The CCS Mission...

Court Community Service (CCS) designs and manages an efficient system of quality alternative sentencing options responsive to the needs of the courts and the community. Established in 1985 under a grant from The Cleveland Foundation, CCS implements the directives of courts within Cuyahoga County for community service with complete follow-through and reporting. CCS is the first of these programs in the United States organized and available to service multiple courts throughout the county.

CCS accepts all court referrals, a challenging task given the broad range of referral ages, education, and job capabilities. There is no pre-qualification screening process. When sentenced, the offenders may be employed or unemployed with little or no previous work experience. Some possess no obvious skill sets, while others may have special craft abilities, such as cabinet-makers, electricians, or plumbers. Still others may hold management, academic, or leadership responsibilities. And some may even be physically disabled. All CCS referrals, whatever their backgrounds, work off their debts to society in closely supervised settings.

CCS placement counselors carefully evaluate and try to match referrals with community service needs. They also consider the referral's work, school, and family schedules. In most cases, a task will be assigned in an offender's neighborhood. CCS staff and experienced volunteers are adept in this matching process.

CCS carefully monitors all referrals. An extensive computer data system provides the courts with comprehensive and accurate status reports. Each judge receives printouts to closely track referrals' status, including number of hours served and any variation in performance.

Local Restitution... from Misdemeanor through Felony...

The Ohio Revised Code (§2951.02 (C)(1)(b); (F)(1)) states that when an offender is convicted of or pleads guilty to a misdemeanor, or lesser felony, the court may require the offender, as a condition of probation or as a condition of otherwise suspending the offender's sentence (or fine), to perform supervised service work in the local community. The work can be performed under the authority of health or park districts, counties, municipal corporations, townships, and other political subdivisions of the state. Alternatively, charitable organizations that render community service may also utilize these offenders within the CCS program.

The court may require an offender who agrees to perform his work to also pay a reasonable fee to cover the costs of the offender's participation in the program. For those unable to pay a fine, or other financial sanctions, a court may also permit an offender to satisfy the penalty by performing supervised community service work.

Courts We Serve...

CCS contracts with most of the courts in Cuyahoga County, including:

Common Pleas (and its Pretrial Diversion Program)
Cleveland Municipal Court
United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court
The Greater Cleveland Drug Court
Numerous Suburban Municipal Courts
Cleveland Municipal and Cuyahoga County Common Pleas provide the majority of CCS referrals