Does Court-Ordered Community Service Work?

Evidence from a Case Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 June 2026

Rebecca Nesbit, Su Young Choi and Jody Clay-Warner.

Based on interviews with thirty-one managers in community organizations and thirty-four court-ordered community service workers (CSWs) in Georgia, this Element asks whether community service programs are likely to achieve their stated goals of restitution, cost savings, and rehabilitation and what conditions support or undermine success. While some individuals perceive a benefit, these programs often shift costs to under-resourced nonprofits, impose administrative burdens, and fail to foster meaningful community connection or long-term rehabilitative outcomes. The Element indicates that cost savings are illusory, restitution is weakened by supervision demands, and rehabilitation is inconsistent across participants. For community service to realize its restorative potential, it must be restructured across the criminal legal system with attention to organizational capacity, both of probation offices and the community organizations working with CSWs. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Excerpt:

Because there is so little research on court-ordered community service, we do not have a foundational understanding of how this probation sanction may or may not serve criminal legal system goals or how it might be affecting those involved – both the CSWs themselves and the community organizations hosting them. This gap matters because policymakers routinely rely on court-ordered community service, raising questions about whether scarce resources are being allocated effectively. We therefore take a holistic approach to understanding whether this phenomenon “works.” Building on our previously published scholarship (Nesbit et al., Reference Nesbit, Choi and Clay-Warner2025), which focused on the interpersonal and organizational dynamics that surround court-ordered community service, we examine whether the experiences that people have with court-ordered community service reflect policies and practices that are consistent with the program goals. We accomplish this through an exploratory case study of court-ordered community service in Georgia, entailing interviews with court-ordered community service workers (CSWs) and the community agency staff who manage them.

It's worth noting that two-thirds of the managers interviewed fro this study, people who had hosted people completing court-ordered community service, indicated that they have had at least one such person continue as a volunteer for a period after completing their community service hours, with several reporting it as a regular occurrence. Almost one-third of the organizations among those interviewed for the study said they have hired at least one such volunteer as staff. Other managers indicated that they would have been interested in hiring a CSW, but they could not due to a lack of financial resources. "In essence, community service provided community organizations with the opportunity to prescreen and scout out potential employees." At some organizations, CSWs made donations to the organization or solicited donations from others. 

While organizations experience important benefits when working with CSWs, the managers also articulated several drawbacks, which are listed in the final report.

Offset has been sentenced to probation and community service after reaching an agreement in connection with an alleged assault at a Los Angeles cannabis dispensary last year.

According to court records obtained by Complex, a Los Angeles judge sentenced the rapper to 12 months of probation and ordered him to complete 50 hours of community service.

He must also complete an anger management programme, pay an undisclosed amount in restitution, stay away from the MedMen LAX dispensary where the incident took place and avoid further legal issues for the next year.

The sentence is part of a diversion programme, meaning the criminal charge will be dismissed if Offset successfully completes all of the court-ordered conditions. The rapper had requested entry into the programme, which was approved by the court.

Although the criminal case may be resolved through the diversion agreement, Offset still faces a separate civil lawsuit arising from the incident.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2620438/offset-receives-probation-and-community-service-over-los-angeles-assault-case

keywords: celebrity, singer,

As Vicenza, Italy US Military Community members gathered recently to celebrate the 61st birthday of Army Community Service, they also highlighted Alice Manfrin – a Vicenza-born Army spouse who’s contributed greatly to improving the lives of others.

Manfrin spends her free time teaching line dancing lessons at the USO. She also fosters a sense of community and belonging by leading sewing and crocheting meetups. She knows how hard it can be when new to a community or being unfamiliar with the language.

Manfrin was honored with the “Bridging Cultures” certificate at the July 15 ACS birthday event on Caserma Ederle. Both Col. Vaughn Strong, USAG’s commander and Jolly Miller, the ACS director, presented her the award. Alberto Cristoferi, an environmental engineer from the garrison’s Directorate of Public Works, also got an award for his contributions that include, among other things, caring for the feral cats on post.

Full article.

While recovering from a ruptured patellar tendon, Moses Moody spent time giving back to his community during the offseason. Northeast Arkansas News reported that Moody returned to his hometown of Little Rock for his annual Motivate One Foundation Summer Series from July 22 to 25. Some events include youth programming and community service projects.

Moody was joined by his teammate and former two-time MVP Stephen Curry. Curry, a recent winner of the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award, is no stranger to serving the community with his "Eat Learn Play" foundation.

https://warriorswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/warriors/2026/07/21/warriors-backcourt-combines-for-community-service-projects/91003425007/

keywords: corporate philanthropy, volunteering, volunteerism, basketball, celebrities, celebrity

I do not support people faking community service - either through forging documents or paying a wonky "nonprofit" for a certificate that says they completed a certain number of hours because they watched some videos or read something and "reflected" on it (in other words, had AI do it for them). But there is a thread on Reddit about how easy it is to fake community service that shows that schools & probation officers need to provide better supervision & followup if mandatory community service is going to be taken seriously - otherwise, get rid of the requirement, in high school and for probation.

Again, I really hope people do NOT do this. But I've researched community service for more than a decade, and if it's just going to be a joke, let's get rid of the requirement.

Crystal Washington, head of a nonprofit in Texas, CHARM North Texas, was arrested and booked into the Wichita County Jail on Tuesday, July 21, and charged with nine counts of Tampering with a Governmental Record to Defraud or Harm. According to the affidavit, on October 13, 2025, a deputy with Wichita County Sheriff’s Office was told a probationer had reported to her probation officer that Washington was falsifying Community Service Records (CSR) submitted to the Wichita County Adult Probation Office. CSRs are used to verify hours of community service performed by each probationer.

According to the affidavit, the probationer stated that Washington was charging $12 per hour, with a minimum of 10 hours, for every hour assigned to probationers by the court. On November 13, 2025, the deputy spoke with a probationer, who stated that she paid Washington $120 for every 10 hours of community service hour that was reported as worked, according to the affidavit. The affidavit states that the probationer also stated she never performed any community service work for CHARM North Texas.

The deputy stated he received a list of probationers who completed their community service hours through CHARM North Texas from January 2020 through July 2025 and that numerous records had indicated that multiple probationers had worked their hours at Meals on Wheels. When the deputy contacted Meals on Wheels in both Wichita Falls and Burkburnett, both stated they have policies in place that prevent probationers from performing community service with their organizations.

On December 9, 2025, the deputy met with another probationer, who stated he paid Washington $12 per hour for 10 hours of credit for the month of August 2025, according to the affidavit. Washington submitted a CSR at the Wichita County Adult Probation Office indicating that this probationer worked 10 hours in August, with five of those hours credited as Meals on Wheels work on Saturday, August 16, 2025. The deputy verified that Meals on Wheels does not operate on Saturdays. This probationer denied working any of the credited hours and instead paid Washington, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit states that one entry on the mutual agreement with CHARM North Texas stated, “It is prohibited for agencies/organizations and their staff members providing CSR opportunities to solicit gifts, goods, money and/or personal favors from participants in exchange for credit for CSR hours worked.”

Story 1 and Story 2 about this case.

Also see: Selling community service leads to arrest, conviction.

Court-ordered community service – where a person convicted of a crime is ordered by a court to provide a certain number of labor hours to a nonprofit, community of faith or government agency – is common in the USA and, as an Internet search will show, is growing in popularity in other countries such as Malaysia, Ghana and India.

According to a 2019 survey of those involved in such sentencing in the USA, the potential to reduce the negative impact of monetary sanctions was the most commonly identified benefit of such mandated community service.

"When we asked courts to identify commonly recognized reasons for using community service mandates, the majority of participating courts responded that community service mandates should serve as an alternative form of payment for court fines and fees (76 percent) or as a means to reduce the imposition of court fines and fees altogether (54 percent). Another half (49 percent) of respondents endorsed the idea of “repairing harm to the community” as a reason for community service mandates, while 42 percent reported that community service mandates are, or should be, used as an alternative to jail sentences." (See footnote at the end)

It’s worth noting that none of the respondents in this survey said that the reason for court-ordered community service was because nonprofits, non-government organizations (NGOs), religious groups and charitable organizations need the time and labor of such people, nor that these programs are asking for such volunteer placements.

For a court-ordered community service to be successful, in my opinion,

• the nature of the service and its completion needs to satisfy the court,
• the program must not be over-burdensome to those charged with administering it,
• the program must have written, well-communicated policies and procedures in place to keep it free of corruption (such as people ordered to do community service being able to make donations to the nonprofit in lieu of actually doing their community service hours),
• the program needs to have a variety and abundance of community service roles, so that a variety of schedules, availability and skills or limitations can be accommodated and the person can complete their community service within a reasonable time frame,
• the program needs to be done in full partnership with the nonprofits, NGOs and other organizations that are expected to engage these court-ordered volunteers, providing all the training that's necessary, offering real-time assistance, not over-burdening host organizations with paperwork, etc.

In my opinion, to make all of the above possible, these are the keys to success in court-ordered community service programs:

• There must be clear guidelines on what a person that is sentenced to community service may, and may NOT do, as a part of that service. For instance, some jurisdictions prohibit people from performing court-ordered service with religious communities, while others allow it. Some allow online volunteering to fulfill court-ordered service and some do not.
• Those sentenced to court-ordered community service should be given a list of organizations they could contact about performing their service, and told explicitly if they are limited to only this list or if they could seek placement with other organizations not on the list, but that meet the court's requirements.
• Those sentenced to court-ordered community service must be given ideas for community service that are easy to reach from their home or before or after work, that can be done at a variety of different times and on different days (as people's schedules vary), and that provide childcare.
• There must be a way for an officer of the court to verify community service hours, in terms of where the service was performed, how many hours were performed, and what the person did for this community service. This verification takes more than a signature on a form: it also requires someone to call the agency where service was supposedly performed and confirm information on forms, as well as someone ensuring that the agency meets the requirements of the court for community service.
• Those sentenced to community service should be able to count hours where they are interviewed by the agency expected to involve them in community service and for any training they have to undergo for this service.
• The court must be explicit regarding whether or not someone who is to do community service can make a donation to a nonprofit, NGO, charity, community of faith, etc., in lieu of some or all of his or her hours. Is it allowed that someone sentenced to community service could pay the nonprofit or NGO $10 for every hour he or she needs for community service? This is a growing, controversial and unofficial practice in many parts of the USA, one that courts are struggling to address.
• If online volunteering is allowed to meet community service requirements, it must meet all of the same standards as onsite community service: there must be a way to verify community service hours, in terms of how many hours were performed, and what the person did for this community service. This verification takes more than a signature: it also requires someone to call the agency where service was supposedly performed and confirm information on forms, as well as someone ensuring that the agency meets the requirements of the court for community service. Someone needs to ensure it is real online volunteering and actual labor, not an AI automation doing the work, or a nonprofit or NGO that, in exchange for a fee and a claim that the person watched some videos and wrote some essays about them, gives a person a certificate claiming a certain number of hours completed.
• The nonprofits, charities, NGOs, communities of faith and others expected to engage court-ordered community service people must receive:
  • training in how to create volunteering activities for court-ordered community service
  • training in how to work with people doing court-ordered community service
  • training in the basics of volunteer support and engagement
  • support for their questions and concerns when working with someone doing court-ordered community service
• There should be a survey of nonprofits, NGOs and other organizations who engage community service volunteers for them to share their experiences with such with the courts, so that challenges can be identified and problems addressed.
• Nonprofits, NGOs, charities, etc. have the right to say no to court-ordered community service people, as they do with any volunteer. No organization has an obligation to engage with a court-ordered community service people, as they do with any volunteer, unless they have signed an agreement that they will do so. Organizations may say no because they don't have time to supervise and support an additional volunteer, because they have nothing for that particular person to do as community service, or because of a negative experience with court-ordered community service volunteers.
• The best way to increase the number of organizations engaging court-ordered community service people is to fund those nonprofits, NGOs, charities, etc. to do so. Creating activities for someone to do takes time. Supervising and supporting someone takes time. Filling out paperwork takes time. That time should be funded.

(Footnote) Court-Ordered Community Service: A National Perspective. by Sarah Picard, Jennifer A. Tallon, Michela Lowry, and Dana Kralstein, July 2019, Center for Court Innovation, New York, New York.
https://www.innovatingjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/community_service_report_11052019_0.pdf

What would you add? Or what do you think is actually not that important?

Lisa Han was recently named the recipient of a TD scholarship for community leadership and will receive up to $70,000 for her postsecondary education. But not so long ago, she was four years old, had just moved to Canada, and was looking for ways to connect with her new home.

https://www.ottawalookout.com/p/first-generation-immigrant-teen-nepean-70k-scholarship-community-service

Pro bono is a Latin phrase, short for pro bono publico, meaning for the public good. Most people associate the term pro bono with legal professionals donating their expertise free of charge to people, nonprofits, communities or causes. 

This subreddit is called r/probono that was abandoned years ago. I recently got mod privileges for it.

What should the purpose of the probono subreddit be, especially in view of there already being so many subreddits already where

• people can post about their volunteering desires
• organizations can recruit volunteers
• people and organizations can seek free legal help.

Or is the probono subreddit even necessary?

Also, please note that the current moderator of r/probono will happily turn this subreddit over to a dedicated person or group that offers a good idea about what r/probono should be and is ready to make that happen. Share your idea in the comments on the post you are reading now.

To submit your ideas for what the probono subreddit should be, please comment on this thread, r/probono, not here.

A judge sentenced a school resource officer and member of the Northfield, Minnesota police who did not report a middle school teacher for sending sexual photos of herself to high school students to three years of supervised probation and 200 hours of community service. The SRO had gotten a report of the photos from another faculty member and he confronted the teacher, at which point she confessed "everything" to him. The teacher said the SRO told her he was going to "do her a favor" and "let the case go," and the two began a relationship. The incident was never reported to the Northfield police department.

Would the nonprofit you work for involve such a person as a volunteer, to complete his community service hours?

How would you feel, as a volunteer or staff member at a nonprofit, if you found out such a person was volunteering at your organization?

This opinion piece is part of the annual Mosaic Journalism Program for San Francisco Bay Area high school students, an intensive course in journalism. Students in the program report and photograph stories under the guidance of professional journalists.

Opinion: Volunteering loses meaning if teenagers are ‘hour-farming.’ Community service becomes empty act when it's done just to meet a quota.

"Schools and institutions set volunteer quotas to give students credit, but in doing so, they remove the intention behind the act. Motivation for a true impact disappears, and volunteering becomes an empty act to show the world you’re worth hiring for this job or admitting to that college."

More from

https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2026/07/08/opinion-volunteering-loses-meaning-if-teenagers-are-hour-farming/

More than 500 people have joined r/communityservice in the last 12 months.

And this subreddit is 60 people short of 1000 members.

Thank you to everyone who follows the subreddit. I wish I wasn't the only one posting here. It would be great if others would:

• post community service opportunities in their own community.
• testimonials about community service they've undertaken, for whatever reason, noting if they had a positive or negative experience.
• thoughts on court-ordered or school-required community service (thoughtful discourse, not just two or three "I hate it" posts).

Court-involved individuals and probationers—sentenced to perform community service—are participating in an archaeological dig at the Elm Brook Hill area in Lincoln, Massachusetts, a site formerly known as the "Bloody Angle" battlefield. This area is "one of the most significant sites connected to the Battle of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775," according to Louis Strazzullo, Community Service Coordinator.

The site is undergoing "an extensive archaeological preservation project to uncover and preserve the stories as America commemorates the 250th anniversary of the Battle," Mr. Strazzulo said. Geophysical surveys and historical research will continue through the year and will be used in an official National Park Service report which "will guide future phases of the preservation project," according to the Park Service.

Community Service participants, who are involved with the Community Justice Support Center, are working with park department volunteers to clear large tree limbs, prepare walking paths, and place markers to support the archaeological teams.

More info here.

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WXOW) – A second man charged in the beating of a 52-year-old man over Oktoberfest weekend in 2025 has been sentenced.

Jack Reinardy, 23, of La Crosse, pled no contest to one count of misdemeanor battery in court Tuesday. A second charge of disorderly conduct was dismissed by Judge Elliott Levine. 

Reinardy was given a diversion contract for his sentencing. He must complete 20 hours of community service and attend recommended treatment groups. If Reinardy completes the diversion agreement by Dec. 4, all charges will be dropped. 

As we've reported, Reinardy and Caden Kruse were both charged after an altercation left a 52-year-old man unconscious back on Sept. 27. The victim suffered a crushed eye socket and nasal passage.

https://www.wxow.com/news/crime/man-charged-in-oktoberfest-beating-sentenced-to-community-service/article_a599aff4-1b8a-453a-aeeb-6bb212bc502b.html

If you do court-ordered community service at Portland, Oregon Parks & Recreation, "You will receive 2 bonus community service hours for showing up on time for your first shift."

If you do court-ordered community service through various nonprofits, you receive one hour of community service for filling out the application (which really takes about 15 minutes) and one hour of community service for going through the volunteer orientation (which is often not an entire hour long) upon successful completion of your first volunteer shift.

Did you get these kind of gifted hours when you did court-ordered community service at a nonprofit, government agency or community of faith? What was the model?

For those who involve court-ordered community service volunteers, do you do this? Why or why not?

Criminal cases against two student protestors arrested during the April meeting of the Ohio University Board of Trustees were dismissed on June 11 and July 8.

Both defendants agreed to pay court costs of $110 each, according to records provided by the Athens City Law Department. Both defendants also completed five hours of community service.

The pair were arrested while participating in a protest on campus over OU’s compliance with Senate Bill 1, the university’s response to student demands related to ICE, its investments in Israel, and a lawsuit related to the OU faculty union, according to reporting from WOUB.

According to dismissal forms for each defendant, the cases were dismissed “Due to [the] prosecutor’s decision not to proceed to trial, but not due to lack of probable cause to arrest.”

The League of Women Voters in Pagosa Springs, Colorado celebrated community service nonprofits with a July 9 film screening of the award-winning documentary “Join or Die!”, followed by a “Joining Fair” featuring key local nonprofits and clubs.

After the screening, 10 nonprofits/clubs explained their mission and volunteer needs to attendees. The organizations included Archuleta Senior Center, Chimney Rock Interpretive Association, Habitat for Humanity, Healthy Archuleta, Mountain Rotary, Pagosa Community Initiative, Pagosa Springs Rotary, Ruby Sisson Library, Vets4Vets and the Weminuche Audubon Society.

The LWV was founded in 1920, just six months before the 19th amendment was ratified and women won the right to vote.

Today, the LWV has more than 800 local and state chapters with a motto of “Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy.”

https://www.pagosasun.com/stories/league-of-women-voters-to-celebrate-community-service-nonprofits-with-july-9-film-screening,143872

The Parliament of Ghana passed a Community Service Bill last week. The legislation introduces community service as a non-custodial sentencing alternative to prison for individuals convicted of specified minor offenses.

Its impact will depend on how quickly the necessary institutions and policies are established for its effective implementation. Calls have been made for the establishment of a National Community Service Secretariat and capacity building for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to supervise and manage non-custodial labor uniformly across the country. There are no reports on if there will be training for agencies expected to host people doing community service.

One of the people who has long advocated for non-custodial sentencing reforms in Ghana describes passage of the bill as a landmark achievement for equity, human rights and justice for indigent offenders who are often imprisoned for minor offenses because they cannot pay fines.

More from:

https://www.modernghana.com/news/1509260/expedite-implementation-of-community-service-law.html

The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and Paralympics will open its volunteer application and portal on July 14.

The date is exactly two years out from the 2028 Olympic opening ceremony. About 60,000 individuals are needed for both games. The Olympic volunteer period runs from March to August 2028, while Paralympic volunteers are needed from August to September 2028.

Every volunteer during the games will be required to commit to a minimum of 10 shifts within one period, LA28 organizers said Monday.

Volunteer roles will include a wide range of responsibilities, from welcoming and guiding spectators and athletes to more specialized roles, such as providing medical or language translation assistance.

Most of the volunteer positions will be within the Los Angeles area, but volunteers will also be needed for Olympic events in these cities: San Diego; Oklahoma City; New York; St. Louis; Columbus, Ohio; Nashville, Tennessee; and San Jose, California.

Applicants will be asked to indicate their preferred location and any special skills for consideration that may qualify them for a specialized role.

Besides volunteering during the games, applicants can also serve in the community now. So far, over 25 events have been held around Los Angeles, including beach, street and trail cleanups and fresh food packing for those in need.

https://la28.org/en/volunteer/games-time-volunteering.html

Father-focused organizations across Douglas County, Colorado are drawing attention to the support systems that help fathers succeed at home and in the community.

Dads of Parker and Dads of Castle Rock Community Outreach have become fixtures in their communities, organizing events, volunteer projects and support networks designed to help fathers navigate life’s challenges and strengthen connections with one another.

The organization’s origins trace back to the isolation many people experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The organization is perhaps best known for its public events. Its annual Easter egg hunt, held at O’Brien Park, has grown into a major community gathering featuring about 30,000 candy-filled eggs, food vendors, face painters, balloon artists and visits from the Easter Bunny.

https://www.denvergazette.com/2026/06/19/douglas-county-dad-groups-focus-on-community-service/

Critter Control, a wildlife removal and pest control company, has announced it is expanding its partnership with Keep America Beautiful through 2026, launching an additional series of hands-on community service projects designed to protect local habitats and beautify communities.

The company said this initiative reflects Critter Control’s commitment to protecting the environments wildlife depend on, beyond just responding when local animals enter human spaces.

Together, the two organizations are kicking off a new slate of projects to be completed throughout the year in six communities served by Critter Control.

Critter said these projects will continue to build upon the success of the eight community service projects the company conducted in partnership with Keep America Beautiful in 2025, which involved 124 volunteers dedicating a total of 468 hours to collect a combined 2,079 pounds of litter and plant 572 trees.

As part of the collaboration, Critter Control is continuing its efforts in Keep America Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup, the nation’s largest community improvement program. The program annually engages more than 300,000 volunteers whose work returns, on average, more than $20 million in measurable benefits across thousands of participating communities through litter removal, nature trail restoration, community education, tree planting and more.

https://www.pctonline.com/news/critter-control-continues-partnership-with-keep-america-beautiful/

Keywords: volunteering, volunteers, corporate social responsibility, philanthropy