“ Living Allowance. (a) FULL-TIME SERVICE.— (1) IN GENERAL.— From assistance provided under this subtitle, each participant in a full-time national service program receiving assistance under this subtitle shall receive a living allowance of not more than an amount equal to 100 percent of the poverty line for a family of two (as defined in section 673 (2) of the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902 (2) ) ) . (2) NON-FEDERAL SOURCES.— Notwithstanding paragraph (1) , a program agency may provide participants with additional amounts that are made available from non-Federal sources. ”

“ TITLE I — NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE STATE GRANT PROGRAM Subtitle A — General Provisions Sec. 101. Definitions. As used in this title: (1) ADULT VOLUNTEER.— The term ``adult volunteer ́ ́ means— (A) an individual who is beyond the age of compulsory schooling, including an older American, an individual with a disability, and a parent; (B) an employee of a private business; (C) an employee of a public or nonprofit agency; or (D) any other individual working without financial remuneration in an education institution to assist students or out-of-school youth. ”

“ SPECIAL SENIOR SERVICE MEMBER.— The term ``special senior service member ́ ́ means an individual who is age 60 or over and willing to work full-time or part-time in conjunction with a full-time national service program. ”

“ EQUITABLE ALLOCATION.— If more than one local applicant within a State applies for funds, the Commission shall allocate funds among such applicants in such manner as the Commission considers equitable. (3) INDIAN TRIBES.— An Indian tribe shall be treated the same as a State for purposes of making grants under this subtitle. (4) GRANT TO FEDERAL AGENCY.— If a State has failed to establish a youth corps program and no local youth corps programs exist within such State, the Commission may make a grant to a Federal agency to directly administer a youth corps program. ”

“ LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY.— The term ``local government agency ́ ́ means a public agency that is engaged in meeting human, social, educational, or environmental needs. (12) OUT-OF-SCHOOL YOUTH.— The term ``out-of-school youth ́ ́ means an individual who— (A) has not attained the age of 27; (B) has not completed college or the equivalent thereof; and (C) is not enrolled in an elementary or secondary school or institution of higher education. (13) PARTICIPANT.— The term ``participant ́ ́ means an individual enrolled in a program that receives assistance under this title. ”

“ IN GENERAL.— The President, acting through the Commission, is authorized to make Presidential Awards for service to— (i) individuals demonstrating outstanding community service including school-based service; (ii) outstanding service learning and community service programs; and (iii) outstanding teachers in service-learning programs. (B) NUMBER OF AWARDS.— The President is authorized to make one or more individual, one or more teaching, and one or more program awards in each Congressional district, and one or more Statewide individual program and teaching awards in each State. ”

“ AGREEMENTS FOR ACADEMIC STUDY.— A program agency may enter into arrangements with academic institutions or education providers, including— (A) local education agencies; (B) community colleges; (C) 4-year colleges; (D) area vocational-technical schools; and (E) community based organizations; to evaluate the basic skills of participants and to make academic study available to participants to enable such participants to upgrade literacy skills, to obtain high school diplomas or the equivalent of such diplomas, to obtain college degrees, or to enhance employable skills. ”

“ ADULT VOLUNTEER AND PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM.— In the case of an adult volunteer and partnership program (as described in section 111 (a) (4) ) the State educational agency, or the Commission, if section 111 (b) applies, shall give priority to applications that contain a description of programs— (1) that involve older Americans or parents as adult volunteers; (2) that involve a partnership between an educational institution and a private business in the community; (3) that include a focus on substance abuse prevention, school drop-out prevention, or nutrition ”

“ COMPARISON OF PROGRAM MODELS.— The Commission shall evaluate and compare the effectiveness of different program models in meeting the program objectives described in subsection (g) including full- and part-time programs, programs involving different types of national service, programs using different recruitment methods, programs offering alternative voucher options, and programs utilizing individual placements and teams. ”

“ The program agency shall provide post-service education and training benefits (such as scholarships and grants) for each participant in an amount that is not in excess of $100 per week, or in excess of $5,000 per year, whichever is less. ”

“ SPONSORING ORGANIZATION.— The term ``sponsoring organization ́ ́ means an organization, eligible to receive assistance under this title, that has been selected to provide a placement for a participant. (25) STATE.— The term ``State ́ ́ means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Palau, until such time as the Compact of Free Association is ratified. ”

“ Rural Youth Service Demonstration Project. The Commission is authorized, in accordance with this subtitle, to make grants and enter into contracts under section 102 for the establishment of demonstration projects in rural areas. Such projects may include volunteer service involving the elderly and assisted-living services performed by students, school dropouts, and out-of-school youth. ”

“ Programs are encouraged to consider senior citizens as special corps members. (d) JOINT PROJECTS WITH SENIOR CITIZENS ORGANIZATIONS.— Program agencies shall use not more than 2 percent of amounts received under this subtitle to conduct joint projects with senior citizens organizations to enable senior citizens to serve as mentors for youth participants. (e) CONSTRUCTION.— Nothing in subsection (a) shall be construed to prohibit any program agency from limiting enrollment to any age subgroup within the range specified in subsection (a) (1) . ”

“ PARTICIPATION OF DISADVANTAGED YOUTH.— Programs that receive assistance under this subtitle shall ensure that educationally and economically disadvantaged youth, including youth in foster care who are becoming too old for foster care, youth with disabilities, youth with limited English proficiency, youth with limited basic skills or learning disabilities and homeless youth, are offered opportunities to enroll. ”

“ The Director of the Peace Corps or the Director of ACTION may waive the repayment requirement if exceptional circumstances, such as illness or death, prevent an individual from meeting such 2-year or 3-year requirement. ”

“ DEMONSTRATION OF EFFECTIVENESS.— In addition to the matching requirement in paragraph (1) , the State or local applicant shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Commission that the effectiveness of the project will be enhanced by the use of Federal funds. Sec. 129. Preference for Certain Projects. (a) IN GENERAL.— In the consideration of applications submitted under section 123, the Commission shall give preference to programs that— (1) will provide long-term benefits to the public; (2) will instill a work ethic and a sense of public service in the participants ”

“ Such employees shall be appointed for terms that shall not exceed 2 years, without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service, and without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates. ”