Community Service Work Program

Community Corrections
320.203.6942

Community Service Work (CSW) is a Restorative Justice-based sentencing option, offering offenders the opportunity to give back to the community while being held accountable for their crimes.  The CSW program consists of one agent (the CSW Coordinator), one Community Service Worker, two Adult Crew Leaders, and one Juvenile Crew Leader.  Offenders are either court-ordered to perform CSW in lieu of jail and/or fines, or they are ordered to perform a specific number of hours as a sanction/condition of their probation.  In addition, all Stearns County offenders have the option to work off any court-ordered fines. 

CSW Referral Form for Worksites

Adult offenders interested in CSW sign up for an orientation session.  The CSW coordinator provides a group informational session and then, along with the CSW worker, individually places offenders either in the community at non-profit or government work sites or on a work crew supervised by a crew leader.  The CSW coordinator places offenders based on many factors, including the offender's skills and abilities. 

All juvenile offenders are referred by their assigned supervision agent.  The CSW coordinator meets with them individually to assess their skills and then places the offender at the appropriate work site.  There are over 270 work sites throughout Stearns County that have had offenders performing CSW.

The CSW program leases a building equipped with tools to perform CSW at the building. The crew leaders and coordinator are pursuing projects that can be brought to the building and have begun to have offenders report to the building to perform their CSW hours.  CSW crews, also referred to as Sentence to Service (STS), complete many projects throughout the county such as painting, landscaping, brush removal, hazardous waste disposal, and remodeling. One of the adult crews is comprised of offenders living in the community, and the other adult crew is comprised of inmates in the Stearns County Jail being released to a supervised work crew.  The juvenile work crew works some evenings and Saturdays during the school year to accommodate school schedules.  Crew leaders are trained in various work skills and first aid. 

CSW Referral Form for Worksites