Between January 1965 and March 1972, 27,913 persons entered VISTA training. Volunteers have served the equivalent of 27,737 years in programs located in thousands of communities and neighborhoods in every state, save one, as well as in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa.

The present distribution of volunteers is shown on the map on page 1-12.

National Student Volunteer Program (NSVP)

The National Student Volunteer Program (NSVP) provides technical assistance and recognition for part-time, independent, locallycontrolled student volunteer programs operating primarily at the college and, to a lesser degree, at the high school level. There are approximately 1,700 college volunteer programs involving about 400,000 students, 600 paid directors and advisors, and 23 state-wide movements of college student volunteer programs. At the college level, volunteer involvement has expanded from a primarily tutorial emphasis in the early 60's to work in corrections, general and mental health, legal assistance, drug abuse, ecology, aging, handicapped and public interest research.

Plans for FY 1973 include continuation of technical assistance efforts, including publications and continuing on-site consultation to provide direct technical assistance to campus-based volunteer programs. A major thrust will be made in FY 1973 to provide training for student volunteer directors, leaders and advisors, and to provide assistance to high schools in beginning programs.

The University Year for ACTION program began in July of 1971. This program is ACTION's first new effort to aid the disadvantaged. It has been administered by the Office of Policy and Program Development and authorized under Title VIII of the Economic Opportunity Act.

Over 1,000 students throughout the country are now enrolled in University Year for ACTION. Funding for the program management and supervision through program offices on 26 university campuses is provided by ACTION through grants, while the UYA volunteers are enrolled as VISTA "Associates." This level of operation provides a sufficiently extensive base so that ACTION can now responsibly evaluate the effectiveness of the University Year for ACTION concept--a full year, for full academic credit, of full-time service in the effort to alleviate poverty.

As an example of a UYA project, a 22-year old black volunteer from the University of Pennsylvania has been assigned to the Cornwall Heights Juvenile Diagnostic Center. Since entering service in February, she has begun her effort to implement a three-part plan to create alternatives to gangs for young men released from the center. The plan includes counseling by community people which leads toward strengthening fatherson relationships in the families of delinquents, the establishment of a half-way house under community auspices, and seeking sources of funding to place these activities on a firm foundation when her year of service is completed.

The FY 1973 request is for $8.5 million, an increase of $4.2 million above the FY 1972 level. This funding will support 1,075 manyears of full-time volunteer effort at about 35 universities, which represents a full year of operation at the level attained during the spring of 1972, an increase of 475 man-years. These funds also provide for the evaluation of these related programs.

The Foster Grandparent Program was established in 1965. It was administered jointly by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and the Office of Economic Opportunity until 1969 when full responsibility was transferred to HEW. The Program was transferred to ACTION in 1971 in accordance with Executive Reorganization Plan No. 1.

The primary purpose of this program is to enable low-income older Americans to utilize their skills and talents to serve needy children in institutional settings and thereby gain a renewed sense of worth and independence. The only requirements to become a Foster Grandparent are to be at least sixty years of age, to have an income of less than $2,000 for a single person or 2,600 for a two-member family, and to be physically able to serve.

Foster Grandparents serve four hours a day, five days a week, and for this receive a stipend of $1.60 per hour. They receive both preservice and in-service training, and are serving in a variety of institutional settings, Foster Grandparents feed and dress small children, play games, read and tell stories, help with speech or physical therapy, and provide youngsters the close, warm, personal attention often missing in institutional environments such as hospitals for retarded, disturbed and handicapped children, city hospital wards, correctional institutions and homes for dependent and neglected children.

Funding: Funding is accomplished by grants to sponsoring organizations. Matching funds are provided by the sponsoring organization or the host institutions. The sponsoring organizations provide at least 10% of the funds, with a minimum of 80% of the total funds going to the Grandparents themselves in the form of stipend, meals, transportation, annual medical check-ups, and accident insurance. The remaining funds provide for program development, staff salaries and expenses, and other operational costs.

For

The initial FY 1972 appropriation was $12,750,000. This was increased by $12,250,000 in December 1971, bringing the total appropriation to $25 million. Of this amount, $1,100,000 was used for program support costs associated with expansion of the program. FY 1973 $25 million is requested. This will provide for 11,000 Foster Grandparents to attend the needs of 55,000 children. (All costs associated with program support for the FY 1973 program are included under that heading).