The focus of this research is the Community Service Sentencing Project (CSSP), which began in 1979 in Bronx County, N.Y. By 1983 it expanded to Manhattan and Brooklyn and was serving more than 1,000 offenders annually. CSSP is now designed exclusively to divert offenders from jail sentences of up to 6 months; the program puts them to work either for 10 or 15 days without pay as the primary criminal sanction. This article presents evidence that CSSP continues to operate effectively. This is especially important, because the offenders it serves today are probably more difficult to manage than the offenders in the early years of the program. The study group for the evaluation was composed of all 146 offenders ordered to CSSP between December 5, 1997, and February 18, 1998. Self-reported demographic and background data were collected through face-to-face interviews with 86 offenders in the group soon after they had entered the program. After about 1 week of CSSP participation, a second interview was conducted with 58 participants to obtain information on their perceptions of CSSP. The evaluation focused on program completion rates, compliance efforts, incidents of rearrest, and benefits to the community and views of participants. The findings suggest that ordering offenders to perform physical labor is not likely to change their lives or dissuade them from committing crimes in the future, but it is still useful for communities and offenders' families compared to jail terms. 5 tables and 15 references