Practical Applications: Strategies for Supporting a Diverse Corps

This report studies diversity in AmeriCorps programs to determine how it affects programs and their participants. The report concludes the following: 1) recruiting a diverse Corps is a necessary but not a sufficient step toward successfully supporting diversity; 2) the diversity issues that arise in programs cover many facets of members' cultural background; 3) personality issues or factors other than diversity issues may be the cause of conflicts; 4) implementing strategies to support diversity that have not been tailored appropriately to a program's members may be more diverse than taking no action; 5) members may perceive support for specific groups of members as favoritism, if they feel that they do not have access to similar support mechanisms; and 6) a successfully supported diverse Members Corps can generate greater benefits for all parties involved.