Community Service Work Program

Questions? Contact Community Corrections at 320.203.6942

What Is Community Service Work?

Community Service Work is court-ordered volunteer work.

It is done for non-profit, community-based, or government organizations. Community Service Work can only be completed at an individual work site. It can be an alternative to serving jail time, in lieu of paying a fine, or as a sanction by itself.

There are a lot of benefits from community service work:

• Courts use community service to reduce jail crowding. It is a way to handle the less serious offender and those who cannot pay their fine.
• Clients get an opportunity to provide a service for the community and make amends for their crime.
• Communities benefit by having unpaid labor provide services to non-profit and tax-supported organizations. This saves the taxpayers money.
• Work sites provide clients with a positive work experience, and also benefit from the volunteers’ work.

The Stearns County Community Service Work Program works with about 1,700 adults and juveniles per year. These participants complete approximately 70,000 hours of work per year.

Individual Placement Referrals

All adults needing to complete Community Service Work are given a packet of information at the third floor reception area at the Administration Center (downtown St. Cloud) or the first floor reception area at the Service Center (Waite Park). The packet contains instructions on how to set up community service.

All juveniles needing to complete Community Service Work should contact Bev Betzold, Case Aide at 320.656.6151.

Questions? Call 320.203.6942.

Criteria Used to Determine Where an Individual Will Work

• The offense, and client's past criminal history
• Where the client lives
• Transportation available
• Medical restrictions / limitations
• Skills
• Hours the client can work

Injury Prevention

In 1979, the Minnesota Legislature passed a law establishing that the legislature would handle claims against a work site by a person injured while performing court-ordered community service. This law removed the major liability from the work site.

Work sites must take the same safety precautions for community service clients that they would for their own employees or volunteers. We expect the organizations to follow all OSHA requirements and child labor laws.

If an injury does occur, Community Service Program staff will collect the medical bills for those injuries, and send all necessary paperwork to the Minnesota Department of Corrections for coordination of payment.