Community Service Procedure

This page details how to determine whether a prospective COURT ORDERED community service volunteer should be allowed to spend time at Free Geek. This does NOT apply to students doing community service for school. Students are regular volunteers whose hours we mark as "school". These instructions are intended to aid those at the front desk when faced with a person who needs to complete court ordered community service hours and would like to do so at Free Geek.

The HR committee is who you should point questions to.

General Goals

Free Geek is a good place for people to gain job skills, contribute to their local community, meet positive people, and possibly turn their lives around. While part of our goal is to provide opportunities for empowerment and growth, we also want to protect our volunteers. We welcome people who need to complete community service, as long as they are legally able to be around children AND do not have any restraining orders against them. We do not discriminate against court appointed community service workers. We expect ALL Free Geek volunteers to legally be able to be around children and not have a restraining order against them. These questions are now asked of everyone who would like to volunteer with us.

The Basics for All Court Community Service Volunteers

Give a copy of the Community Service Info Sheet to ALL volunteers inquiring about doing Court Community Service with us. Then connect them with MK or Caitlin.

Community Service FAQ

May I earn a free computer?
- Yes, but only AFTER you have completed your community service hours for the courts. Court community service hours do NOT count toward earning a computer.

How do I record my hours?
- It is your responsibility to accurately report your hours to the front desk at the end of each shift you work and indicate they are for COURT. You may ask how many hours you have, or request a printout of your hours at anytime.

I'm already a volunteer. Can I use the hours I've already earned for court?
- Unfortunately, the courts will not accept hours earned previous to the date your community service was assigned to you. You may only count hours toward court AFTER:

You have notified the front desk you are doing community service, AND
You have spoken to MK or Caitlin

When I've finished my hours, how do I turn them in to the court?
- It is YOUR responsibility to ensure you get your hours turned in on time. Contact MK or Caitlin 4 business days (Tuesday through Saturday) before your hours are due:
  - Multnomah County Court volunteers: After hearing from you, MK or Caitlin will set a time to meet with you, print out your hours and affix and fill out a sticker, required by the county. You must pick up these hours in person and deliver them to court by your deadline.
  - Washington County Court volunteers: After hearing from you, MK or Caitlin will fill out and fax your form to Washington County. Be sure and tell us to do so BEFORE your deadline.

Multnomah County Court - Staff Procedure

Enter the following data in the "Notes" field of the database, for each court community service worker:

Note hours are for COURT
County (& State, if not Oregon)
Date they started earning hours for court (very important for previous volunteers now doing court hours)
Number of hours required
Deadline
Anything noteworthy - special instructions, limited areas they can work, etc.
Today's Date (should be the same as their start date)
Your initials

Ex. COURT hours for Multnomah County. 60 due by 12.31.09. Seated tasks only. 10.23.09 MKW

CONTINUE EDITING FROM THIS POINT:

Note: Multnomah County pre-screens the individuals they direct to Free Geek.
Tell Multnomah County court community service workers it is their responsibility to get their community service paperwork to the courts. The Office Coordinator makes the printout, fills out and attaches a sticker, and hands this form to the volunteer.
If the court community service worker is expecting us to fill out and fax a form provided by the courts, they need to make contact with MK at least 4 work days (Tuesday through Saturday) before the form is due to ensure that MK has the form and it is completed and faxed before their court date.

When COURT community service hours are COMPLETED:

Print out a "list" from the database of all their hours
Make sure all hours are marked "court", edit as needed all the way back to the date they started court hours, but not before that date
Be sure to put a Multnomah County sticker onto the printout and fill it out.
Hand the database printout with completed Multnomah County sticker directly to the volunteer
Remind the volunteer it is their responsibility to deliver this info to their court contact (judge, PO, Karen, etc.)

At Multnomah County Community Court, the contact person is Karen at 503-988-4993. MK is our contact person for Karen. Karen may request proof of their people actually working. Just look them up in database and give the general information. If she wants detailed information, contact Mary Kate.

We most often get people from this court.

Washington County Community Corrections - Staff Procedure

Main points: Be sure to have them fill out the Community Service Info Sheet.

Give this information sheet to all volunteers inquiring about doing Court Community Service with us. Then connect them to MK or Caitlin.

Washington County faxes or mails us a form to complete for each person we approve for court community service. Mary Kate keeps these in a file at her desk. Let her know when someone is close to being done with their Washington County court hours so that she can begin to prep the paperwork in a timely manner.
Timesheet faxes for clients from Washington county will come in shortly after they begin volunteering. Put these in MK's Inbox. She will file these in the folder marked "Community Court Timesheets" at her desk in Monkeyhouse. The volunteer will need to request that we fill out the form and fax it in at the completion of their time here. When this happens, send MK an email and she'll fax it. (Get a current phone number from volunteer in case of questions.)

Other Courts

Have volunteer fill out the Court Community Service Form. Send them on the tour if their answers are appropriate on the form. MK will still need to give these folks final approval. Tell them we handle these on a case by case basis and they are responsible for gathering and sending their paperwork to their respective court. It is best direct these folks to MK. MK will get more info and tell them "yes" or "no" based on the requirements of their county and their answers on the form, via phone or in person. If folks call in from other counties to do court ordered time, connect them with MK directly.

Send any unusual court inquiries to MK for now.

Court Volunteer's Responsibilities

Please tell them to:

Take a tour
Show us their court paperwork for verification
Fill out Court Community Service Form and turn it into a front desk employee.
Sign up for shifts. If they are on a tight deadline, encourage them toward Adoption versus Build.
Log their hours at the end of each shift at front desk and tell us they are for "court".
Tell us when they have completed their hours so we can:
- send them with a "list" database printout & sticker for Multnomah County
- fax or mail their completed form for Washington County
If they are out-of-state or with another county the volunteer is responsible for getting their own documentation together for the courts. These folks need final approval from MK. We can provide the printout of hours and MK can sign any letters they craft to satisfy the courts. It is not FG's job to write letters or take on extra work due to unique court requirements.

Front Desk's Responsibilities

Read all NOTES sections before entering hours.
Mark all court community service hours as COURT in the database.
Ensure accurate data entry. Repeat back to the volunteer the amount of hours you are entering, for confirmation.
Be sure to hit "Save" so the hours are logged.