Year for ACTION has enabled schools to establish excellent and lasting programs.

Our proposal for fiscal year 1977 is a new approach designed to stretch the reduced Federal funding. We plan to assist colleges and universities in the creation of service-learning support offices. Such an office, which already exists on some campuses, will bring together the community's need for service, the students' interest in serving and learning, the professors' interest in assessing the learning experience, and the financial aid offices' interest in helping the students pay their way through college. This activity is analogous to our support through National Center for Voluntary Action of hundreds of Voluntary Action Centers, and our direct support of statewide volunteer coordinating offices. When combined with the increased budget for the national student volunteer program, it means that we shall be able to support the strengthening of volunteer service-learning endeavors at all campuses in the United States. We are in essence trading the intensive efforts of University Year for ACTION for the extensive impact of support and technical assistance for service-learning.

SPECIAL VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS

Mr. MICHEL. In view of your high regard for the "special volunteer programs" why the proposed sharp drop in funding from $3.8 million to $2 million? Will this reduce the scope and operational level of this program?

Mr. BALZANO. The proposed drop in funding is the result primarily of the overall reduction in ACTION's budget for its domestic programs in fiscal year 1977. The reduced budget will definitely restrict ACTION's capacity to expand successful endeavors or to explore new challenges. However, the budget will enable ACTION to continue operation of ongoing projects.

The Office of Special Programs is involved in experimental activities which either test and demonstrate new concepts or see the creation of new programs. Consequently, special volunteer programs do not involve long-term commitments or obligations as do programs such as VISTA or retired senior volunteer program. Reduction of funds precludes the funding of potential sponsors rather than elimination of ongoing activities.

STATEWIDE VOLUNTEER COORDINATORS

Mr. MICHEL. How many States are due to receive continuation grants in the next fiscal year under the statewide volunteer coordinator program? Which States?

Mr. BALZANO. In fiscal year 1977 22 States are due to receive continuation grants. Nine States will be eligible for second-year funding and 13 for 3d-year funding.

Of the nine States in the former category, two are yet to be selected, the remaining seven are: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, New Mexico, and New Jersey.

The 13 States in the latter category are: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Vermont.

REQUEST TO O.M.B.

Mr. SHRIVER. Mr. Balzano what was the budget request your agency sent to the Office of Management and Budget?

Mr. BALZANO. We requested about $150 million for our Domestic programs.

SPECIAL VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS

Mr. SHRIVER. I notice that part of the cutback from 1976 funding levels is in the area of special volunteer programs. I seem to recall someone from your congressional liaison staff in my office last year singing the praises of this program, especially the mini-grant program, which is to be cut by 40 percent. Has this program suddenly become ineffective?

Mr. BALZANO. No; it has not. ACTION has had to take a long and hard look at its programs in light of the reduced budget and make some very difficult decisions. Its first priority is to maintain the operation of projects where continued Federal support was implied by the nature of the program. The mini-grant programs do not imply a continued obligation. The effect of reducing funds is to preclude the expansion of highly successful programs to potential sponsors. Despite the success and public support for programs such as mini-grants, ACTION has had to cut them severely in order to meet its ongoing obligations to the traditional programs.

SENIOR COMPANIONS

Mr. SHRIVER. According to your justifications, you haven't yet made any obligations for fiscal 1976 for the senior companion program even though we are more than 7 months into fiscal year 1976. The reason given is the lateness of your appropriations bill and the increase voted for this program by Congress. Weren't any obligations made under the continuing resolution?

Mr. BALZANO. No; ACTION has made no obligations to date in fiscal year 1976 for the senior companion program. All funds available for this program under the continuing resolution were needed for refunding of existing projects. All existing projects were started in June of 1974, and therefore, are due for refunding in the fourth quarter of this fiscal year.

Now that our appropriation for domestic operations in fiscal year 1976 has been passed, we will be establishing new senior companion projects.

EXTENT OF VOLUNTARISM

Mr. SHRIVER. Would you provide additional information regarding the survey by the Bureau of Census to the extent and nature of vol

untarism in the United States? Those figures you noted of 37 million volunteers furnishing $34 billion worth of services are impressive. I'd like to see some of the details.

Mr. BALZANO. The full report on volunteers is continued in our publication Americans Volunteer-1974. A report on the economic value of volunteers has been prepared for us by Prof. Harold Wolozin of the University of Massachusetts and is now being readied for publication.

I shall submit for the record a summary statement of some major conclusions from Americans Volunteer-1974 and a table showing Professor Wolozin's estimates of the value of the services of volunteers. [The following was submitted for the record:]

AMERICANS VOLUNTEER-1974

A VOLUNTEER PROFILE

One out of four Americans over the age of 13 does some form of volunteer work, according to a 1974 Census Bureau survey commissioned by ACTION. That means nearly 37 million Americans, or 24 percent of 156 million citizens over the age of 13 gave without payment some of their time, energy, and effort to a cause in the year ending April 1974.

Volunteers averaged 9 hours a week on their individual projects. This is the equivalent of 3,500,000 people working full time for 1 year. By comparison, the number of paid workers during 1974 was approximately 85 million.

When volunteers were classified by the frequency of their labor, measured from a high of once a week to only once a year more than one-third replied they worked once a week.

During the survey's sample week of April 7 to 13, 1974, 50 percent of the volunteers did religious-affiliated work.

The most typical American volunteer in 1974 was a married, white woman between ages 25 and 44 who held a college degree and was in the upper income bracket.

A hallmark of American voluntarism is that all strata of economic, educational, and social levels contribute their share. The survey shows that 12 percent of those Americans who live below the family income level of $4,000 a year donate their time and effort to a cause of their choosing. Even among the unemployed, 17 percent do volunteer work.

During a week of 1974, April 7 to 13, what type of work volunteers did was examined. Nine designations were looked into: Political, civic and community action, social and welfare, recreation, citizenship, justice, education, health, and religion. During that week, 15,455,000 Americans volunteered.

1 Unorganized refers to work performed outside the formal auspices of organizations.

OTHER AGENCIES' VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS

Mr. SHRIVER. Describe for us some of the volunteer programs in other Federal agencies such as HUD, HEW, and LEAA, which you mentioned. Do you know how much they are spending on those programs?

Mr. BALZANO. I am not sure that we have complete information on this. I believe that LEAA is currently spending about $12 million for its citizen's initiative effort with the Office of Priority Programs. While this money does not pay for stipends or out-of-pocket expenses to volunteers per se, and while LEAA may not regard this as a volunteer program, nevertheless the citizen initiative projects do assume that local citizens will come together in various fashions to assess and fight crime on a volunteer basis by such means as assessing police department responsiveness, providing escort assistance for elderly citizens, manning rape crises centers, and serving on crime watch teams. We assume that since citizens are being motivated to assist in the fight against crime, that they are doing so on a voluntary basis.

HUD is mandated under the Community Development Act of 1974 to provide certain supportive services to low-income families, such as day care, crime prevention, education, recreation, and job development. We know of one instance where bloc funds from this act are being used by a local prime sponsor in North Dakota to fund the volunteer activities of a Volunteer Action Center. However, the total HUD amount of funding for volunteer efforts is unknown.

Under title XX guidelines (HEW/Social and Rehabilitative Services) States are not entitled to funding unless they include a plan for utilizing volunteers in their social service delivery. Activities under title XX include day care (for children and adults), foster care, homedelivered meals, transportation services, etc. At present we understand, from our State program director in North Dakota, that the state has elected to use title XX money to provide second-year funding for the statewide volunteer coordinator (created by ACTION).

VISTA

Mr. SHRIVER. The cutback in VISTA funding is based on the assumption that the communities will pick up a larger share of the costs.