Latasha Phillips's system of organizing AmeriCorps members' files brings oohs and aahs from other program directors. She starts with a checklist that serves as a "table of contents" for everything in the file. The checklist is developed using information on required documents that's in the CNCS program director's manual and her own agency (PCC's AmeriCorps) materials.

The checklist goes in the front of the file, which is a special "classification folder" that uses fasteners to hold the papers in place. The folder is divided into six sections that roughly follow the documents needed during an audit:

1. Application materials (reference checks, legal documents, I-9, W-2, W-4, health insurance forms)
2. Correspondence (including the letter of intent and contract)
3. Timesheets
4. Activity or service logs
5. Evaluations and disciplinary documentation (if any)
6. Other forms (such as time off requests)

"This system makes it hard to misplace paperwork--or to put one member's papers in someone else's file (which happened to me once during an audit)!" says Latasha. She says that once you create a new folder and file the initial documents, you're only adding timesheets and logs to it--which also minimizes the chances that something will get lost.

Return to Checklists for Member Files