Community Service Procedure

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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 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:
  1. You have notified the front desk you are doing community service, AND
  2. You have spoken to, and been screened by, 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 Caitlin 4 business days (Tuesday through Saturday) before your hours are due:
      • Multnomah County Court volunteers: After hearing from you, 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, 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:
  1. Note hours are for COURT
  2. County (& State, if not Oregon)
  3. Date they started earning hours for court (very important for previous volunteers now doing court hours)
  4. Number of hours required
  5. Deadline
  6. Anything noteworthy - special instructions, limited areas they can work, etc.
  7. Today's Date (should be the same as their start date)
  8. 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:
  1. Print out a "list" from the database of all their hours
  2. 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
  3. Be sure to put a Multnomah County sticker onto the printout and fill it out.
  4. Hand the database printout with completed Multnomah County sticker directly to the volunteer
  5. 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

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

If they are here in person, hand them the Community Service Info Sheet, and connect them with MK, who will be able to determine if we can accommodate their request. Tell the volunteer inquiring about community service for an out of state court: 1. We handle these requests on a case-by-case basis. They must connect with MK for an interview. 2. They are responsible for gathering and sending tall necessary paperwork to their respective court.

After a phone conversation or in person meeting, MK will be able to determine if we can accommodate them, based on the requirements of their county. 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

  • Notify Front Desk you are here for Community Service
  • Connect with MK or Caitlin for approval
  • Take an Orientation tour
  • Sign up for shifts. If they are on a tight deadline, encourage them toward Adoption versus Build.
  • Log their hours accurately at the end of each shift at front desk and tell us they are for "court".
  • Notify MK or Caitlin at least 4 business days (Tuesday through Saturday) before their hours are due:

FYI: 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.
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