Preparing new members

Use this resource as a guide to how to introduce incoming VISTAs to service and to your organization, even before their orientation.

This resource was contributed by Family-School-Community Partnerships (Madison, WI), a VISTA program that works to close the achievement gap in schools serving low-income families.

Consider sending new members a "welcome packet" even before their orientation. Family-School-Community Partnerships (Madison, WI) mails a packet to members about a month before PSO. "It gives our members a way to prepare for the coming year and a list of contacts and resources. It also ensures that we communicate a consistent message and welcome to all members," says Jane Grinde.

Download their packet—which you'll want to customize with your own program information. It tells VISTAs:

• What's expected of them
• What PSO will be like
• What benefits they'll receive
• What their position entails
• Who the partner organizations are

In another program, the Schools of Hope project (Madison, WI) gives incoming members a list of coordinating team leaders that outlines responsibilities and includes contact information. "Our project co-directors represent our collaborating partners (the school district and a local nonprofit), so the list is useful to sort out areas of oversight and help members know who to approach for assistance," says Program Director Karen Dischler.

Go back to Planning and Documentation

A thorough program handbook lays out all the key information a member or site supervisor needs to know. It answers questions, serves as a handy reference, and can protect you from situations where people say, "I didn't know I was (or wasn't) supposed to do that."

As one program recommends, think of it as a "living reference" that requires regular updating. Be sure to stay current with CNCS policies and regulations to make certain your program is in compliance. Please note the resources below are samples and may require updating as new information becomes available from CNCS. Contact your CNCS program officer with any questions you may have.

Here are some things you'll want to consider when preparing your handbook:

• It's easier to access information when it's organized under headings in alphabetical order.
• Make sure you put the handbook online, as well as providing hard copies.
• In the footer, list the month and year when the handbook was last revised.
• Revise the table of contents when the document changes.
• Identify the project name on each page.

Check out these samples to help you think about the contents of your handbook:

Sample table of contents

• Sample 1: Serves as a handbook for both VISTA members and site supervisors to ensure both have the same information about expectations, policies and other important topics.
• Sample 2: Includes sections on member benefits, graduation requirements, grievance process, reporting requirements, and training opportunities.
• Sample 3: Identifies numerous forms and resources this AmeriCorps*State program provides its members.
• Sample 4: Features volunteer coordination and management resources and a "Tips & Resources" section for members as well as identifies resources to consider including for school-based programs.

Sample handbook

• Click here to view one program's handbook for 2009-2010

Click here to see a Host Site Handbook template

How to use the VAD in planning

Use this tipsheet to gain new ideas on how to use VADs most effectively.

This resource was adapted from material by the University of Wisconsin Extension AmeriCorps (West Allis, WI), a VISTA program that connects resources to low-income and poverty communities in rural, urban, and tribal settings to address youth dropout, agricultural sustainability, and community safety.

Supervisors use the Volunteer Assignment Description (or VAD) at many stages of the member's service term:

• They review the VAD with the applicant during the initial interview
• They provide VISTAs with a copy of their VAD to bring to PSO
• They refer to the VAD during OSOT to set member goals and expectations

A clear understanding of the VAD helps avoid confusion over what's expected of your VISTA. Use it at the beginning of the term to see what the year ahead should look like. Go back to it every few months to develop short-term plans.

If used right, the VAD provides direction for the member and allows supervisors to talk about what's working and what's not.

Read these tips about ways to use the VAD in planning.

Go on to VADS: A Problem-Solving Tool

Changing the VAD to fit the situation

Use this resource to:

• Adjust tasks and objectives
• Support your members as they try to achieve their goals

This form was created by University of Wisconsin Extension AmeriCorps (West Allis, WI), a VISTA program that connects resources to low-income and poverty communities in rural, urban, and tribal settings to address youth dropout, agricultural sustainability, and community safety.

Consider adapting the VISTA Assignment Description (or VAD) when:

• There are work-based communications problems between the supervisor and member
• The member feels he or she isn't able to accomplish plan goals

The adapted VAD allows you to put in writing:

• What the member has tried to do
• What has and hasn't worked
• What the member's next steps are

Check out one program's form for adapting VADs.

Return to Demystifying Project Plans & VADs

A sample plan to help you craft your own

Use this sample to help you draft:

• Project goals
• Project activities
• Project results (output, intermediate outcomes, end results)

This sample was developed by Project STAR and is also used in the VISTA Supervisor Orientation, developed by Education Northwest/Bank Street College (BSC).

Detailed information on developing a project plan can also be found at the Resource Center at http://nationalserviceresources.org/star/vista

A sample VAD to help you develop your own

Use this sample to create VADs that do "heavy lifting":

• Give the VAD to members during the interview process so they can see what the position entails
• Have members bring it to PSO to prepare them for their arrival on site
• Use it to guide supervision

This sample was developed by Project STAR and is also used in the VISTA Supervisor Orientation, developed by Education Northwest/Bank Street College(BSC).

Detailed information on developing a VAD can also be found at the Resource Center at VISTA Assignment Description (VAD): Samples and Tips

Turning goals into actions

See an example of how one literacy program gets its VISTA Leaders involved with projects.

Some VISTA Leader project plans are vague because they focus on member support. This plan outlines the leader's administrative responsibilities as well as a variety of network-building projects that will enhance other VISTAs' work.

The sample form was developed by Minnesota Literacy Council (St. Paul, MN), which provides VISTA members to community organizations and schools to work on eliminating poverty through literacy.

Coming up with a well-developed plan

Use this resource to:

• Plan service projects like Make a Difference Day or National and Global Youth Service Day
• Record the impact of the event after it takes place

This tool was developed by PCC's AmeriCorps Program (Oak Park, IL), an AmeriCorps*State program that provides intensive outreach and health education to individuals and families at high-risk for poor health and social outcomes.

For VISTA, all projects must draft a Project Plan and a VISTA Assignment Description (VAD) before they can get a member. Project plans & VADs are used first as planning tools to think through what members will do. Later, they serve as performance measurement tools, so you can look back and see what the member has accomplished.

For AmeriCorps, all projects must draft a Project Plan before they can get a member. Project Plans & VADs are used as planning tools to think through what members will do. They also become performance measurement tools. For an example of a service project proposal, click here.

Detailed information on developing a project plan is provided by Project Star. Their Web site has Performance Measurement Toolkits for both AmeriCorps State/National and VISTA programs.

Look at a sample VISTA Project Plan and a sample VAD to help you get started drafting your own. If you are recruiting a VISTA leader, here is a sample VISTA Leader Project Plan.

Go on to VADs: A Valuable Planning Tool

Ensuring a smooth transition

Use this checklist to:

• Help VISTAs wrap up and organize their work
• Pave the way for incoming members to pick up where the previous member left off

This checklist was created by Schools of Hope project (Madison, WI), a VISTA program that trains and coordinates academic tutors for low-income students and students of color in the primary grades.

A handy way to keep track of paperwork

Use this resource to:

• Ensure necessary documents are in place
• Facilitate site visits by program officers

Consider numbering the items on the checklist and tabbing the documents to match.

This checklist was created by Peace Corps Fellows Program (Macomb, IL), an AmeriCorps*State program that recruits and trains returned Peace Corps volunteers who provide community and economic development services in small communities across the state.

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

Paperwork is a necessary, but sometimes overwhelming, part of a supervisor's job. In the know managers make use of checklists and other tools for organization.

RARE (Resource Assistance to Rural Environments) of Eugene, Oregon, uses a simple checklist to track documents needed for members' files. It includes a timeline and can be easily adapted. Click here to check it out.

PCC's AmeriCorps program (Oak Park, IL) uses special folders, together with a well-thought-out process for organizing member materials. Their member folders are divided into six sections that follow the categories in the AmeriCorps program director's manual. Click here to read more about their process.

The Peace Corps Fellows Program (Macomb, IL) has a member file checklist that's stapled in the front of each member's folder. Items are listed in the order that an AmeriCorps program officer follows when doing a review. "It keeps us organized and ready for site visits from our program officers or auditors," says Program Director Karen Mauldin-Curtis.

The Schools of Hope project (Madison, WI) uses a different kind of checklist so VISTAs document their work before transitioning out of service. "We've found that this document captures the wide range of detail oversight necessary to successfully wrap up the VISTA term of service and ensure smooth transitions for all concerned," according to Program Director Karen Dischler.

Go back to Planning and Documentation

Forms to adapt for your program

This electronic timesheet, in Excel format, is a simple form that can be revised for your program. Use it to:

• Track total member hours
• Record how hours are spent

The time away form documents requests for time off work.

Both resources were developed by PCC's AmeriCorps (Oak Park, IL), an AmeriCorps*State program that provides intensive outreach and health education to individuals and families at high-risk for poor health and social outcomes.

Timesheets can do more than track the number of hours for which a member will be paid. Consider making your form a record of how time was spent and/or a way to report progress.

Inevitably, members will ask for time away. Having a process and policies in place will help you handle these requests consistently, especially if you have multiple sites.

See how one AmeriCorps program tracks hours and handles time off requests.

Return to Planning and Documentation

Having clear procedures—and materials to support them—will make your job easier. It also helps both you and those you supervise perform more efficiently. These resources can be adapted or used as is to fit your program needs:

• Welcome New Members by providing information prior to orientation
• Handbooks 101 provides tips on developing your own program manual
• Demystifying Project Plans & VADs can be used for planning as well as monitoring
• Checklists for Member Files will help you get and stay organized
• Timesheets/Time Away Forms are used to track activities and time off

Go on to Creating Effective Member-Supervisor Relationships