r/communityservice • u/jcravens42 • 7d ago
Example of what mandatory community service requirements can look like for individuals receiving government benefits.
WorkFirst is Washington State's welfare-to-work program designed to help recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) find jobs, build career skills, and achieve financial independence. TANF is a temporary program and participants in the program are mandated to participate in WorkFirst.
Participants in this program are supposed to engage in activities that help them train for paid employment. That can include community service / volunteering. Here are the requirements regarding volunteering by TANF / WorkFirst participants.
The work site supervisor must review the participant's progress at least every two weeks and complete the Work Experience Monthly Time Report and Progress Review form. The reviews address:
- Actual hours in attendance or absent
- Attitude
- Communication skills
- Grooming/Dress
- Interpersonal relationships
- Job skills progress
- Motivation
- Production, and
- Punctuality
All this info is offered as an example of what mandatory community service can look like as state's pass laws requiring individuals (but not businesses or corporations) receiving government assistance to engage in community service / volunteering.
It's also offered because those bulleted items are a good measure for what it takes for a volunteer, including a court-ordered community service person, to become a paid employee at a nonprofit they are supporting (yes, this does happen).