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Dakota County to run Sentence‑to‑Service crews after pandemic staffing disruptions, officials say
Summary
County staff reported that Dakota County will operate adult Sentence‑to‑Service (STS) crews in‑house after a contracted vendor struggled to staff crews during and after the COVID‑19 pandemic; staff described program benefits, state reimbursement and plans to hire crew leaders.
The Dakota County Board of Commissioners received an update Jan. 21 on the county’s Sentence‑to‑Service program, a restorative justice option that lets some adults complete court‑ordered community service in place of short jail stays.
Sarah Reitz, field services deputy director, told the board Dakota County has offered the program for about 25 years and until last year operated adult STS crews through a single contracted vendor. She said pandemic‑era staffing shortages at that vendor forced the county to move the adult crews to internal management and rebuild the program.
"It's a restorative justice program where individuals are given the option to fulfill part or all of their jail service through community service instead of traditional incarceration," Reitz said. She described the crews doing park cleanup, assisting nonprofit partners such as Bridging and Open Door Pantry, and practical projects for older adults through DARTS.
Reitz said the county’s crews perform work that benefits community partners and gives clients life and employability skills. She described an example in which a crew removed a downed tree from an elderly resident’s yard — a task the resident could not afford to have done — and said the family expressed strong appreciation for the help.
Reitz described operational impacts from COVID‑19: crews were suspended in March 2020 and the county saw significant staff turnover at the vendor during the recovery period, which led some municipalities to withdraw contracts. Since May 2024 the county has taken over adult STS operations internally and said it is rebuilding relationships with municipal partners.
The county reported the Minnesota state government reimburses about 25% of STS program expenses; Reitz also told commissioners the typical court order is five days of STS (about 40 hours per client). For future staffing, the county said it has requested two full‑time adult probation officer (APO) crew leaders in the 2025 budget to expand crew capacity beyond the current Monday‑Saturday schedule and to cross‑train juvenile and adult crews.
Commissioners praised the program’s community benefits during questions. Commissioner Heumann said he has been involved with STS and called it a successful program for both clients and community members.
No formal board action was taken; the presentation served as an informational update. County staff said they plan to return with performance metrics and asked the board to hold them accountable for improved completion rates over time.
