About 4.1 percent of all persons sentenced with fines in Germany wind up serving prison sentences because of inability to pay. Instead of contributing to prison overcrowding by a group the courts did not intend to incarcerate, the community service alternative enables these offenders to serve their sentences in a socially useful form. In addition, the offenders are spared all the negative personal consequences of imprisonment. Initial efforts in Berlin and Hamburg have not diverted the hoped-for number from serving prison terms. The Hessen project began in September 1981. It is to be piloted for 1 year in two jurisdictions and later extended throughout the State. Unlike Berlin and Hamburg, the Hessen project is not limited to work with government agencies and has a more flexible formula for calculating the value of manhours expended in community service. A total of 15 footnotes is provided.