State Service Caucus
Supported by ASC’s States for Service arm, the State Service Caucus (SSC) is a bipartisan coalition of state legislators who aim to raise awareness of national service and volunteerism; expand service opportunities in America; find innovative service and volunteerism solutions to meet community challenges; and support volunteers and service members.
National service and volunteerism programs provide unique opportunities for states to address their most pressing challenges with the hard work of civic-minded Americans. Unfortunately, legislators in each state wanting to create and support these types of programs can feel like they have nowhere to turn for ideas, information, or support. The SSC exists to end that isolation. Please contact Casey Reynolds with any questions.
Meetings
Caucus members meet informally twice a year, once during the Summer and once during the late Fall when most legislative sessions are out of session. During these meetings members hear about service-related policy innovations happening in other states, get an update on federal funding and policy changes, and set a policy agenda for the next year.
Topics discussed at meetings in 2024 include the following.
- Connecting service years to a state’s workforce development needs (CO, NH)
- Creating and connecting state-based environmental stewardship and conservation corps (CA, WA, ME, CO)
- Incentives states can use to recruit and retain service members in their states
- Tax relief on members' stipends and end-of-service education awards (WI, IA, OR, MN, NE)
- Offering service alums in-state tuition (MD and AZ), free tuition (WV), or preferential admission at state universities
- Creating a state employment hiring incentive for service alums (NV, NH)
- Executive action governors in states such as Utah, Maryland, and New York are taking to expand service opportunities in their states
Additional Resources
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