EVALUATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY.

SEC. 1607. EVALUATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY. Section 179 (42 U.S.C. 12639) is amended—(1) by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:“(a) In General.—The Corporation shall provide, directly or through grants or contracts, for the continuing evaluation of programs that receive assistance under the national service laws, including evaluations that measure the impact of such programs, to determine—“(1) the effectiveness of programs receiving assistance under the national service laws in achieving stated goals and the costs associated with such programs, including an evaluation of each such program’s performance based on the performance levels established under subsection (k); and“(2) the effectiveness of the structure and mechanisms for delivery of services, such as the effective utilization of the participants’ time, the management of the participants, and the ease with which recipients were able to receive services, to maximize the cost effectiveness and the impact of such programs.”;(2) in subsection (g)—(A) in paragraph (3), by striking “National Senior Volunteer Corps” and inserting “National Senior Service Corps”; and(B) in paragraph (9), by striking “to public service” and all that follows through the period at the end and 123 STAT. 1533 inserting “to engage in service that benefits the community.”;(3) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) of subsection (i)(2), by striking “Congress” and inserting “the authorizing committees”; and(4) by adding at the end the following:“(j) Reserved Program Funds for Accountability.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in addition to amounts appropriated to carry out this section, the Corporation may reserve not more than 1 percent of the total funds appropriated for a fiscal year under section 501 of this Act and sections 501 and 502 of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 to support program accountability activities under this section.“(k) Performance Levels.—The Corporation shall, in consultation with each recipient of assistance under the national service laws, establish performance levels for such recipient to meet during the term of the assistance. The performance levels may include, for each national service program carried out by the recipient, performance levels based on the following performance measures:“(1) Number of participants enrolled in the program and completing terms of service, as compared to the stated participation and retention goals of the program.“(2) Number of volunteers recruited from the community in which the program was implemented.“(3) If applicable based on the program design, the number of individuals receiving or benefitting from the service conducted.“(4) Number of disadvantaged and underrepresented youth participants.“(5) Measures of the sustainability of the program and the projects supported by the program, including measures to ascertain the level of community support for the program or projects.“(6) Measures to ascertain the change in attitude toward civic engagement among the participants and the beneficiaries of the service.“(7) Other quantitative and qualitative measures as determined to be appropriate by the recipient of assistance and the Corporation.“(l) Corrective Action Plans.—“(1) In general.—A recipient of assistance under the national service laws that fails, as determined by the Corporation, to meet or exceed the performance levels agreed upon under subsection (k) for a national service program, shall reach an agreement with the Corporation on a corrective action plan to meet such performance levels.“(2) Assistance.—“(A) New program.—For a program that has received assistance under the national service laws for less than 3 years and for which the recipient is failing to meet or exceed the performance levels agreed upon under subsection (k), the Corporation shall—“(i) provide technical assistance to the recipient to address targeted performance problems relating to the performance levels for the program; and123 STAT. 1534“(ii) require the recipient to submit quarterly reports on the program’s progress toward meeting the performance levels for the program to the—“(I) appropriate State, territory, or Indian tribe; and“(II) the Corporation.“(B) Established programs.—For a program that has received assistance under the national service laws for 3 years or more and for which the recipient is failing to meet or exceed the performance levels agreed upon under subsection (k), the Corporation shall require the recipient to submit quarterly reports on the program’s progress toward the performance levels for the program to—“(i) the appropriate State, territory, or Indian tribe; and“(ii) the Corporation.“(m) Failure To Meet Performance Levels.—If, after a period for correction as approved by the Corporation in accordance with subsection (l), a recipient of assistance under the national service laws fails to meet or exceed the performance levels for a national service program, the Corporation shall—“(1) reduce the annual amount of the assistance received by the underperforming recipient by at least 25 percent, for each remaining year of the grant period for that program; or“(2) terminate assistance to the underperforming recipient for that program, in accordance with section 176(a).“(n) Reports.—The Corporation shall submit to the authorizing committees not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of the Serve America Act, and annually thereafter, a report containing information on the number of—“(1) recipients of assistance under the national service laws implementing corrective action plans under subsection (l)(1);“(2) recipients for which the Corporation provides technical assistance for a program under subsection (l)(2)(A)(i);“(3) recipients for which the Corporation terminates assistance for a program under subsection (m);“(4) entities whose application for assistance under a national service law was rejected; and“(5) recipients meeting or exceeding their performance levels under subsection (k).”.