AmeriCorps Texas
Member Enrollment

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AmeriCorps Member Enrollment Slide Deck
View and follow along with all slides from our Member Enrollment trainings.

Overview & Requirements

The eGrants/My AmeriCorps portal is the mechanism used to officially enroll an AmeriCorps member in a term of service.  As the official start date on record, member enrollment dictates when a member can begin serving and accruing service hours, impacting both in-service (living allowance, FICA, etc.) and post-service (education award) benefits.  Since the member enrollment process involves multiple steps on the part of both member applicants and program staff, it is important that programs develop a comprehensive policy and procedure to outline the process and ensure consistency and compliance, particularly during times of staff transition.  

OneStar’s Member Enrollment Flowchart outlines the following four phases:

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Member Enrollment Flowchart
Use this diagram to visualize the essential steps and decision points within the member enrollment process.

Member Enrollment Process Guide
Reference this slide deck with screenshots and step-by-step instructions for enrolling AmeriCorps members.

APPLICABLE GRANT REQUIREMENTS

These grant requirements reflect the expectations for member enrollment, eligibility information, and requirements for verifying citizenship status.

Creating & Updating Service Opportunity Listings

All AmeriCorps programs are required to post service opportunities on the eGrants/My AmeriCorps portal. This allows AmeriCorps, the agency, to have a centralized record of all programs across the country. It also allows interested candidates to search all available AmeriCorps opportunities in one place. When setting up Service Opportunity Listings, programs can opt to receive applications through eGrants, through another platform or manner, or both.

How to create a service opportunity listing in eGrants

Note: you can also edit an existing Service Opportunity Listing from this same page


Once your opportunity listing(s) is/are approved in eGrants, you can check my.americorps.gov to ensure it is active.

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Requirements for Service Opportunity Listings
Review requirements for service opportunity listings, tips and tricks, and examples in this document provided by AmeriCorps.

Service Opportunity Listing Template
Use this optional template provided by AmeriCorps to develop and draft your service opportunity listing prior to inputting the information into eGrants.

Entering Site Location Information

Prior to enrolling members, programs will also need to enter Site Location Information. At the time of enrollment, each member will be assigned to a specific service site in eGrants. This allows AmeriCorps, the agency, as well as State Service Commission staff to see exactly where members are serving in each state. Service Site information can be updated after enrollment, but a service site location must be selected at the time of enrollment, as it is a required field.

How to enter site location information in eGrants

Phase 1: Initiating Pre-Enrollment

Initiating pre-enrollment in eGrants will depend on how your program receives applications. There is a process of “selecting” applications for those individuals that applied through My AmeriCorps and a second process for “inviting” any individuals who submitted application materials outside of the My AmeriCorps portal.

How to select applicants who apply through My AmeriCorps

How to select applicants who apply outside of My AmeriCorps 

Once the program has either selected or invited the applicant, they will receive an email with instructions to complete their portion of the enrollment form. If the applicant applied outside of My AmeriCorps, they will be prompted to create an account first. In addition to the demographic information, applicants will also select responses to four socioeconomic diversity questions.

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Group Enrollment Instructions
Reference this slide deck with step-by-step instructions for how to perform group enrollment in eGrants.

Phase 2: Verifying Social Security Number and Citizenship Eligibility

To serve in AmeriCorps State and National, an applicant must be a US Citizen, US National, or Lawful Permanent Resident. Eligibility verification is automatically triggered through the eGrants portal when the member applicant completes their portion of the enrollment form. The Social Security Administration can automatically verify the social security number and citizenship status for most applicants. However, in some instances, the status will come back as Returned and the program and applicant will need to submit additional documentation for the individual to be manually verified. 

If the applicants SSN or Citizenship status is Returned

Returned SSN Status: Signed social security card

Returned Citizenship Status: See list of documentation options at 45 CFR § 2522.200(c) and (d)

Option 1: Request a secure link and upload the documentation directly.

Option 2: Reach out to OneStar Program Officer for support in facilitating the process.


If an applicant is deemed ineligible based on the documentation provided, they have the right to contest the decision via Administrative Review. If the program believes the applicant is eligible, reach out to the OneStar Program Officer for guidance on this process. 

Phase 3: Completing the Member Enrollment Form

Once the applicant has completed their portion of the enrollment form and the social security number and citizenship status have been verified, program staff will need to complete the remaining fields on the eGrants enrollment form.  Program staff will enter an NSCHC Certification date, certifying all National Service Criminal History Checks have been completed and adjudicated.  

The date entered does not need to be the actual date the checks were adjudicated, but it must be:


If the applicant is under 18 years of age, the NSCHC Certification box should be left blank since members under 18 are not required to have NSCHCs.


In addition to the NSCHC Certification Date, programs can enter the Program Year, Program Title, and Service Location and click Save Information. The only fields that cannot be completed prior to enrollment are the Start Date and Slot Type.

Phase 4: Finalizing eGrants Enrollment

The final phase of enrollment includes entering the member’s start date and slot type and assigning them to a service site location (if not completed in the prior step). Once all information has been entered, program staff will be able to complete the enrollment process by checking the certification box clicking “enroll member” at the bottom of the page. 

All member enrollments must take place within 8 days of the member’s start of service.


If the member or applicant has previously served a term of AmeriCorps service, there may be additional steps required, including:

Changing a Member Enrollment Date

If entered incorrectly, program staff are permitted to change an enrolled member’s start date if:

To change a member’s start date after enrollment, follow the steps below:

Enrollment Policy & Procedures and Best Practices

Programs must have strong policies and procedures in place to correctly enroll members in service on time. OneStar has created an Enrollment Policy & Procedure checklist and Program Officers will review these documents during Pre-Award Risk Assessment for new programs and On-Site Visits for all programs. This video also outlines some best practice for how to run reports in eGrants both to check the status of SSN and Citizenship verification as well as ensure all members are correctly enrolled. 

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Member Enrollment Policy & Procedure Checklist
Evaluate the compliance of your policy & procedure using this checklist to ensure it contains the essential components.

Enrollment Best Practices


How to Run a SSN and Citizenship Status Report


The report will show if the status is Verified, Manually Verified, Returned, or Pending for each member.


How to Run an Enrollment Report


The report will show the member status (In-service, Suspended, Exited) as well as the start date, slot type and service location.