NCJ Number
75829
Date Published
1980
Length
73 pages
Annotation
The Correctional Service of Canada was analyzed to determine (1) ministry needs, (2) the role of chaplains, (3) ministry organizational structure, and (4) training requirements.
Abstract
Input was received from (1) corrections management, (2) inmates, and (3) community officials and groups in completing the analysis. The chaplain was seen by both prison officials and inmates as a person respected by the entire prison community. The best organizational structure for the chaplaincy was seen as one reporting directly to senior management rather than to a program area. Chaplaincy-inmate ratios ranged from 1 to 118 to 1 to 156. All wardens indicated that a decrease in service would be unsatisfactory; one of the three perceived a need for increased chaplain service. Chaplains should be assigned prison duty on a rotating basis, rather than as a permanent assignment. Training should emphasize adaptation to the pressures of prison environments. The program should include field work. The optimal chaplain-inmate ratio is 1 to 150. When more than one chaplain is required at an institution, both the Catholic and Protestant faiths should be represented. Copies of forms and correspondence, tabular data, a training model, and alternate chaplaincy models are included.