MS 235: Volunteer/Trainee Losses of Property and Cash

Attachment A	Non-evacuation Volunteer/Trainee Property Claim Form
Attachment B	Non-evacuation Volunteer/Trainee Cash Claim Form
Attachment C	Evacuation Volunteer/Trainee Property and Cash Claim Form

1.0 Authority

22 USC 2504 (a), (b) and (c)

2.0 Purpose

The purpose of this manual section is to set out the policies and procedures governing the safeguards for and losses of a Volunteer's or Trainee's (V/T's) property or cash.

3.0 Policies

3.1 Safeguarding Property and Cash

V/Ts should bring only the amount of personal property and cash that is necessary for them to maintain a modest standard of living. To avoid the risk of theft, V/Ts should not bring excess cash or expensive or valuable items. V/Ts are personally responsible for safeguarding their personal cash, living and other allowances, personal property, and Peace Corps property in their possession.

3.2 Insurance of V/T Property and Cash

The Peace Corps does not insure a V/T's property or cash and does not replace or reimburse a V/T for losses, except as set out in this manual section. V/Ts are encouraged to purchase insurance to cover their property items of value and, if feasible, they should keep their personal funds in the form of traveler's checks or in a bank account.

Peace Corps will provide personal property insurance information to V/Ts and will, upon request, arrange a withdrawal from a V/T's readjustment allowance account to pay the insurance premiums. In the limited circumstances in which Peace Corps may reimburse the V/T for property losses, no claim will be approved for insured property unless the insurer has denied the claim.

3.3 V/T Losses of Property

Peace Corps will not replace or reimburse V/T property if lost, damaged, or stolen, except as provided in this manual section.

3.4 Replacement or Reimbursement for Loss

Peace Corps will replace or reimburse a V/T for the V/T's loss of personal property or allowances only if doing so will further the goals and service of the Agency. This criteria is met if:

(a) The lost item is essential to the health, welfare, or continued service of the V/T;

(b) Peace Corps has assumed custody of the V/T's property in accordance with Peace Corps' policies and procedures;

(c) The V/T will not be able to meet some or all of his or her anticipated living expenses prior to receipt of the next living allowance;

(d) The unusual circumstances surrounding the V/T's loss of an allowance (other than a living allowance) lead the Country Director (CD) to determine that full or partial reimbursement is appropriate and fair; or

(e) The loss resulted from Peace Corps' evacuation of the V/T's host country, an event that is often uninsurable.

3.5 Custody of V/T Property

Peace Corps employees and contractors are not permitted to take custody of V/T property without the CD's written approval. Absent the CD's approval, such employees and contractors may be personally liable for the loss of any V/T property for which they assumed custody.

The CD may authorize Peace Corps employees and contractors to take custody of a V/T's property only under the following circumstances:

(a) An unforeseeable emergency (e.g., medevac or emergency leave) provides the V/T with no opportunity to make arrangements for safeguarding property; or

(b) Exceptional, individual cases in which the CD believes that Peace Corps custody is essential to safeguarding the property.

3.6 Attachment Approval Authority

As long as the revisions do not establish new policies, new or revised attachments to this manual section may be approved by the Chief Financial Officer in consultation with and after legal clearance by the Office of the General Counsel.

4.0 General Procedures

4.1 Non-Evacuation Property Loss

4.1.1 Essential Items

When a Country Director (CD) determines that a lost, damaged, or stolen item is essential to the health, welfare, or continued service of the V/T, the CD may authorize reimbursement or replacement. The CD must document the rationale for determining that the item is essential on the claim form or an attached memorandum. While the circumstances under which an item may be essential can vary widely from country to country and from V/T to V/T, the CD is expected to be judicious in determining what is essential, remembering that Peace Corps is not an insurer of property.

The CD will decide whether replacement or reimbursement of an essential item is appropriate based on the feasibility and cost of obtaining an item that will serve the same functions that the CD has determined are essential for the V/T's health, welfare, or continued service.

4.1.2 Reimbursement

The CD may authorize reimbursement at a cost that does not reflect the purchase or depreciated cost of the original item, so long as the reimbursement amount will permit the timely purchase of a similar item that will serve the essential functions of the original item. The CD may approve reimbursement up to an aggregate amount of $1,000. Amounts over $1,000 require Regional Director approval.

4.1.3 Replacement

The CD may elect to provide the V/T with a similar but not identical replacement item, so long as the replacement item will serve the essential functions served by the original item. The replacement item becomes the property of the V/T if he or she owned the original item. The CD may approve replacement up to an aggregate amount of $1,000. Amounts over $1,000 require Regional Director approval.

4.1.4 Items in Peace Corps Custody

The CD may authorize reimbursement of items lost, damaged, or stolen while in Peace Corps custody, provided that Peace Corps assumed custody of items in accordance with Section 3.5. The CD may authorize reimbursement of these items at the purchase price, without regard to depreciation, up to an aggregate amount of $1,000. Amounts over $1,000 require Regional Director approval.

4.2 Non-Evacuation Cash Losses

Non-evacuation cash losses include living/walk-around allowances and other allowances, such as, allowances for annual leave, special leave, and readjustment allowances.

4.2.1 Living/Walk-Around Allowances

Living/walk-around allowances are designed to meet the basic living expenses of the V/T and thus are reimbursable only to the extent that the CD determines it is necessary to meet the V/T 's anticipated living expenses prior to receipt of the next living/walk-around allowance. V/Ts are expected to exercise appropriate care in safeguarding their allowances. The CD has discretion to authorize or deny reimbursement for loss of an amount not to exceed one living/walk-around allowance payment, based on the circumstances surrounding the loss and the documented needs of the V/T. A claim shall include an itemized accounting of basic living expenses that the V/T anticipates incurring in the time remaining until payment of the V/T's next living/walk-around allowance.

4.2.2 Other Allowances

As a general rule, loss of any allowance, other than a living allowance (such as, annual leave, special leave), and readjustment allowances are not reimbursable. In unusual circumstances, however, the CD may determine that reimbursement of such allowances, or some portion thereof, is appropriate and fair. The CD must document, on the claim form or an attached memorandum, the reasons for approving the claim. In determining whether to reimburse such allowances, the CD should consider:

(a) The circumstances of the loss;

(b) The time elapsed since receipt of the allowance;

(d) Any negligence on the part of the V/T that may have contributed to the loss;

(e) Prior claims for property or allowances lost by the V/T and the circumstances surrounding those losses; and

(f) Any particular hardships that may be posed by the loss.

Reimbursement of these allowances shall be made without regard to whether the allowance was in Peace Corps custody. In the rare instance that the allowance funding and issuance are controlled by a domestic office over which the V/T's Country Director or Regional Director does not have oversight, the Office Head and/or Associate Director of that domestic office will have the responsibility to authorize or deny the allowance reimbursement request/claim. The Associate Director must approve all claims for amounts over $1,000.

4.2.3 Personal Cash

The Peace Corps will not reimburse a V/T for the loss of any personal cash. Traveler's checks are insured by the issuer and their loss shall not be reimbursed by Peace Corps under any circumstances.

4.3 Losses Due to Evacuation

4.3.1 Policy for Losses due to Evacuation

To minimize the delay and administrative burden in processing the large number and variety of claims for losses incurred during an evacuation, the Peace Corps will reimburse evacuated V/Ts for up to $1,500 of their total property loss, without engaging in detailed evaluation of the items and amounts claimed.

4.3.2 Evacuation Claims Procedures

Claims of evacuated V/Ts shall be submitted to the Regional Director for approval. The Regional Director may authorize payment of claims for loss of property, other than consumables (such as cosmetics, food and toilet paper), up to an aggregate amount of $1,500. The Regional Director may NOT authorize payment of claims for loss of property in excess of $1,500, claims for loss of living allowance, and claims for loss of personal cash or other allowances.

The V/T may submit an appeal to the Director of the Peace Corps for reimbursement of amounts in excess of the limits set out in this section. The appeal should explain the extraordinary circumstances that justify reimbursement and the substantial hardship or inequity that will result from a denial of the claim in full.

Appeals shall be reviewed and approved or denied by the Director in consultation with the General Counsel. In determining whether extraordinary circumstances warrant reimbursement in excess of the limits sited above, the Director may consider, among other factors:

(a) The mission of the Peace Corps and the Peace Corps' policies and expectations regarding V/T living standards and conditions;

(b) The value and types of property and cash losses claimed by similarly situated V/Ts;

(d) Whether claims for individual items appear unreasonable.

Any V/T personal property that is recovered by Peace Corps after a property claim has been paid will only be returned to the V/T if Peace Corps determines it is logistically and monetarily feasible to do so and if the V/T has indicated on the claim form that he or she would like his or her property returned.

5.0 Claims Reimbursement Procedures

5.1 Time Deadlines and Certification

Claims for allowances or property must be filed within 30 days from the date the loss was discovered.

5.2 Procedures for Non-Evacuation Losses

The V/T shall fill out and verify the appropriate claim form (see Attachments A and B) and submit it to the CD within 30 days from the date the loss was discovered.

The CD shall approve or deny claims up to $1,000. All claims approved by the CD shall be handled through reimbursement or replacement at post. The CD's decision is final.

Claims shall be forwarded by the CD to the applicable Regional Director at Peace Corps

headquarters (Washington D.C.) when the lost property is over $1,000.

If a claim for property (other than property in Peace Corps custody) or an allowance (other than a living allowance) is denied, the CD shall document the reasons for the denial either in a memorandum or on the claim form and place it in the V/T's file at post.

If a claim is denied in part or in full, the V/T may request and the CD may authorize a one-time advance of up to $225 from the V/T's readjustment allowance account to replace the lost, damaged, or stolen property or cash. The advance will be deducted from the final readjustment allowance due the V/T upon termination of service.

Where necessary to avoid undue hardship, the Country Director may authorize disbursement up to $225 as an advance against a reimbursable loss for which the V/T plans to file a claim. The V/T shall sign a receipt agreeing to submit a claim within 60 days and to repay the Peace Corps for any amounts advanced that exceed the amount of property or cash actually lost, damaged, or stolen and reimbursed.

5.3 Claim Procedures for Evacuation Loss

The V/T shall fill out and verify the evacuation claim form (see Attachment C) and submit it to the Regional Director or delegate after confirming that property has been lost or significantly damaged within 30 days from the date the loss was discovered.

The Regional Director or delegate shall review the claim form, approve or deny reimbursements pursuant to guidelines and restrictions in this manual section and issue any approved payment to the V/T.

The V/T may submit an appeal to the Director for reimbursement of amounts in excess of the limits in Section 4.3.1 setting forth the extraordinary circumstances that justify reimbursement and the substantial hardship or inequity that will result from a denial of the additional amount claimed.

6.0 Effective Date

The effective date is the date of issuance.