NCJ Number
86694
Journal
Buffalo Law Review Volume: 30 Issue: 2 Dated: (1981) Pages: 387-404
Date Published
1981
Length
18 pages
Annotation
State or local government should provide medical and disability insurance that covers any injury suffered in the course of community service work.
Abstract
There is great disparity in the way California's community service programs have handled the issue of injury liability. Recent reports show that few counties have passed resolutions providing workers' compensation coverage for court assignees to the fullest possible degree. Most counties depend on the volunteer agency to provide all the necessary insurance. Even so, most of the programs do not make medical and disability coverage by the volunteer agency a prerequisite for placement. The burden of such insurance coverage should be on the government, since this is a community corrections program operated by the judiciary. Encouragement of a broader participation of volunteer agencies in community service programs will be hampered if they are left to deal with the issue of injury liability. A possible modification of the medical insurance plan would be to require the volunteer agency to pay the first $50.00 of medical expenses. This would eliminate many small claims. For disability coverage, the government should pay the entire amount under a system similar to the current disability payment system. The payment of disability benefits to an offender who is disabled as a result of court-ordered work would relieve the offender of the burden of providing for a family during the period of disability. An alternative to insurance paid principally by the government would be to cover all volunteers working in a county agency by a resolution passed by the local board of supervisors declaring adult offenders to be employees for purposes of workers' compensation, as provided in the California and New York codes. Sixty-seven footnotes are listed.