amendments to the DVSA expand FGP services (L) by defining “child” as any 

individual less than 21 years of age and including a stipulation that a Foster Grandparent’s 

relationship with a mentally retarded child may, under certain circumstances, be continued 

after the child reaches the chronological age of 21.

• 1976: National Association of RSVP Directors (NARSVPD) founded (SCPEs) to provide 

visibility and advocacy for RSVP, a network of communications among RSVP Directors and 

projects, and a voice on behalf of RSVP to CNCS, Congress and other appropriate 

government agencies.

• 1978: National Association of SCP Directors (NASCPD) founded (SCPEs) to provide visibility 

and advocacy for SCP, a network of communications among SCP Directors and projects, 

and a voice on behalf of SCP to CNCS, Congress and other appropriate government 

agencies.

1980s 

• 1980: FGP celebrates their 15th

anniversary (SCPEs) and there are more 

than 17,000 volunteers in more than 

200 projects nationwide. Volunteers 

serve children who are mentally 

retarded, physically handicapped or 

suffer sight or hearing impairments, a 

language disorder, or a specific learning 

disability. They also serve children who Figure 11. Cover of the ACTION pamphlet dedicated to

the 15th anniversary of the Foster Grandparent Program.

The cover shows a Foster Grandparent hugging a child.

Figure 10. First group of directors for Senior Companion 

Projects at their first training session (as shown in the 1999 

Senior Companion Program 25th anniversary report).

21% 47.3 Million Adults 55+ 73.7 years 
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have been abused or neglected, juvenile offenders, and those in need of foster care.

• 1980: National Older Volunteer Program Directors Association (now known as the 

National Senior Corps Association, or NSCA) founded (SCPEs) to ensure federal support 

and program flexibility for Foster Grandparent, RSVP, and Senior Companion programs 

nationwide. Embracing the three programs within one association, NSCA is the recognized 

national leadership organization representing the interests of all Senior Corps programs.

• 1981: Third White House Conference on Aging (CoMs). President Reagan convenes more 

than 2,300 delegates and 1,500 observers gathered in the first conference to use a quotasystem to ensure equitable representation from women, minorities, and people with 

disabilities. Key recommendations include strengthening the Social Security system, 

prohibiting mandatory retirement ages, increasing the availability of home-and 

community-based health care, and emphasizing preventative health.

• 1982: Ziegler and King’s evaluation (Es) found that hospitalized children who receive visits 

from FGP volunteers show behavioral improvements similar to those observed among

children who have visits from their parents. However, these benefits appear to be limited 

to the time when the volunteer is present, as such the authors recommend that FGP 

volunteers be able to 

spend as much time with 

children as possible and be 

present during times when 

the child is likely to have 

high levels of anxiety (e.g. 

around the time of painful 

procedures or operations).

• 1982: “To Love a Child”

song and book (SCPEs) are 

inspired by FGP and are 

released by Frank Sinatra 

and Nancy Reagan, respectively. 

All proceeds from both the song 

and the book go to support the program. Nancy Reagan 

hosted a “To Love a Child” event at the White House 

with FGP participants and performed the song with 

Sinatra-- making it the official FGP theme song.

• 1983: Reagan declares National Year of Volunteerism

and releases “A Nation At Risk” report (L) emphasizing 

pressing needs in the educational system. As a result of 

this report and growing national attention on this issue, 

SC volunteers intensify services in schools. 

• 1984: Domestic Volunteer Service Act reauthorized (L) 

to continue federal funding and support for 

FGP, SCP, and RSVP.

Figure 12. Nancy Reagan, Frank Sinatra and some school children 

singing on stage at the "To Love a Child" event on the White House 

lawn. Photo courtesy of the White House Historical Association.

Figure 13. The cover of Ronald Reagan’s 1983 report 

“A Nation At Risk: The Imperative for Educational 

Reform” that sparked intensified SC efforts in schools. 
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• 1984: Litigation Services conducts a 3-year longitudinal FGP evaluation for ACTION and 

found that FGP volunteers have better mental, social, economic and physical functioning

than individuals on the waiting list for the program. 

• 1985: Booz, Allen, and Hamilton conduct a 3-year longitudinal RSVP evaluation (Es) for 

ACTION that examined impacts of the program on the mental and physical health and 

social and economic resources of participants (including analyses of new participants 

relative to more experienced participants). RSVP was found to attract a healthier group of 

senior citizens, and those who continued participation had improved or stable levels of 

functioning. 

• 1985: SRA Technologies completes a 5-year 

longitudinal SCP evaluation (Es) for ACTION comparing 

active SCP volunteers to individuals on the waiting list to 

participate as SCP volunteers, and comparing SCP clients 

to those on a waiting list to receive SCP services. Results 

found that SCP volunteers showed improvements in 

economic circumstances and mental health functioning 

and were more able to adjust to health limitations than 

those on the waiting list. Furthermore, clients who 

received SCP services had more stable social resources, 

increased adjustment to health limitations, and had 

slower increases in areas of serious impairment than 

those on the waiting list. 

• 1989: FGP expands in new areas (SCPEs) such as 

AIDS, drug and alcohol abuse, domestic abuse, 

juvenile 

delinquency, 

literacy, and 

support for 

the dying and 

the mentally 

ill. FGP also 

implements 

initiatives to 

decrease 

discrimination 

and increase 

enrollment of 

minorities and 

men. 

• 1989: Saltz longitudinal FGP evaluation (Es) was conducted at the Detroit Foster 

Grandparent Program and found positive effects on life-satisfaction and adjustment for the 

Figure 14. Excerpt from the 1989 ACTION annual report that details some the new 

areas that the FGP program will be working on.

Figure 15. This image from the 1999 Senior 

Companion Program 25th anniversary report 

shows a SCP volunteer with their client.
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participants (relative to a comparison) after 1 and 2 years of participation in the program 

and again after 7 years.

1990s 

• 1990: National and Community Service Act (L)

—signed by President Bush, this legislation 

authorizes grants to schools to support service

learning through Serve America and 

demonstration grants. Learn and Serve America 

is created. 

• 1990: FGP celebrates their 25th anniversary

(SCPEs) and Barbara Bush hosts a White House 

reception and is named an honorary Foster 

Grandparent. At this time, the program has 

more than 20,000 volunteers who provide 

services to disabled and chronically ill children, 

teen parents, boarder babies (born addicted to 

drugs and left in the care of hospitals), 

teenagers with substance abuse problems, 

homeless children, victims of child abuse, 

juvenile delinquents, and illiterate children. 

• 1990: ACTION’s SCP Long-Term Care 

Demonstration Project evaluation (Es) showed

that the program has positive impacts on 

volunteers’ economic resources but not social 

resources, mental health, or physical health 

(relative to a comparison group of non-SCP 

volunteers), and that the program has positive 

impacts on clients’ social resources (relative to a 

comparison group).

• 1991: SCP Alzheimer’s Association In-Home 

Respite Care Demonstration (Es) was funded by 

ACTION and used family surveys, SCP volunteer 

surveys, and surveys of SCP 

administrators/directors. Survey results suggested that SCP volunteers can provide 

dependable and much appreciated care to families of Alzheimer patients. 

• 1992: RTI evaluates RSVP’s Activities in Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and 

Education. (Es) RTI used mail and telephone surveys to collect data on activities in RSVP 

Projects and Volunteer Stations in three sites: Bellingham, Washington, a school-based 

activity targeted at-risk youth; Bucks County, Pennsylvania, a prevention of prescription 

drug misuse by older adults; and Elkhart, Indiana, use of volunteers in probation services. 

Figure 16. Cover page of the Foster Grandparents 

25th anniversary booklet.

Figure 17. From the Foster Grandparents 25th

Anniversary booklet, Linda Lee Davis and 

Macaria Hayes make Mrs. George Bush an 

Honorary Foster Grandparent. 

21% 52.3 Million Adults 55+ 75.4 years 
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This implementation study describes successful drug and alcohol abuse prevention 

activities and program elements that could be expanded by ACTION through additional 

training and technical assistance. 

• 1993: Corporation for 

National and 

Community Service 

created (SCPEs) under 

the National and 

Community Service 

Trust Act (to replace 

ACTION) and

incorporates the 

following programs: 

 AmeriCorps—incorporating VISTA and NCCC 

 National Senior Volunteer Corps (Senior Corps) – incorporating RSVP, FGP, and 

SCP. RSVP changes the name from “Retired Senior Volunteer Program” to 

“Retired AND Senior Volunteer Program,” lowers the age for participation from 

60 to 55 and eliminates the requirement that volunteers no longer be in the 

workforce. 

• 1993: Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) passed. (L) GPRA is designed to 

improve the performance of all federal agencies (including CNCS) by requiring agencies to 

develop strategic plans and measure their effectiveness against specific performance goals. 

This leads to an increased focus on outcome 

measurement and evaluation across the 

federal government including at CNCS and in 

Senior Corps. 

• 1994: CNCS/ACTION nationwide evaluation 

of FGP (Es) was based on more than 40 

research questions designed to describe 

program activities, determine degrees of 

community support, ascertain program 

impact, and assess factors pertinent to 

program effectiveness. The program showed

that overall, volunteers report being 

satisfied with the program and station 

supervisors report improvements in the 

well-being, self-esteem, and social skills of 

children served.

Figure 19. A drawing from a child receiving FGP services, 

image featured in the 1985 brochure "Foster Grandparent 

Program: Where Love Grows"

Figure 18. The official logo of the Corporation for National and Community Service as well 

as the logos of its two main programs AmeriCorps ad Senior Corps.
Senior Corps Timeline: Celebrating over 50 years of National Service (1965-Present)

Go to: Overview Timeline – 1950s – 1960s – 1970s – 1980s – 1990s – 2000s – 2010s -- Page 13 of 20

• 1994: CNCS/ACTION nationwide 

evaluation of the Joint Initiative for 

the Vulnerable Elderly (Es) (a 

collaboration started in 1990 

between ACTION and AoA) used a 

combination of telephone interviews, 

site visits, and analyses of data on 

Senior Companions and clients. This 

study showed that SCP volunteers 

provided help with household 

activities and there were 

psychological benefits to clients, and 

that volunteers improved their 

financial stability, sense of purpose, 

and self-esteem over the three-year 

evaluation period.

• 1995: Fourth White House 

Conference on Aging (CoMs)

conducted under President Clinton, 

more than 125,000 people 

participated in more than 1,000 miniconferences around the country during the two-year planning process. The conference 

celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Older Americans Act, Medicare, and Medicaid and 

the 60th anniversary of the Social Security Act. CNCS and the Senior Corps programs garner 

strong support. 

• 1995: Congress makes $1 million in funding available for new demonstration projects. (L) 

CNCS issues a Request for Proposals that leads to the creation of the “Experience Corps” (a 

modified version of FGP designed to operate in schools) and the “Experience Corps for 

Independent Living” (a modified version of SCP). Both programs give volunteers a stipend, 

but they remove income requirements, allow volunteers to serve fewer hours, and offer 

leadership training and skills development to volunteers. 

• 1996: CNCS began implementing GPRA requirements under their “Programming for 

Impact” initiative. (Es) This included increased performance reporting requirements for 

grantees and a focus on outcome and impact measurement rather than traditional output 

measurement.

• 1997: Clinton announces the 

America Reads Initiative (L) 

and FGP and RSVP programs 

expand investments in early 

literacy and school-based 

reading programs. Figure 21. The America Reads logo from a 1997 report published by the 

Department of Education

Figure 20. A Senior Companion visiting with a client at their 

home and a quote from an SCP director featured in the 1999 

Senior Companion Program 25th anniversary report.
Senior Corps Timeline: Celebrating over 50 years of National Service (1965-Present)

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• 1997: CNCS RSVP evaluation from 1996-1997 (Es) reports on the satisfaction and 

accomplishments of RSVP volunteers through a nationally representative survey. RSVP 

volunteers had high levels of satisfaction; station volunteer supervisors reported high levels 

of satisfaction with their RSVP volunteers, as well as moderately high satisfaction levels 

with the projects; and the accomplishments of RSVP 

volunteers positively affected their communities and 

stations that housed them. 

• 1998: Clinton launches 21st Century Community 

Learning Centers initiative (L) to provide federal funding 

to before and after school programs. Senior Corps 

volunteers provide tutoring and other services to 

children in these expanded programs.

• 1998: Civic Ventures Experience Corps 18-month Pilot 

Study (Es) is funded by CNCS and run by Linda Fried, MD

(from Johns Hopkins University) and Marc Freedman 

(from Civic Ventures). The pilot study shows that FGP 

and RSVP volunteers can be mobilized through 

Experience Corps to help improve inner-city elementary 

schools. Interviews and site visits suggested that the 

program resulted in children receiving more personal 

attention, enhanced school services and support for 

teachers, and stronger school ties to the 

community. Additionally, volunteers reported 

that the program resulted in improvements in 

their well-being and health. Following the pilot 

study, Experience Corps is expanded into the 

Seniors for Schools initiative that allowed 

volunteers of all incomes to serve less than 15 

hours a week and shifted the program focus to 

improving literacy for children in K-3rd grade.

• 1998: Westat conducts FGP Head Start 

Evaluation (Es) designed to identify the effective 

practices of FGP volunteers serving in Head Start 

centers. This qualitative evaluation selected six 

successful FGP Head Start projects to study in 

depth and results suggested that FGP volunteers 

support children's emotional well-being, selfesteem and self-efficacy, language development, 

cognitive development. Results also suggested 

that FGP volunteers contribute positively to the 

classroom and the center.

Figure 23. Cover of the 1998 Westat evaluation 

report examining the effective practices of FGP 

volunteers in Head Start Centers

Figure 22. President Bill Clinton 

launched several educational initiatives 

in the 1990s (including the America 

Reads challenge and the 21st Century 

Community Learning Centers initiative) 

that lead to increased Senior Corps 

involvement in schools.
Senior Corps Timeline: Celebrating over 50 years of National Service (1965-Present)

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• 1998: CNCS enters a partnership with the American Association for Retired Persons 

(AARP) and launches the Experience Corps for Independent Living initiative (SCPEs) 

designed to attract a wider pool of volunteers than SCP by removing income restrictions, 

allowing younger volunteers (those 55+) to serve, allowing greater flexibility in hours (15 or 

fewer hours/week), and offering both direct and indirect service provision (e.g.- organizing 

and planning events or trainings in addition to one-on-one services).

• 1999: CNCS Accomplishment Reports (Es) describe results from randomly sampled 

national surveys of SCP, RSVP, and FGP volunteers and station supervisors. The survey on 

SCP concluded that Senior Companions provided nurturing and support to frail adults. RSVP 

volunteers participated in a variety of 

activities including providing support 

to individuals in healthcare settings

and more specialized health areas 

such as mental health, mental 

retardation, substance abuse, and 

HIV/AIDS. This report also showed 

that FGP volunteers provided 

nurturing and support to children 

that helped them stay in school and 

freed up costly resources of teachers 

and teacher’s aides. 

• 1999: SCP celebrates 25th

anniversary (SCPEs) with more than 

14,400 volunteers and 150 projects 

nationwide. 

2000s 

• 2000: Amendments to the Older Americans Act (L) reinstate the act (after four years 

without legislation) and establish the National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP) 

to provide services to family and informal caregivers that help them care for their loved 

ones at home such as individual and group counseling, training, and respite care. The 

Senior Companion Program, with a similar mission to help seniors remain in their homes,

often helps connect clients and caregivers with support services funded by the Older 

Americans Act (such as those provided through NFSCP). 

Figure 24. Map of United States showing the locations of 

active Senior Companion Projects in 1999. The number of 

projects increased from 18 in 1974 to 220 in 1999. Photo 

obtained from the 1999 SCP 25th anniversary report.

21% 59.3 Million Adults 55+ 76.8 years 
Senior Corps Timeline: Celebrating over 50 years of National Service (1965-Present)

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• 2001: RSVP celebrates 30th

anniversary (SCPEs) with more 

than 450,000 volunteers and 760 

projects nationwide. Volunteers 

serve between four and 40 hours a 

week in areas such as service to 

youth, community and economic 

development, environmental 

protection, health services, and 

public safety. 

• 2002: Bush’s State of the Union 

Address Calling Americans to 

Volunteer Service (L)—After 9/11 

President George W. Bush asked all 

Americans to devote two years or 

4,000 hours to volunteer service 

during their lifetime. 

• 2002: Program Assessment Rating 

Tool (PART) instituted (L) by the 

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under President Bush to rate all federal 

programs on their effectiveness. 

• 2002: Congress prohibits the use of appropriated funds for SC demonstrations (L) leading 

Experience Corps and ECIL to seek out other funding sources. Despite this, Experience 

Corps continues to use the Demonstration Authority to apply “income disregard” authority 

for its volunteers’ stipends (i.e.- allowing stipends to be considered non-taxable income). 

• 2002: CNCS Senior Corps Futures Study (Es) used interviews and focus groups across all 

three programs to offer recommendations for the future. Recommendations included 

increasing project budgets to hire more staff, paying for travel, allowing programs more 

flexibility in spending their grants, raising the income guidelines for volunteer eligibility, 

increasing the stipends for volunteers, eliminating age-based terminology, re-emphasizing

traditional concerns for the welfare of volunteers, and designing more in-depth training for 

volunteers.

• 2003: Experience Corps for Independent Living becomes an AmeriCorps direct national 

service grantee (SCPEs) and changes its name to the Legacy Corps for Health and 

Independent Living.

• 2003: CNCS SCP Quality of Care evaluation (Es) compares SCP volunteers, clients, and 

client families/caregivers to comparison individuals at three time points. Results suggest 

that SCP clients benefit significantly mentally and physically from the program at 3 months

(relative to those on the waiting list and/or receiving other agency services). 

• 2004-2013: Experience Corps Baltimore RCT (Es) shows positive impacts of Experience 

Corps on participating schools, children (reading scores and behavior), and program 

Figure 25. Cover page of the Retired Senior Volunteer Program 

30th anniversary report
Senior Corps Timeline: Celebrating over 50 years of National Service (1965-Present)

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participants (including levels of physical activity, executive functioning, memory, brain 

functioning and volume, depression, functionality).

• 2005: Westat Conducts Service Recipient studies for FGP and SCP. (Es)

 The FGP study collected data on outputs, immediate outcomes, and end 

outcomes of mentoring activities of the Foster Grandparent Program from a 

representative sample of the organizations in which FGs served. FGs were listed 

as either more effective or as effective as other volunteers, and a majority of 

stations said that young and elementary school children showed a fair amount 

or a lot of improvement in their academic performance after working with a 

volunteer.

 The SCP study used a national telephone 

survey with SCP service recipients to explore 

the types of services performed by SCs, what 

effect these services have on the recipients, 

and the clients' satisfaction with their 

individual SCs and the program generally. 

Results indicated that clients viewed SCP 

services as very important and overall were 

very satisfied with the program. 

• 2005: Fifth White House Conference on Aging under 

President George W. Bush (CoMs) focuses on 

addressing the needs of the baby boomer generation as 

they move into retirement. CNCS uses the conference to 

launch a “Get Involved” recruitment campaign to entice 

baby boomers to participate in national service. . 

• 2006: Sandra Butler conducts a SCP outcome 

evaluation (Es) drawing from data of an in-depth 

examination of the impact of SCP in one rural 

county of Maine. This project involved face-toface interviews with all the SCs in the county and 

a convenience sample of their clients, which 

included demographic questions, open-ended 

questions and four standardized scales. SCP 

volunteers and clients were reported to have low 

levels of depression and loneliness and increased 

companionship.

• 2007: CNCS releases research reports on 

volunteering and health for baby boomers. (Es)

The reports review research showing that

volunteering has positive health benefits for 

older adults and research showing that baby 

boomers volunteer at higher rates than past 

Figure 27. Cover of the 2007 CNCS report on the 

health benefits of volunteering in general and 

for older adults in particular

Figure 26. President George W. Bush 

oversaw the 5th White House 

Conference on Aging and called for 

increased national service following the 

9/11 terrorist attacks.
Senior Corps Timeline: Celebrating over 50 years of National Service (1965-Present)

Go to: Overview Timeline – 1950s – 1960s – 1970s – 1980s – 1990s – 2000s – 2010s -- Page 18 of 20

generations, that remaining in the workforce increases the likelihood that a baby boomer 

will continue to volunteer, and baby boomers’ relatively high volunteer rate is tied to their 

increased education level and propensity to have children later in life. 

• 2008: CNCS releases Senior Corps Outcome Evaluation (Es) based on nationwide surveys 

conducted from 2004-2006. Surveys were administered to SCP clients, FGP supervisors (to 

assess the program’s observed impacts on children), and RSVP participants (to assess 

motivations for volunteering and increase recruitment among baby boomers). 

• 2009: Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act signed (L) on April 21, 2009. The act is a 

bipartisan law signed by President Obama to expand and strengthen national service 

programs. The law: 

 Lowers the age eligibility for 

FGP and SCP from 60 to 55

 Increases FGP and SCP income 

eligibility from 125% to 200% of 

federal poverty level 

 Initiates open competitions for 

RSVP grants (beginning with 

grants funded in FY2013) and 

established a 3-year grant cycle

• 2009: OMB released “Increased Emphasis 

on Program Evaluations” memorandum

(L) to emphasize the importance of 

rigorous, independent program impact evaluations and to announce efforts to increase 

public awareness of federal evaluations, an inter-agency evaluation working group, and 

increase funding for evidence-based programs. 

2010s 

• 2010: GPRA Modernization Act (L) expanded the 1993 Act with investments to improve 

data and reporting tools and facilitate the sharing of GPRA data across agencies and with 

the public.

• 2011: Experience Corps becomes part 

of the AARP Foundation (SCPEs) but 

Experience Corps continues to operate 

under CNCS’s demonstration authority

in order to ensure that volunteers can 

receive untaxable stipends. 

• 2012: RSVP Disaster Services 

Evaluation (Es) describes the effective 

implementation of the RSVP program during the 2012 Colorado Wildfires. Evidence showed 

that RSVP grantees can recruit, train, and deploy volunteers in disaster service-specific 

roles and in dual benefit roles in support of community resilience. 

Figure 28. President Barack Obama signing the Edward 

M. Kennedy Serve America Act in 2009. 

Figure 29. The logo for the AARP Experience Corps program 

(which operates under Senior Corps' demonstration authority)

76.8 Million Adults 55+ 78.7 years 24%
Senior Corps Timeline: Celebrating over 50 years of National Service (1965-Present)

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• 2013-2014: CNCS Cross-sectional Evaluation (Es) (published in 2016) compares FGP and 

SCP volunteers to a propensity score matched sample of volunteers and non-volunteers 

drawn from the Health and Retirement Study and shows that FGP and SCP participants 

were significantly less likely to report poor/fair health and reported higher life satisfaction 

than both matched volunteers and non-volunteers. 

• 2013-2019: Van Orden and Conwell RSVP Suicide RCT (Es) examines the impact of 

participation in an RSVP Peer Companionship program on reducing risk for suicide in lonely 

older adults. Results are not yet available but are anticipated to be published in 2019 or 

2020.

• 2014: CNCS SCP Independent Living Study (Es) utilizes client and caregiver surveys to 

assess experiences and perceptions of program benefits. Results showed high levels of

satisfaction with SCP and participants reported high rates of perceived social support and 

self-efficacy. 

• 2015: Sixth White House Conference 

on Aging (CoMs) marked the 50th 

anniversary of Medicare, Medicaid, 

and the Older Americans Act, as well 

as the 80th anniversary of Social 

Security. Key themes included 

retirement security, healthy aging, 

long-term services and supports, and 

elder justice. At this time roughly 28% 

of the U.S. population is 55 years of 

age or older, representing a nearly 

10% increase from when the FGP 

began in 1965 (according to the US 

Census) and the average life 

expectancy has also increased by 11

years from 68 to 79.

• 2015: FGP celebrates 50th anniversary (SCPEs) with more 

than 28,000 volunteers serving more than 230,000 

children. 

• 2015: CNCS RSVP National Study describes characteristics 

of a randomly selected sample of RSVP volunteers from 

across the United States. The results concluded that 

majority of RSVP volunteers are white, non-veteran, 

retired women with an income between $20,000 and 

$40,000, and have earned a bachelor’s degree. Also, the 

results showed that RSVP volunteers remained in service 

for a long period of time, and RSVP volunteers spent 

approximately 22 hours in the month prior to the survey engaged in their service activity. 

Figure 30. Data from the National Vital Statistics Report 

showing increases in the U.S. life expectancy from 68 in 1950 

to nearly 79 in 2015.

Figure 31. The official logo for the 

50th anniversary of the Foster 

Grandparents Program
Senior Corps Timeline: Celebrating over 50 years of National Service (1965-Present)

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• 2016-2018: CNCS combats the opioid epidemic (SCPEs)- CNCS invests $27.9 million 

between 2016-2018 to support AmeriCorps and Senior Corps efforts to combat the opioid 

crisis. For Senior Corps most of these investments go to RSVP volunteers who work at

prescription drug take-back events and distribute drug prevention information.

• 2017: SCP Caregivers Study (Es) consisted of 56 caregivers who completed baseline and 

follow-up surveys. The surveys showed that SCP caregivers improved in their self-rated 

health and well-being after receiving a year of support relative to other adult caregivers in 

the general population.

• 2018: CNCS Longitudinal study (from 2015-2018) (Es) showed that first-time FGP and SCP 

volunteers were primarily female, racially and ethnically diverse, and most were retired. 

Also, volunteers reported a positive experience with the training and support they received 

from their program. FGP and SCP volunteers reported positive impacts on physical health 

and well-being relative to a matched comparison group. 

• 2019: CNCS releases new regulations for FGP and SCP (SCPEs) including:

 Reducing hours requirements (from 15 hours/week to 5 hours/week) with a 

minimum of 260 hours of annual service

 Replacing the annual physical exam requirement with cost reimbursements for 

optional physical exams

 Revising the non-stipend volunteer requirement to mirror the stipended 

volunteer requirements (allowing them to serve at the same site, have the same 

hours requirements, and no longer need to operate through RSVP)

 Reducing training requirements for all volunteers

• 2020 and Beyond: Based on 

evidence of positive impact, 

Senior Corps develops plans to 

serve the expanding needs of the 

aging U.S. population. (SCPEs) In 

2035 older adults are projected 

to outnumber children for the 

first time in U.S. history, and by 

2060 nearly 1 in 4 U.S. residents 

will be of retirement age. This 

dramatic increase in the 

proportion of the population over 

65 will likely result in an

increased need for services and 

supports for older adults. As 

such, programs like Senior Corps 

will become increasingly essential 

to effectively supporting 

and utilizing the talents of 

our aging population.

Figure 32. US Census Bureau Depiction of the National Population Projections 

for Older Adults (65+) and Children (<18) From 2016 to 2060 shows that for 

the first time in U.S. history older adults are projected to outnumber children