§ 1219.1 Introduction.

Section 415(d), Title IV, of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973, Pub. L. 93-113, 87 Stat. 412, provides that VISTA Volunteers who have successfully completed their period of service shall be eligible for appointment in the Federal competitive service in the same manner as Peace Corps Volunteers as prescribed in Executive Order No. 11103 (April 10, 1963). This section further provides that the Director of ACTION shall determine who has successfully completed his period of service in accordance with regulations he shall prescribe.

§ 1219.2 Policy.

Certificates of satisfactory service for the purpose of this order shall be issued only to persons who have com

Subpart B-Criminal Proceedings

1220.2-1

Full-time volunteers.

1220.2-2 Part-time volunteers. 1220.2-3

Procedure.

(a)(1) ACTION will pay all reasonable expenses for defense of full-time volunteers up to and including arraignment in Federal, state, and local criminal proceedings, except in cases where it is clear that the charged offense results from conduct which is not related to his service as a volunteer.

(2) Situations where conduct is clearly unrelated to a volunteer's service are those that arise either:

(i) In a period prior to volunteer service,

(ii) Under circumstances where the volunteer is not at his assigned volunteer project location, such as during periods of administrative, vacation, or emergency leave, or

(iii) When he is at his volunteer station, but the activity or action giving rise to the charged offense is clearly not part of, or required by, such assignment.

(b) Reasonable expenses in criminal proceedings beyond arraignment may be paid in cases where:

(1) The charge against the volunteer relates to his assignment or status as a volunteer, and not his personal status or personal matters. A charge relating to a volunteer's assignment arises out of any activity or action which is a part of, or required by, such assignment. A charge relating to a volunteer's status is motivated exclusively by the fact that a defendant is a volunteer.

(2) The volunteer has not admitted a willful or knowing violation of law, and

(3) The charge(s) is not a minor misdemeanor, such as a minor vehicle violation for which a fine or bail forfeiture will not exceed $100.

(c) Notwithstanding the foregoing, there may be situations in which the criminal proceeding results from a sit

a

(a) With respect to a part-time volunteer, ACTION will reimburse sponsor for the reasonable expenses it incurs for the defense of the volunteer in Federal, state and local criminal proceedings, including arraignment, only under the following circumstances:

(1) The proceeding arises directly out of the volunteer's performance of activities pursuant to the Act;

(2) The volunteer receives, or is eligible to receive, compensation, including allowances, stipend, or reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses, under an ACTION grant project; and

(3) The conditions specified in paragraphs (b) (2) and (3) in § 1220.2-1 are met.

(b) In certain circumstances volunteers who are ineligible for reimbursement of legal expenses by ACTION may be eligible for representation under the Criminal Justice Act (18 U.S.C. 3006A).

(a) Immediately upon the arrest of any volunteer under circumstances in which the payment of bail to prevent incarceration or other serious consequences to the volunteer or the retention of an attorney prior to arraignment is necessary and is covered under § 1220.2-1 or § 1220.2-2, sponsors shall immediately notify the appropriate ACTION state office or if the state office cannot be reached, the appropriate regional office. The regional office shall provide each sponsor with a 24hour telephone number.

(b) Immediately after notification of the appropriate office, and with the approval thereof, the sponsor shall advance up to $500 for the payment of bail or such other legal expenses as

are necessary prior to arraignment to prevent the volunteer from being incarcerated. In the event it is subsequently determined that ACTION or a sponsor is not responsible under this policy for the volunteer's defense, any such advance may be recovered directly from the volunteer or from allowances, stipends, or out-of-pocket expenses which are payable or become payable to the volunteer. In the case of a grassroots sponsor of full-time volunteers which is not able to provide the $500 the ACTION state or regional office shall immediately make such sum available to the sponsor.

(c) Immediately upon receipt of notification from the sponsor, the state or regional office shall notify the General Counsel, giving all facts and circumstances at that time known to such office. Thereafter the office shall cooperate with the General Counsel in making an investigation of all surrounding facts and circumstances and shall provide such information immediately to the General Counsel.

(d) The General Counsel shall, upon notification by the state or regional office, determine the extent to which ACTION will provide funds for the volunteer's defense or reimburse a sponsor for funds it spends on the volunteer's behalf. Included in this responsibility shall be the negotiation of fees and approval of other costs and expenses. State and regional offices are not authorized to commit ACTION to the payment of volunteers' legal expenses or to reimburse a sponsor except as provided above, without the express consent of the General Counsel. Additionally, the General Counsel shall, in cases arising directly out of the performance of authorized project activities, ascertain whether the services of the United States Attorney can be made available to the volunteer.

(e) The sponsor and the state and regional office shall have a continuing responsibility for cooperation and coordination with the Office of General Counsel during the pendency of any such litigation, and of notifying the General Counsel of any facts and circumstances which come to the attention of such office or the sponsor which affects such litigation.

Subpart C-Civil and Administrative Proceedings

§ 1220.3-1 Full-time volunteers.

ACTION will pay reasonable expenses incurred in the defense of fulltime volunteers in Federal, state, and local civil judicial and administrative proceedings where:

(a) The complaint or charge against the volunteer is directly related to his volunteer service and not to his personal activities or obligations.

(b) The volunteer has not admitted willfully or knowingly pursuing a course of conduct which would result in the plaintiff or complainant initiating such a proceeding, and

(c) If the judgment sought involves a monetary award, the amount sought exceeds $100.

§ 1220.3-2 Part-time volunteers.

ACTION will reimburse sponsors for the reasonable expenses incidental to the defense of part-time volunteers in Federal, state and local civil judicial and administrative proceedings where: (a) The proceeding arises directly out of the volunteer's performance of activities pursuant to the Act;

(b) The volunteer receives or is eligible to receive compensation, including allowances, stipend, or reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses under an ACTION grant; and

(c) The conditions specified in paragraphs (b) and (c) in § 1220.3-1 are met.

§ 1220.3-3 Procedure.

Immediately upon the receipt by a volunteer of any court papers or administrative orders making him a part to any proceeding covered under § 1220.3-1 or § 1220.3-2, the volunteer shall immediately notify his sponsor who in turn shall notify the appropriate ACTION state office. The procedures referred to in § 1220.2-3, paragraphs (c) through (e), shall thereafter be followed as appropriate.

(a) Each potential project sponsor shall establish an advisory group for the project, to include substantial membership of potential project beneficiaries or, to the extent feasible, their democratically chosen representatives, prior to the submission of an application to ACTION for volunteers.

(b) The term "substantial" means, in this case, a sufficient number of appropriate persons to assure that the concerns and points of view of the potential project beneficiaries are adequately presented and considered in the deliberations of the group. The phrase "project beneficiaries" means, in this case, recipients of benefits ac

cruing directly from project activities as conducted by ACTION Volunteers.

(c) Potential sponsoring organizations that have an established governing, policy, or advisory group whose membership is composed of at least 50% of members of the beneficiary population are not required to establish a separate project advisory group for the purposes of these regulations.

§ 1222.4 Advisory group responsibilities.

The advisory group shall have the following responsibilities for the intent and purposes of these requirements:

(a) To the extent practical, assist the sponsor in the initial planning of a new project proposal and in the planning of a continuation project application.

(b) To review and provide written comments concerning any project application prior to the submission of the application to ACTION. A copy of such comments shall accompany each application to ACTION.

(c) To meet with the sponsoring organization's staff at periodic intervals, but no less than twice per project year, for the purpose of reviewing and commenting on the development and implementation of the project. Such project review and commentary should be directed toward the adequacy of the project to meet the identified needs of the project beneficiaries.

(d) To submit, if it so chooses, written reports and/or copies of minutes of its meetings to the sponsor to accompany the Sponsor's Quarterly Program Report (A-568) submitted to the appropriate ACTION regional office.

§ 1222.5 Advisory group expenses.

As permitted by law, ACTION regional staff may pay for certain incidental out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the advisory group in connection with its responsibilities under § 1222.4.

§ 1222.6 Sponsor's responsibilities.

The sponsor or potential sponsor shall furnish the following evidence of the advisory group's participation in the planning, development, and implementation of the project:

governing the maintenance of systems of records containing personal information as defined in the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a). Records included in this part are those described in aforesaid Act and maintained by ACTION and/or any component thereof.

§ 1224.1-2 Policy.

It is the policy of ACTION to protect, preserve and defend the right of privacy of any individual as to whom the agency maintains personal information in any system records and to provide appropriate and complete access to such records including adequate opportunity to correct any errors in said records. It is further the policy of the agency to maintain its records in such a fashion that the information contained therein is and remains material and relevant to the purposes for which it is received in order to maintain its records with fairness to the individuals who are the subject of such records.

(a) "Record" means any document or other information about an individual maintained by the agency whether collected or grouped and including but not limited to information regarding education, financial transactions, medical history, criminal or employment history, or any other personal information which contains the name or other personal identification number, symbol, etc. assigned to such individual.

(b) "System of Records" means a group of any records under the control of the agency from which information is retrieved by use of the name of an individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular of whatsoever kind or nature.

(c) "Routine Use" means, with respect to the disclosure of a record, the use of such record for a purpose which is compatible with the purpose for which it was collected.

(d) The term "agency" means ACTION and/or any component thereof.

(e) The term "individual" means any citizen of the United States or an alien