Benefits

Members receive a living allowance in accordance to their assigned  MSY Slot.  Please see the latest listing of living allowances here:  2025-2026 Program Benefits. Taxes are deducted directly from the living allowance. 

The living allowance is distributed twice a month on the 15th and the 30th/31st or on the preceding working day when those dates fall on Saturday, Sunday, or a holiday. Education Alliance AmeriCorps holds 2 weeks’ pay, therefore, members receive their first living allowance payment after they complete a month of service. Members are required to use direct deposit unless the member proves it causes them an undue hardship. 

Members are required to keep an accurate record of their time as indicated in the Timekeeping Policy. If a member fails to complete their timesheet by the due date, the member’s living allowance will be held until the timesheet is successfully completed. The living allowance will be issued during the next payroll process.

All members must complete their required hours by their last day of service to be eligible for the Education Award. Each member is responsible for serving at least 1 hour per pay period and for setting/following a schedule which will ensure they complete the required service hours. The Program Director may reduce the minimum number of hours per pay period if the member is ahead in completing his/her required service hours. If a member is going to miss one or more of their scheduled days they must notify their site supervisor in advance and arrange to make up that time. I

AmeriCorps members are prohibited from accepting or soliciting monetary compensation above and beyond their living allowance for services rendered while serving as a member of the Education Alliance AmeriCorps program.

Living allowance payment cannot be processed until receipt of the member’s timesheet. If a member is delinquent (3 days or more) on submitting his/her timesheet, Education Alliance AmeriCorps reserves the right to hold his/her living allowance payment until the member completes their timesheet. The living allowance payment will be processed during the next pay period after receipt of the timesheet. The member’s future living allowance payments will not be affected provided that he or she remains up to date on their required paperwork.

AmeriCorps members are not in an employee relationship with the federal government, the program, or the site sponsor for unemployment compensation purposes and, therefore, are not covered by unemployment compensation. However, prior employment history or the Public Unemployment Assistance program may entitle the former member to unemployment compensation benefits. According to RCW 50.65, time spent and compensation earned in the Education Alliance AmeriCorps program are specifically excluded from credit for unemployment compensation.

A member may waive all or part of the payment of a living allowance if he or she believes his or her public assistance may be lost or decreased because of the living allowance. Even if a member waives his or her right to receive the living allowance, it is possible—depending on the specific public assistance program rules—that the amount of the living allowance that the member is eligible to receive will be deemed available. A member who has waived the living allowance may revoke the waiver at any time and may begin receiving the living allowance perspective to the revocation date; the member may not receive any portion of the living allowance accrued during the waiver period. 

In 2022, the West Virginia legislature enacted Senate Bill 228 to create the WV AmeriCorps tuition and fee waiver.  This means that if you completed a term of national service in West Virginia, you can be eligible for up to 8 semesters of tuition waivers for undergraduate or graduate programs at public colleges and universities in West Virginia.

You can apply to receive a waiver for one semester’s tuition and fees if you successfully complete a service term (or multiple terms combined) of at least 600 hours of service.  You can apply to receive a waiver for two semesters’ tuition and fees if you successfully complete a service term (or multiple terms combined) consisting of at least 1,200 hours of service.

Additional information on how to access the West Virginia AmeriCorps tuition waiver is located in the FAQ on the Volunteer West Virginia site.  

Aa an AmeriCorps member in West Virginia, you are automatically enrolled in the Basic Package of the AmeriCorps Member Assistance Program (MAP) facilitated by America's Service Commissions (ASC). 

Through the Basic Package, you and your household members have confidential access to the following:

• Unlimited and 24/7 access to in-the-moment, toll-free telephonic mental health counseling services with master’s degree-level counselors

• Mobile app with resources and appointment scheduling access

• Medical Advocacy

• Financial Assistance (no session limit)

• Legal Assistance (30-minute consultations; 25% discount for legal assistance beyond the 30 minutes)

• Life Coaching (up to 3 sessions)

• Personal Concierge for Everyday Needs

• Work/Life Resources & Referrals

Information to Get Connected to Services:

To access support on any topic, call the toll-free number: 1-800-451-1834. Take a moment now to program this number into your phone. Services are available in up to 140 languages through AT&T translation services.

To access services, call the toll-free number, state you are an AmeriCorps member, and provide the name of our organization/AmeriCorps program.

You will be connected with a professional, licensed counselor with AllOne Health. In-the-moment support is provided for topics such as substance abuse, stress, depression, anxiety, grief counseling, and many other areas. Whatever the question or challenge, please do not hesitate to call any time of day.

You may be provided information or referrals for in-person counseling, childcare, housing, and other local information that may be useful to you.

In addition to the 24/7 telephonic counseling available by phone, the following services are also available:

·       Website and mobile application providing resources

·       Medical advocacy

·       Life coaching

·       Personal assistant for everyday needs

·       Work/life resources and referrals

·       Legal and financial consultation

To download the app:

Getting started is easy! Visit the My Life Expert website.  

Once at the log in page:

1.  Log in on both your desktop and mobile device.

2.  Click “Create a new account with your company code” on the right-hand side of the page.

3.  Use your organization’s access code to get started.

a.      Your company access code: americorps

4.  Follow instructions in the activation e-mail.

5.  Once in, look around, and get comfortable with the software and program services.  

The AmeriCorps Child Care Benefit Program is available for qualified, active, AmeriCorps State members who need the benefit to serve. To qualify for the child care benefit, members must maintain at least 33 hours per week to meet the full-time requirement. The member’s supervisor should select the part time/full time hours’ option when completing the member verification process. 

Child care benefits are paid directly to qualified child care providers for all or part of the member's child care costs during their active time of service with AmeriCorps; child care benefit payments cannot be paid directly to AmeriCorps members. Child care benefits may not exceed applicable payment rates as established in the state in which the child care is provided under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858c(4)(A)).

To learn about your eligibility requirements, review the AmeriCorps Child Care Program Fact Sheet and Types of Child Care Providers description.

Prior to applying use the AmeriCorps Member Checklist and AmeriCorps Provider Checklist to confirm that you have all the documents to complete your Child Care benefit application.

AmeriCorps members and child care providers can apply online or via paper form. Use the following links to complete the AmeriCorps Member Online Application and AmeriCorps Provider Online Application. To fill out a paper application, click on the Forms/Resources button located at the center of the homepage (https://www.americorpschildcare.com/) to find and print the forms you need.

To find out if your provider of choice is approved to receive childcare payments from AmeriCorps, please review the AmeriCorps Childcare Provider State Guide. If your childcare provider doesn't meet your state's requirement to participate, please select a different childcare provider.

GAP Solutions (GAPSI) has compiled a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to help answer questions that AmeriCorps State & National, VISTA, and NCCC members may have about the AmeriCorps Child Care Program (ACCP). If you find you have further questions not addressed by the FAQs or need assistance in applying please feel free to contact our child care coordinators toll free at 1-855-886-0687.