Every year, Americans serve their country through national service programs, such as AmeriCorps, which provides a modest living allowance and education awards for volunteers in programs addressing national needs in education, conservation, and affordable housing.
In 2009, Congress endorsed a significant expansion of national service by authorizing 250,000 AmeriCorps positions; however, the funding did not follow, and AmeriCorps only supported roughly 74,000 positions in 2014.
Expanding National Service to Address Long-Term Unemployment, a report, from the Center for American Progress, describes the problem of long-term unemployment, how national service can help address it, and ways to build upon our nation's service movement to expand its economic benefit to more Americans.