An AmeriCorps*State program is responsible for proactively recruiting qualified individuals who are interested in contributing their knowledge, experience, skills and service to your program’s target community. Understanding and determining who is eligible for AmeriCorps service is essential to recruiting the right applicants. Programs should refer to the most recently updated Terms & Conditions for AmeriCorps*State and National Grants, for a complete listing of eligibility requirements for AmeriCorps members. Eligible candidates must meet the following criteria:

1. Who has been selected by a recipient or subrecipient to serve in an approved national service position;
2. Who is a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or lawful permanent resident alien of the United States;
3. Who is at least 17 years of age at the commencement of service unless the member is out of school and enrolled in a full-time, year-round youth corps or full-time summer program as defined in the NCSA [42 U.S.C. § 12572 (a)(3)(B)(x)], in which case he or she must be between the ages of 16 and 25, inclusive, and
4. Who has received a high school diploma or its equivalent, agrees to obtain a high school diploma or its equivalent (unless this requirement is waived based on an individual education assessment conducted by the program) and the individual did not drop out of an elementary or secondary school to enroll in the program, or is enrolled in an institution of higher education on an ability-to-benefit basis and is considered eligible for funds under 20 U.S.C. § 1091 (See Section IX. B.).

Please see ENROLLMENT AND RETENTION POLICIES for more information.

The principal thoughts a Program Director should be cognizant of throughout the selection process, but especially when interviewing are:

• Anything that is asked, requested, required, or done for one applicant must be asked, requested, required, or done for all applicants.
• An interview should uphold the right for all individuals to be evaluated based on merit and potential.

When interviewing, a Program Director should:

• Interview in facilities that are accessible to everyone.
• Interview in private confidential spaces.
• Use the service position description as a guide/reference.
• Use the same list of interview questions for all interviewees.
• Record interviewee responses. Note: This can help to make impartial comparisons between applicants when deciding selections for membership.
• Ask about education, experience, skills, licenses and/or certificates that are relevant to the service position.
• Be clear about the essential functions and expectations of a service opportunity.
• Be willing to consider alternative ways an essential function, marginal function or task can be performed.
• Focus on what an interviewee can contribute to the needs of your service program and target community.
• Focus on what an interviewee can gain from participating in your program’s service opportunity.

The Program Director should also adhere to interview etiquette:

• Be respectful and courteous to all interviewees.
• Greet all interviewees with a handshake, even if they may have short arms, use a prosthetic, are blind, etc. If a handshake is not possible or seems inappropriate, please exercise personal judgment to provide a suitable gesture/expression that can be perceived and interpreted by your interviewee as an equitable greeting.
• Face the person being interviewed.
• Provide an interviewee your undivided attention.
• Maintain eye contact with the interviewee, even if he/she is blind, using an interpreter, etc.
• Use appropriate language (e.g. use “disability” instead of “handicap”). If you are ever in doubt of the proper term or language, ask the interviewee and/or refer to the interviewee by his/her name. For more information please refer to Appendix D-Acceptable and Unacceptable Language in a Service Environment.

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• Use “Person First” language; people are human beings first and foremost (e.g. a “person with a disability” instead of a “disabled person”).

A Program Director must not:

• Make assumptions about an interviewee’s abilities.
• Make assumptions about the type of accommodations an interviewee may need.
• Make medical inquiries, even if an illness or disability was disclosed by the interviewee.

Note: Medical inquiries and/or requests for medical documentation must occur after an applicant is officially offered a service opportunity.

• Allow the disclosure of a disability during an interview to be used as a factor in the consideration of your selection decision.
• Ask direct or indirect questions related to the existence, nature, severity, or cause of an illness or disability, including questions concerning past attendance and leave from work related to illness or disability.
• Ask personal questions related to an interviewee’s marital, family and financial status.
• Inquire about an interviewee’s non-professional affiliations (i.e. clubs, social organizations, union membership, etc.).
• Ask race-related questions.
• Make biological sex and gender related assumptions about an interviewee’s abilities.

Note: When an interviewee reveals information that is illegal for an interviewer to ask, inappropriate, and/or information of which you would rather not be aware, a Program Director should always change the course of the conversation back to an appropriate topic. Further, information of this nature should not be noted nor serve as a factor in your selection decision.

Programs and activities must be accessible to persons with disabilities, and the recipient must provide reasonable accommodation for the known mental or physical disabilities of otherwise qualified members, service recipients, applicants, and staff. All selections and project assignments must be made without regard to the need to provide reasonable accommodation. As such, inquiries about the need for reasonable accommodation should take place after a member has been offered an AmeriCorps position.

A Program Director should communicate reasonable accommodation rights to all current staff (and the larger agency if applicable) prior to starting the recruitment process. Throughout the recruitment process all applicants should be informed about their reasonable accommodation rights, including their right to request a reasonable accommodation at any time during the selection process for any portion of the selection process.

If an applicant discusses, discloses, and/or requests a reasonable accommodation unrelated to the selection process a Program Director should not discuss, inquire, or use this information when selecting members. To address this potential situation a Program Director can redirect the conversation. For example, one could say, “Thank you. I appreciate the fact that you felt comfortable enough to express X information, here at Y service project we encourage the participation of every individual with the skills and abilities to execute the responsibilities of this service opportunity and we will provide the accommodations necessary to ensure inclusive participation.”

Also, a Program Director can briefly explain the program’s accommodation process. Prohibiting disability, illness, and medical information questions (or discussions) prior to the official offer of a position helps to prevent an interviewer from being perceived as someone who offered or denied a service position to an applicant based on the applicant’s disability/illness/medical history.

Once selection decisions have been made and the applicant is offered a service opportunity, then a confidential conversation can occur concerning the best way to accommodate the member. For examples of interview questions an interviewer can and cannot ask please refer to Appendix E-Interview Questions: Dos and Don’ts.

There may be funding available from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) to offset the program's costs on a first come, first serve basis. Please contact Commission Program Office staff for more information.

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