NCJ Number
156107
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 57 Issue: 4 Dated: (July 1995) Pages: 16-20
Date Published
1995
Length
5 pages
Annotation
As the correctional system has changed, the role of the prison chaplain has shifted from a church model to a clinical model, in which chaplains often have experience in substance abuse treatment, family counseling, and hospital or hospice chaplaincy.
Abstract
This new model of chaplaincy provides the institution with a budget-saving measure; paid chaplains can collaborate with volunteer clergy as well as with other professional clinicians. The new model is suitable for privatization because it meets the private company's demand to provide for the spiritual needs of inmates while keeping the company out of the religion business. A chaplain who manages a team of volunteers can meet the constitutionally guaranteed religious needs of all inmates. Chaplains trained in the clinical model can participate in a facility's therapeutic community, an approach proven to reduce recidivism. Finally, the clinical model encourages inmates' individual expression of spirituality.