TDCJ Chaplains are more than "preachers"
Similar to their counterparts in the military and in hospitals, Correctional Chaplains provide spiritual care to those who are disconnected from the general community by certain circumstances. This is the case with those who are incarcerated and with correctional staff and their families who often find themselves isolated.
Each correctional chaplain is also a representative of his or her particular faith group and is required to be endorsed by a religious body in order to become a chaplain.
Correctional chaplains are professionals with specialized training in the unique dynamics of the correctional system and institutional security.
What Correctional Chaplains REALLY do!
Learn what the faith affiliations are of the population the chaplain serves.
Learn the basic beliefs and practices of the faiths represented in the institutional population.
Coordinate holy days for the various faiths represented in the population.
Coordinate religious diets for the offenders.
Provide worship services for the various faith groups represented in the population.
Provide discipleship (spiritual growth) programming for the various faith groups.
Provide spiritual reentry programming for the pre-release population.
Provide for a mentoring program for pre-release offenders.
Respond to offender requests for a change of religion of record.
Respond to offender requests for religious medallions and other religious devotional items.
Respond to all other offender written requests in a timely manner.
Provide religious programs and services orientation for new offenders.
Supervise offender clerks and porters in the religious program area.
Provide data input into the institutional computer regarding offender program participation.
Respond to offender requests for indigent hygiene help (offender donated, if approved).
Maintain an offender library of religious materials which have been solicited and screened.
Coordinates special programs, e.g., marriage seminars, athletic ministry events, family programs, etc.
Coordinates faith-based housing programs.
Become familiar with the religious resources in the community (attend ministerial assn. meetings, etc.)
Recruit quality volunteers to minister in the institution.
Train, supervise and evaluate quality, teachable volunteers to minister in the institution.
Seek volunteers who may be able to minister to the minority faith groups in the prison.
Facilitate clergy visits for offenders.
Prepare volunteer entry lists for the facility administrator to approve.
Notify offenders of death in their immediate and extended family.
Provide emergency phone calls for offenders.
Provide grief counseling for offenders who have experienced loss (family death, parole denial, divorce...)
Receive and respond to inmate family calls from outside the institution.
Model and teach effective interpersonal relationship building; provide mediation of offender differences.
Be a chaplain to the warden and administrative staff; frequent the front office; be visible, accountable.
Be a chaplain to the security staff; walk around and listen; be visible, available.
Provide presence and support for staff involved in traumatic incidents; attend staff/family funerals.
Be familiar with the expectations of the senior administrative staff; know the culture of the institution.
Provide training to new and established staff in the institution.
Be aware of agency policy and procedures, and honor them.
Provide monthly reports to director of chaplains, and senior facility administrator; attend training events.
Generate written memoranda regarding religious program schedules, chaplain schedules.
Generate requests for supplies and equipment, and for equipment and program area maintenance.
Respond to religious-related litigation.
Facilitate offender marriages, or provide reference.
Notify next-of-kin of offender death or life-threatening illness or incident.
Provide ministry to offender, offender family, and victim family at time of execution (three chaplains).
Attend training and fellowship events with one’s outside faith group; nurture one’s own spiritual life.
Whew! Makes me tired just reading it. As one can see, correctional chaplains are so much more than preachers. They have developed into a specialized field of pastoral ministry and have a unique role that is essential to the mission of corrections, of orderly and secure confinement and rehabilitation.
Looking to the future, correctional chaplains seek greater collaboration with other professionals. Since one of their goals is for inmates to experience successful re-entry into the community, they continue to seek new partnerships within the field of community corrections.
Our continued thanks and prayers go out to:
Chaplain Jack Yates (Torres & Ney Units) yates.jack@sbcglobal.net
Chaplain Jerry Satterlee (Briscoe Unit) satterlee.jerry@yahoo.com
Chaplain John Sherman (Dominguez)
Chaplain George Turner (Cotulla Unit) pastort61@msn.com
Chaplain Ted White (Bexar County Detention Center) sntnsa@juno.com