Qualifying Project

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In order to be eligible for Summer Corps, your service project should adhere to the following guidelines:

• You must provide direct legal services to low-income and underserved individuals. This includes conducting intake, performing client and witness interviews, participating in courtroom advocacy and carrying out legal research and writing.
• You are strongly encouraged, but not required, to engage in community education and outreach efforts as a part of your service. This includes creating, updating or translating educational and outreach materials and conducting "know your rights" presentations.
• Your project is not eligible if you do pure policy work.
• If you are performing indigent defense work, you are only eligible if your organization is a state, county, or nonprofit public defender. Offices such as the Federal Public Defender do not qualify.
• You may not engage in any activities prohibited by AmeriCorps during your service hours. These include:
  • proselytizing or engaging in religious instruction;
  • attempting to influence legislation;
  • assisting, promoting or deterring union organizing;
  • engaging in partisan political activities; and/or
  • providing a direct benefit to a for-profit entity.

All Summer Corps members must sign a document certifying they do not partake in any prohibited activities throughout the course of their project.