Community Service Program

In January, 2002 we started to track Court Ordered Community Service. Judge Dyke asked me if I would work with non profit organizations in the county to coordinate and supervise community service.

The original goal of this was to have anyone whether it be juvenile from Social Services, adults from Probation/Parole or Deferred Prosecution Agreements from the District Attorney’s office, would be assigned a work site from this office. Social Services and Probation/Parole prefer to handle most of their cases. I do receive a small number of referrals from these agencies. The District Attorney’s Office just started copying me with DPA’s approximately five months ago. Upon receipt of DPA’s I send a letter to the defendants giving them 10 days in which to contact me, so I can assign them to a work site. I do a brief assessment of their situations. I need to find out work schedules if they are employed, access to a vehicle, valid DL, what the charges are so I don’t assign them to someplace inappropriate, etc.

I work with non profits organizations throughout the county to get these people working and compliant with their DPA’s. Most DPA’s allow the individuals 12 to 18 months to comply. I encourage them to complete those hours within a month or two of the agreement and we are having very positive results.

From this office, I seek out work sites, assign workers to sites, supervise to the completion and notify the District Attorney’s Office upon completion of community service.

I have some work sites that we provide almost constant workers for.

Iowa County Humane Society

Road Crew

Prairie Restoration Program

Hodan Center