(a) Program grants for national problems of local concern; minimum amounts available; scope; implementation

(1) With not less than one-third of the funds made available under subsection (d) in each fiscal year, the Director shall make grants under the programs authorized in parts A, B, and C to support programs that address national problems of local concern.

(2) An applicant for a grant under paragraph (1) shall determine whether the program to be supported by the grant is a program under part A, B, or C, and shall submit an application as required for such program.

(3) Each program for which a grant is received under this subsection shall be carried out in accordance with the requirements applicable to the program under part A, B, or C under which the program supported by such grant is to be carried out.

(4) To the maximum extent practicable, the Director shall ensure that not less than 25 percent of the funds appropriated under this section are used to award grants—

(A) to applicants for grants under this section that are not receiving assistance from the Corporation at the time of such grant award; or

(B) to applicants from locations where no programs supported under part A, B, or C are in effect at the time of such grant award.

(5) Notwithstanding paragraph (4), if, for a fiscal year, less than 25 percent of the applicants for grants under this section are applicants described in paragraph (4), the Director may use an amount that is greater than 75 percent of the funds appropriated under this subsection to award grants to applicants that are already receiving assistance from the Corporation at the time of such grant award.

(b) Program grants for problems concerning Nation

The Director shall make grants under subsection (a) to support one or more of the following programs to address problems that concern the Nation:

(1) Programs that assist individuals with chronic and debilitating illnesses, such as acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

(2) Programs designed to decrease drug and alcohol abuse through education, prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation.

(3) Programs that work with teenage parents.

(4) Programs that establish and support mentoring programs for low-income youth, including mentoring programs that match such youth with mentors and match such youth with employment and training programs, including apprenticeship programs.

(5) Programs that provide adult and school-based literacy assistance, including literacy programs that serve youth, and adults, with limited English proficiency.

(6) Programs that provide respite care, including care for elderly individuals and for children and individuals with disabilities or chronic illnesses who are living at home.

(7) Programs that provide before-school and after-school activities, serving children in low-income communities, that may engage participants in mentoring relationships, tutoring, life skills, and study skills programs, service-learning, physical, nutrition, and health education programs, and other activities addressing the needs of the children in the communities, including children of working parents.

(8) Programs that serve children who are enrolled in child care programs, giving priority to such programs that serve children with special needs.

(9) Programs that provide care to developmentally disabled adults who reside at home and in community-based settings, including programs that, when appropriate, involve older developmentally disabled individuals as volunteers under this subchapter.

(10) Programs that provide volunteer tutors to assist students, on a one-to-one basis, to improve the academic achievement of such students.

(11) Programs that engage older individuals with children and youth to complete service in energy conservation, environmental stewardship, or other environmental needs of a community, including service relating to conducting energy audits, insulating homes, or conducting other activities to promote energy efficiency.

(12) Programs that reach out to organizations (such as labor unions and profitmaking organizations) not previously involved in addressing national problems of local concern.

(13) Programs that provide for outreach to increase participation of members of ethnic groups who have limited English proficiency.

(14) Programs in which the grant recipients involved collaborate with criminal justice professionals and organizations in order to provide prevention programs that serve low-income youth or youth reentering society after incarceration and their families, which prevention programs may include mentoring, counseling, or employment counseling.

(15) Programs that support the community integration of individuals with disabilities.

(16) Programs that provide health, education, and welfare services that augment the activities of State and local agencies, to be carried out in a fiscal year for which the aggregate amount of funds available to such agencies is not less than the annual average aggregate amount of funds available to such agencies for the period of 3 fiscal years preceding such fiscal year.

(c) Eligibility of applicant; supplemental nature of funds available

(1) In order for an applicant to be eligible to receive a grant under subsection (a), such applicant shall demonstrate to the Director that such grant will be used to increase the total number of volunteers supported by such applicant and that such applicant has expertise applicable to implementing the proposed program for which the applicant is requesting the grant.

(2) Funds made available under subsection (d) shall be used to supplement and not supplant the number of volunteers engaged in activities under parts A, B, and C (without regard to this section) addressing the problem for which such funds are awarded unless such sums are an extension of funds previously provided under this section.

(d) Amount of funds available for grants

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), from the amounts appropriated under subsection (a), (b), (c), or (d) of section 5082 of this title, for each fiscal year there shall be available to the Director such sums as may be necessary to make grants under subsection (a).

(2) No funds shall be available to the Director to make grants under subsection (a) for a fiscal year unless the amounts appropriated under subsections (a), (b), and (c) of section 5082 of this title and available for such fiscal year to carry out parts A, B, and C (without regard to this section) are sufficient to maintain the number of projects and volunteers funded under parts A, B, and C, respectively, in the preceding fiscal year.

(e) Dissemination of information respecting grants

The Director shall widely disseminate information on grants that may be made under subsection (a) to field personnel of the Corporation and to community volunteer organizations that request such information.