CHAPTER 14: FISCAL MATTERS AND THE VOLUNTEER PROGRAM

Chapter Highlights All volunteer services counted as part of a non-Federal match must be well documented. Wage comparability rates must be set for the volunteer position(s). Time sheets documenting hours contributed to the program must be kept. The fiscal officer and volunteer coordinator share responsibility for fiscal documentation. Budgets for volunteer programs should include line items for: Salaries for the volunteer coordinator and support staff. Volunteer recruitment. Publications. Orientations. Training. Any other costs related to the volunteer program. Programs should provide the same liability insurance for volunteers that they do for staff who perform similar work.



A critical part of a well-functioning Head Start volunteer effort is solid fiscal management. Head Start programs need to carefully integrate volunteer contributions into their fiscal management system and ensure that appropriate documentation is maintained.

DOCUMENTATION OF THIRD-PARTY CONTRIBUTIONS

Any volunteer services (third-party contributions) counted as part of a non-Federal match must be well documented. To use volunteer time as part of their non-Federal match, Head Start programs must:


• Establish wage comparability rates for each volunteer position.
  
  
• Use time sheets to document hours contributed to. the program.
  
  

Wage Comparability Rates

Allowable in-Kind Personnel ContrIbutions    The amount that the program would be paying in salary for a volunteer if that volunteer were an employee. This amount is the wage comparability rate. The amount that the program would be paying in fringe benefits for a volunteer if that volunteer were an employee.



Before volunteer services can be counted as part of a program's non-Federal match, a wage comparability rate must be established for each volunteer position. The wage comparability rate is the amount that the volunteer would be paid if the volunteer were an employee.

If the volunteer position is the same as or similar to one held by an employee, the hourly rate for the volunteer's time will be the same. If the volunteer position is one that no employee in the program holds, it will be necessary to find out what other employers in the community pay for similar work. The rate established for the volunteer position must be comparable.

Fringe Benefits

In addition to the value of the volunteer's time, a Head Start program can add what it would be paying in fringe benefits if that volunteer were an employee. Fringe benefits can be added to the value only when volunteers are giving their own time. In other words, if a volunteer's time is being given by the volunteer's employer, neither fringe benefits nor the employer's overhead costs can be included as part of the value of the service.

Consultant Services

If the volunteer performs services on a consultant or contractual basis, the value of these services can be based on either:


• The amount that the volunteer has been paid for similar services to another agency; or
  
  
• The fees that the Head Start program has paid to others for similar services. For example, the amount a trainer is paid for a half-day workshop could be used to establish the value of a workshop by a volunteer.
  
  

Volunteer Decisionmakers

Federal regulations permit counting the value of the services of volunteer decisionmakers and members of advisory groups. First, as for other volunteer positions, a reasonable value for these donated services must be established. Wage comparability rates for decisionmakers can be set in two ways:


• An across-the-board rate can be set for all members of the governing board, the policy council, or a particular committee; or
  
  
• Values for different volunteers can be set according to the rates they would be paid for their time elsewhere. For example, there might be one rate for a lawyer on the policy council, another for a school principal, and another for a parent volunteer.
  
  

Time Sheets

As with personnel payroll records, documentation of the hours contributed to a program begins with the time sheet signed by the volunteer and by the volunteer's supervisor. Programs may choose either to use the standard time sheet used by their paid staff or to develop a separate one.

Time sheets should show the following:


• The volunteer's name
  
  
• The dates, including year, that the volunteer provided services
  
  
• The times that the volunteer began and finished each day
  
  
• The volunteer's signature
  
  
• The volunteer's supervisor's signature.
  
  Time sheets may also indicate the following:
  
  
• The category of volunteer (for example, parent, college student, member of a volunteer organization, etc.)
  
  
• The kind of volunteer activity (for example, clerical, classroom, etc.)
  
  
• The wage comparability rate assigned for this volunteer task.
  
  A sample time sheet is shown on the following page.
  
  

RESTRICTIONS ON THIRD-PARTY CONTRIBUTIONS

Not all volunteer services can be counted as part of a non-Federal match. Some of these restrictions on volunteer services have a broad impact on the volunteer program. For example, each' Head Start grantee must explore and use the services available from other Federal, State, and local agencies to supplement its Head Start grant. However, if the volunteer help from these agencies is supported by Federal funds, it cannot be counted by the Head Start grantee as part of its non-Federal match. Moreover, many services operated by State governments are federally funded. It may be necessary to get this information from the director of the particular State program used.

Many State programs are supported by a combination of Federal and State funds. When a program receives a large amount of service from a State agency that is partially funded by the Federal Government, such as mental health services, it may be worth the effort to determine the breakdown of the agency's funding sources. If, for example, the State provides 60 percent, then 40 percent of the time volunteered by the agency can be counted toward a program's non-Federal match.

RestrictIons on Third Party Contributions



• Volunteer help from agencies or services supported totally by Federal funds cannot be counted by a Head Start grantee as part of its non-Federal match.
  
  
• If a Head Start program receives services from an agency that is partially funded by the Federal Government, the program may count part of the time volunteered toward its non-Federal match. The time that can be counted toward the non-Federal match is the percentage of the agency's funding not provided by the Federal Government. For example, If one source provIdes 40 percent of the agency's funding and the Federal Government provides 60 percent then 40 percent of the time volunteered by the agency can be counted toward the non-Federal match.
  
  
• If an agency operates more than one federally funded program requiring a non-Federal match, a volunteer's services can be used only once; that is, the contribution can be counted toward only one of these programs.
  
  
• All volunteer services used as part of the non-Federal match must be provided within the time period of the Federal grant.
  
  


Similarly, many local programs, even some provided by private agencies, are supported either all or in part by Federal funds. It is the Head Start program's responsibility to obtain this information so that in-kind contributions will not be disallowed by an auditor.

Two other restrictions on the use of third-party contributions affect the appropriate allocation of volunteer services. First, if an agency operates more than one Federally funded program requiring a non-Federal match, a volunteer's services can be used only once; that is, the contribution can be counted toward only one of these programs.

Second, all volunteer services used as part of the non-Federal match must be provided within the time period of the Federal grant. This is why it is so important that all records of a volunteer's time be dated properly. This kind of requirement is, of course, a routine one for accounting staff. Program staff, however, are not necessarily familiar with this requirement, and it might be appropriate to emphasize its importance during the inservice training of the volunteer program.

Some restrictions on the use of volunteer services are of concern mostly to accountants and auditors. These restrictions are addressed in Federal auditing standards.

THE ROLE OF THE FISCAL OFFICER

Regardless of how the rates for volunteer services are set, the fiscal officer must

comparability rates should be approved by the sponsoring agency's independent auditor. The rates will then be available to the fiscal department, which will use them to compute the value of the various volunteer services toward the grantee's non-Federal match.

Whether the value of volunteer time is calculated manually or by using a computer program, the fiscal officer must save the paper trail along with other financial documentation for each Federal grant period. These records are subject to audit, as are other records related to the use of Federal grant funds.

ACCESS TO FISCAL RECORDS

The overall volunteer documentation system should include procedures for distributing copies of records as needed. Program staff as well as fiscal staff will need access to records of volunteer time and the value of these services. The volunteer coordinator, for example, needs this information on a regular basis, as do those staff responsible for preparing the Program Information Report (PIR)

BUDGETING

There must be a budget for the volunteer program. The budget should include time for the volunteer coordinator and support staff as well as line items for recruitment, publications, orientation, training, and other costs. The budget will need funds allocated for support services, such as volunteers' transportation to the center, child care, and meals. If volunteers will be traveling on agency business, there must be a line item for travel as well. Another cost item, discussed in the following section, is insurance for the volunteer program. All these costs, if properly documented, are allowable uses of Federal funds.

Reimbursing Volunteer Expenses

Volunteers should know what costs will be 'reimbursed, the kind of documentation that must be provided, and the procedures for completing and submitting expense vouchers. The program's volunteer handbook and orientation sessions for volunteers should address these issues. In addition, some letters of agreement between volunteers and programs will specify certain costs to be reimbursed.

Timely reimbursement of a volunteer's expenses is very important. Volunteers give their time and talents; they should not have to contribute to the program's finances. Some volunteers will not be able to pay any expenses in advance, even if they will be reimbursed later. In this case, other arrangements will need to be made, such as having a staff member pay their expenses, making arrangements for the program to be billed, or distributing bus tokens.

Uses and RestrIctions of Funds

Working together, the fiscal office volunteer coordinator need to define the uses and restrictions of funds for the volunteer component and the fiscal systems that will be used. The volunteer coordinator must know the amount of money available for particular tasks and the procedures related to paying for these tasks. The volunteer coordinator should submit correctly completed vouchers and other records on time to the fiscal division. The fiscal division, in turn, must provide regular and timely feedback to the volunteer coordinator on the amount of funds spent and funds still available for the program year to date.

INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR VOLUNTEERS

Insurance costs for social service programs, especially programs serving children, have risen drastically in recent years. For an agency to have adequate protection, its insurance policies must include volunteers. The volunteer plan should include an examination of the agency's insurance policies regarding volunteers. Knowledge of State laws and insurance company policies for child care programs is an important prerequisite for this task. Many States have recently introduced new legislation regarding volunteers and voluntary programs. Agencies should be aware of this legislation in negotiating insurance coverage.

Every agency should have a general liability insurance policy that protects the agency and its staff against liability for accidents to children, staff, volunteers, parents, and visitors. This kind of insurance policy covers negligence by the insured parties resulting in bodily injury, property damage or loss, and defense against a legal suit. This kind of insurance policy usually does not protect volunteers unless they have been specifically included in the coverage. Volunteers must be covered against liability to the same extent as staff who perform similar tasks.

Another kind of insurance coverage that may affect volunteers is transportation liability insurance. Programs that use volunteers' or parents' vehicles to transport children must first be certain that the owner of the vehicle carries liability insurance. If the coverage is less than the amount required for a vehicle transporting children, a Head Start grantee can pay the additional cost for adequate insurance coverage. In some States, sponsoring agencies may be able to obtain volunteers' excess liability insurance or social service excess auto coverage. This kind of insurance extends a sponsoring agency's policy to cover volunteers using their own vehicles to transport children. However, this kind of policy only provides coverage over and above the individual's own insurance policy. Sponsoring agencies must have proof of insurance policies for all private cars used for transportation for its participants.

POLICY REFERENCES

Policy references related to fiscal matters may be found in the following sections of the publication. Head Start Policies: Volunteers and Community Resources:

Section 9: Liability Coverage of Volunteers

Section 10: Allowable Costs Incurred by Volunteers

Section 11: Allowable Volunteer Services for Matching Requirements

Section 12: Valuation of Volunteer Services

Section 13: Documentation of Volunteer Services