§ 3032f. Demonstration, support, and research projects for multigenerational and civic engagement activities

(a) Grants and contracts

The Assistant Secretary shall award grants and enter into contracts with eligible organizations to carry out projects to—

(1) provide opportunities for older individuals to participate in multigenerational activities and civic engagement activities designed to meet critical community needs, and use the full range of time, skills, and experience of older individuals, including demonstration and support projects that—

(A) provide support for grandparents and other older individuals who are relative caregivers raising children (such as kinship navigator programs); or

(B) involve volunteers who are older individuals who provide support and information to families who have a child with a disability or chronic illness, or other families in need of such family support; and

(2) coordinate multigenerational activities and civic engagement activities, promote volunteerism, and facilitate development of and participation in multigenerational activities and civic engagement activities.

(b) Use of funds

An eligible organization shall use funds made available under a grant awarded, or a contract entered into, under this section to—

(1) carry out a project described in subsection (a); and

(2) evaluate the project in accordance with subsection (f).

In awarding grants and entering into contracts to carry out a project described in subsection (a), the Assistant Secretary shall give preference to—

(1) eligible organizations with a demonstrated record of carrying out multigenerational activities or civic engagement activities;

(2) eligible organizations proposing multigenerational activity projects that will serve older individuals and communities with the greatest need (with particular attention to low-income minority individuals, older individuals with limited English proficiency, older individuals residing in rural areas, and low-income minority communities);

(3) eligible organizations proposing civic engagement projects that will serve communities with the greatest need; and

(4) eligible organizations with the capacity to develop meaningful roles and assignments that use the time, skills, and experience of older individuals to serve public and nonprofit organizations.

(d) Application

To be eligible to receive a grant or enter into a contract under subsection (a), an organization shall submit an application to the Assistant Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the Assistant Secretary may reasonably require.

(e) Eligible organizations

Organizations eligible to receive a grant or enter into a contract under subsection (a)—

(1) to carry out activities described in subsection (a)(1), shall be organizations that provide opportunities for older individuals to participate in activities described in subsection (a)(1); and

(2) to carry out activities described in subsection (a)(2), shall be organizations with the capacity to conduct the coordination, promotion, and facilitation described in subsection (a)(2), through the use of multigenerational coordinators.

(f) Local evaluation and report

(1) Evaluation

Each organization receiving a grant or a contract under subsection (a) to carry out a project described in subsection (a) shall evaluate the multigenerational activities or civic engagement activities carried out under the project to determine—

(A) the effectiveness of the activities involved;

(B) the impact of such activities on the community being served and the organization providing the activities; and

(2) Report

The organization shall submit a report to the Assistant Secretary containing the evaluation not later than 6 months after the expiration of the period for which the grant or contract is in effect.

(g) Report to Congress

Not later than 6 months after the Assistant Secretary receives the reports described in subsection (f)(2), the Assistant Secretary shall prepare and submit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate a report that assesses the evaluations and includes, at a minimum—

(1) the names or descriptive titles of the projects funded under subsection (a);

(2) a description of the nature and operation of the projects;

(3) the names and addresses of organizations that conducted the projects;

(4) in the case of projects carried out under subsection (a)(1), a description of the methods and success of the projects in recruiting older individuals as employees and as volunteers to participate in the projects;

(5) in the case of projects carried out under subsection (a)(1), a description of the success of the projects in retaining older individuals participating in the projects as employees and as volunteers;

(6) in the case of projects carried out under subsection (a)(1), the rate of turnover of older individual employees and volunteers in the projects;

(7) a strategy for disseminating the findings resulting from the projects described in paragraph (1); and

(8) any policy change recommendations relating to the projects.

(h) Definitions

As used in this section:

(1) Multigenerational activity

The term “multigenerational activity” means an activity that provides an opportunity for interaction between 2 or more individuals of different generations, including activities connecting older individuals and youth in a child care program, a youth day care program, an educational assistance program, an at-risk youth intervention program, a juvenile delinquency treatment program, a before- or after-school program, a library program, or a family support program.

(2) Multigenerational coordinator

The term “multigenerational coordinator” means a person who—

(A) builds the capacity of public and nonprofit organizations to develop meaningful roles and assignments, that use the time, skill, and experience of older individuals to serve those organizations; and

(B) nurtures productive, sustainable working relationships between—

(i) individuals from the generations with older individuals; and

(ii) individuals in younger generations.

U.S. Code

§ 3032f. Demonstration, support, and research projects for multigenerational and civic engagement activities