2017 CMCA Summit. Jail Ministry Volunteer Training

Transcription

1 Slide CMCA Summit Jail Ministry Volunteer Training Presenters Dale K. Pace, Th.D. Founder Christian Jail Ministry (CJM) Jon Evans, Th.M. President, Good News Jail & Prison Ministry Note pages provide additional information and should be viewed by those interested in the topic of this session. Volunteers play a major role in ministry to jail inmates, their family, and the jail staff. Volunteers are involved in every aspect of jail ministry from worship & Bible classes, personal and family counseling, addiction treatment, administrative and promotional activities, etc. This workshop focuses on the initial/general training for Jail ministry volunteers; we do not try to address specialized training for particular ministry activities or the kind of training that may be provided for experienced volunteers. Some jail ministry volunteers have professional credentials for the services and ministry they provide, e.g., local pastors who lead a jail worship service or provide pastoral counseling to inmates or members of inmate families. Other jail ministry volunteers are merely men and women who feel God has led them to be involved in jail ministry. Some jail ministry volunteers are mature Christians and others are babes in Christ; a few may even be unsaved. Appropriate training is important for the volunteers to function effectively within the jail environment & be a constructive part of jail ministry. This session provides insight about the scope &variety of topics that might be addressed in training for jail ministry volunteers and share insights about such training, especially from experiences in the ministries of Christian Jail Ministry and Good News Jail & Prison Ministry.

2 Slide 2 Agenda Introduction: presenters, audience, goals Historical Perspective Volunteer Training Issues An Approach Suggested Training Content Ministry Guidelines for Volunteers Questions & Discussion Wrap up & Conclusions The introduction will tell you what we hope to accomplish in this session and give you a sense of the presenters backgrounds. To provide context for what is presented, we will begin with historical perspective on training of volunteers in jail ministry. The core of the session addresses volunteer training directly. We begin with some of the issues that such training has to address. An approach for dealing with the training is suggested and basic content for the initial (or basic training) expected of all volunteers involved in aspects of the ministry within the jail. We say little about aspects of the ministry outside the jail although they play a vital role in an on going ministry. The administrative aspects of fund raising, organization and management of an effective ministry, as well as the vital role of follow up for former inmates to help them become involved in local churches are very important, but outside the scope of this session. Including in such is the ministry s relationship with the churches, helping resources, and law enforcement in the vicinity where the ministry is performed. We also present our thoughts on ministry guidelines for jail ministry volunteers. We will try to provide opportunity for questions and discussion by those participating in the session. We will close with some personal observations and comments in the Wrap up and Conclusions section of the session.

3 Slide 3 Dr. Dale K. Pace Led ministry programs in ~ 20 facilities (jails, prisons, juvenile institutions, and halfway houses; founded Christian Jail Ministry, Inc.) Reviewed jail chaplaincy ministries in several states; certified as supervisor chaplain by Association of Evangelical Institutional Chaplains (AEIC) ThD dissertation (1974): contemporary praxis of correctional chaplaincy; published in Protestant & Catholic chaplaincy literature as well as secular criminal rehabilitation text Principal Profession Staff, Johns Hopkins U. Applied Physics Laboratory (ops research, retired 2005); taught graduate courses in Hopkins Engineering School and at the Naval War College Prior CMCA Correctional Ministry Summit Workshops: 2013 (Four Distinctives of Jail Chaplaincy) 2014 (Chaplain & Chaplaincy Evaluation, with Tom Beckner) 2015 (Effective Jail Ministry) Selected Publications by Dale K. Pace: Book Author: A Christian's Guide to Effective Jail and Prison Ministries (Revell, 1976). Editor of 3 simulation conference proceedings (1991, 1995, and 2002). Book Chapter Author of Chapters in 6 Books: "Religion and Offender Rehabilitation," in Holistic Approaches to Offender Rehabilitation, ed. Hippchen, (Thomas, 1982) "Qualitative Changes in Maritime Capabilities: Naval Force and Technological Change in the Next Two Decades," with R. S. Wood, in Naval Arms Control, ed. Lodgaard (SAGE Publications, 1990) "Verification, Validation, and Accreditation," in Applied Modeling and Simulation: An Integrated Approach to Development and Operation, ed. Cloud & Raines (McGraw Hill, 1998) "Verification, Validation, and Accreditation of Simulation Models," in Applied System Simulation: Methodologies and Applications, ed. Obaidat & Papadimitriou (Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003) Conceptual Modeling Evolution within US Defense Communities: The View from the Simulation Interoperability Workshop, in Conceptual Modelling for Discrete Event Simulation, eds. Robinson, Brooks, Kotiadis, and van der Zee, CRC Press, Fidelity, Resolution, Accuracy, and Uncertainty, in Modeling and Simulation in the Systems Engineering Life Cycle, ed. Loper, Springer Verlag London, Articles: Catholic Praxis of the Correctional Chaplaincy, The Chap Lett (publication of the American Catholic Correctional Chaplains Association), Vol. 21, No. 1, July/August 1974, pp Discipleship Training in A Jail, American Protestant Correctional Chaplains Association Journal, Vol. 1, No. 3, May July 1976, pp How Parachurch Groups Serve Prisoners Needs, Christian Herald, May 1980, pp "Religious Programs in Jails," Corrections Today (Apr 1982, pp 46 49). "The Potential of Christianity to Rehabilitate Criminals," J. of American Scientific Affiliation (Jun 1985, pp 93 96). "Dealing with the Whole Person," American Jails (Sep/Oct 2000, pp ).

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5 Slide 4 Jon Evans President Good News Jail & Prison Ministry GNJPM Largest provider of chaplains to jails & prisons in the world 400+ Chaplains 22 US States and 25 countries Jail Volunteer Since years Business and Corporate Operations Experience M. Div and Th.M. Capital Seminary (now grad school of Lancaster Bible College) Graduate work in Public Relations, Organizational Communications, Strategic Planning and Business Policies Jon Evans began his career path in ministry preparation with a BA from Washington Bible College and M.Div and Th.M from Capital Seminary. However the Lord s direction led to the defense industry for 16 years culminating in the position of Vice President of Corporate Operations for L 3 D.P. Associates. During that position Jon began serving as a volunteer leading a Bible Study in the Jennifer Road Detention Center Annapolis Maryland under the chaplains of Good News Jail & Prison Ministry. Serving alongside the chaplains, he worked as part of the Chaplaincy Support Team leading fund raising events for the chaplains. He joined the Board of Directors of Good News in 2006 and then became the 3 rd President of the organization s 56 year history in Today he serves and supports over 400 chaplains around the world serving in 350 correctional facilities 22 US States and 25 countries.

6 Slide 5 Those Present at the Workshop By a show of hands: Jail chaplains/leaders of jail ministry Responsible for volunteer training Length of involvement in jail ministry Couple of years or less in correctional ministry Less than a decade of correctional ministry Over a decade of correctional ministry Employer: Government entity Non profit or religious organization Volunteer It will help the presenters to know a bit about you so that we can try to gage what basic ideas or perspectives we can assume you understand and so focus our time on things that might be more useful to you than simply hearing again things you already know. It helps us to know if we are mainly speaking to leaders of jail ministry or mainly to others involved in jail ministry, especially it will help us to know how many here are responsible for training volunteers in the jail ministry in which they are involved. Of course, it helps to know whether a number of those present are relatively new to jail ministry or if the majority here are old dogs with all the scars that experience brings, and perhaps even helpful insights from their experiences. Finally we ask if you are paid to minister to jail inmates, or if you do that as a volunteer because you feel it is something God wants you to do. Of course, we also hope those paid to minister to jail inmates also do it because they believe it is something God wants them to do.

7 Slide 6 Workshop Goals Provide helpful insights related to initial training of jail ministry volunteers Address broad spectrum of jail ministry activities Use experiences of Good News Jail & Prison Ministry and that of Christian Jail Ministry Target audience: those managing Christian volunteers in jail ministry Primary: chaplains & organizational leaders Secondary: jail ministry volunteers & correction staff This chart explains what we hope to achieve in this workshop. The chart notes that experiences of Good News Jail & Prison Ministry and that of Christian Jail Ministry are heavily used in this session. Those two sets of experience are not unrelated because the founder of Christian Jail Ministry who has been intimately involved with its training of volunteers throughout much of its existence since it began in 1979 was part of Good News Jail & Prison Ministry (which at that time was known as Good News Mission) for most of the decade before Christian Jail Ministry began. It should also be noted that the presenters have reasonable awareness of the literature about jail ministry and of what others do in such (including how volunteers are trained). For example, such awareness includes interaction with Tom Beckner in regard to his correctional ministry training in the 1980s and with him when he was a leader in Taylor University s training activities related to correctional ministry as well as discussions with those responsible for volunteer training by a number of jail ministry organizations.

8 Slide 7 Historical Perspective Comments relate to jail ministry volunteers; prison volunteer training history may differ 1970s & 1980s: little formal training; OJT & personal interactions with chaplains dominate 1990s: formal training programs become common & secular volunteers (educational, library, etc.) are much more numerous 2000 on: training responsibility by institution & ministry; previously mainly done by ministry This historical perspective is strictly related to volunteer training for those involved in jail ministry. The history of volunteer training for those involved in prison ministry may be different; our comments about volunteer training for jail ministry should not be assumed to apply to the history of training for prison ministry volunteers. Pace began ministry as a jail chaplain in 1971 and has personal awareness of the volunteer training that was conducted by Good News Mission at that time in its programs in Virginia, Maryland, Illinois, and Iowa. During the 1970s Pace was involved in a week long training program held annually which was attended by a dozen or two chaplains from around the country each year. They shared with him their training of volunteers. Also he attended annual meetings of the American Protestant Correctional Chaplains Association (APCCA) and heard about their training programs. His comments reflect that awareness. Formal training of jail ministry volunteers was initially driven by the influx of secular rehabilitation programs into jails. Prior to mid 1980s and 1990s the only programs in most jails were provided by Christian ministries (e.g., in the 1970s Virginia authorized Dr. Pace to conduct GED tests for jail inmates). Prior to the influx of secular programs in jails, volunteer training was mainly ad hoc in OJT of volunteers by jail chaplains.

9 Slide 8 Who makes a good jail/prison volunteer? Understand the call of God Matthew 25:35 35 For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me. The call of God is a mysterious concept with many different interpretations. I accept the call of God as the directive in scripture to which we are compelled to respond. Matthew 25:35 is not the only call to the needs of inmates but it is one that is clear. The scene is in heaven and Christ is seated on the throne separating the sheep (believers ) from the goats (non believers). Once separated He begins to applaud the behavior of the sheep identifying the fact that they ministered to Christ personally when He was hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick and in prison. The Sheep then respond When did we find you in these six desperate conditions? And Christ responds: In that you did this to the least of these you have done it unto me! When we reach out and minister to these groups of people all of whom have significant felt needs we are ministering to Christ and in so doing we are demonstrating the love of Christ as His Sheep. Two observations of this passage: First a pastor friend remarked that most churches in America see very little growth among their attenders. Those most likely to respond are among these six groups. Perhaps we preach to the wrong audience. Second observation: The first five groups are essentially innocent of behavior that might cause their condition. Generally no specific sin or fault renders one hungry, thirsty, stranger (or homeless) naked or sick. Yet Christ continues and adds the prisoner one guilty of some offense. Interesting that the prisoner is included as a group with a special place in God s economy.

10 Slide 9 Who makes a good jail/prison volunteer? Understand the call of God Called Understand the role of a servant in the Gospel Committed Understand the need for quality Competent Understand the function of a facility Regulations Understand the concept of authority Staff/Administration The role of a servant of the Gospel is found in one s Commitment. Among inmates, commitment, consistency, authenticity these are characteristics often foreign to the environments from which they come. Effective ministry involves commitment: first to the Gospel, second to inmate needs. Our ministry believes the most powerful ministry of a chaplain is the ministry of PRESENCE. Being in the facility and available. A volunteer may come weekly or less inmates see their regularity and consistency. The next need is quality or Competence. Ministry to inmates is not for the faint of heart. This ministry cannot be approached flippantly or with less quality because they are inmates. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of eternal life and we should not approach it with a light touch. The jail volunteer must know both the Word of God and him or herself well because inmates know a con. Some inmates will know the scriptures better than us which is OK but we must be prepared. Next the facility: its regulations in a facility are numerous. Violate them and the opportunity to minister may be revoked. The facility has a mandate to protect the inmate and protect the public by virtually whatever means necessary. We may not jeopardize that security. If we do we are out. Our calling for the sake of Christ is not a license to ignore their rules. The administration and staff are the final authority. Respect for Officers goes a long way. They are surrounded by people who view them as the enemy. We need to be a friend and a helpful friend.

11 Slide 10 Volunteer Training Issues Typically What drives/determines the training requirement? Legal requirements, jail policy, and volunteer backgrounds Who is typically required to be trained? Any one doing things inside the jail other than involvement in a worship service When does the training typically occur? It varies, but for many jails participation is such training is a prerequisite to obtaining permission to function inside the jail (in such cases, the training precedes background checks, etc. of the volunteer by the jail We use typically because facilities vary significantly in regulations for volunteers particularly in required training. Some permit just 1 hour orientation; others require 6 month background investigations and up to 16 hours of annual refresher training. What drives these requirements? First the law. What does federal, state and local law require of people entering a correctional facility. Second the facility itself. Some require a brief orientation and others require regular ongoing training. As a leader of volunteers,,you may have a role in that training, perhaps the entire training program. Others only have specific religious services participation. Third your own program. Some presume people with the right heart and right passion have the right training or skills. Your vetting process is essential here trying to find the competent, capable quality you need ; then assessing how to have them properly equipped is also critical. WHO should be trained often depends on the facility. If one participates only in a group service of inmates a basic orientation may be adequate. More may be required for meeting with inmates one on one or in small group settings or moving independently throughout the facility. WHEN also varies. People should know whatever is necessary before they go in. Some facilities also require refreshers. A chaplain may have a Volunteer Coordinator at each church provide quarterly training is in addition to what the facility requires.

12 Slide 11 Volunteer Training Content Facility Procedural Statutory PREA RLUIPA Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act United States federal law that prohibits the imposition of burdens on the ability of prisoners to worship as they pleas Safety and Security Emergency Procedures Staff Guidelines At the federal level there are two essential trainings typically incorporated into volunteer curriculums. The Prison Rape Elimination Act was passed in 2003 for the purposes identified in the name. The training identifies inappropriate sexual contact and conduct and then provides the reporting mechanisms for victims. In some places the PREA training involves educating volunteers of the signs and symptoms they should be aware of that may indicate that there has been some sort of inappropriate sexual contact. Virtually every person who steps behind bars these days has to participate in some sort of PREA training. RLUIPA is an interesting law. In this statute, the federal government established the religious rights of inmates as part of a Land Use Bill. Essentially identifying religious activity as a right of an inmate and prohibiting a facility from imposing burdens on the ability of an inmate to reasonably exercise that right. The practical take aways in my mind for us as ministers would be these: 1. A facility cannot impose burdens on the exercise which then suggests that volunteers then may be permitted to engage inmates in religious practice. Whether it has opened more doors or not I don t know but the law prepares the path such that if an inmate desires to exercise their religious practices, they must be reasonably permitted to do so. The second thing practically and possibly most essential for us: Religious activity is inmate driven an inmate cannot be compelled to participate in a program or exercise they do not choose to participate in. A corollary then is that we must be very sensitive to the reality of nonproselytization. We are not permitted to proselytize in jails and prisons. Wait a minute you mean we cannot share Christ with unsaved inmates? I didn t say that. But an inmate cannot be compelled to listen to your message. The best way to work with that is 1. Not to push your agenda on anyone. And 2. If there appears to be an opening to share the truth ask

13 permission to do so. Would you like me to show you what God s Word has to say about your situation? Would you like to hear what God has to say about forgiveness? Would you like to read from the bible what Jesus said to a man in your situation? These are acceptable ways to bring truth in the correctional environment. The safety and security guidelines of the facility are imperative and are typically demanded prior to entrance. But we are not just talking about badges and gates and guards. We are also talking about what materials can come into the facility. What can come out of a facility. What can be given to an inmate. What can by received from an inmate. The general rule of thumb for these is NOTHING. Nothing in. Nothing given. Nothing out. Nothing received. Emergency procedures then relate to what does a volunteer do IF? There is a fight. There is a call to lock down. There is some other emergency. There is a fire. There is a hostage situation or a volunteer is held hostage. All of these may be highly unlikely but were they to occur the implications could be huge so they need to be set. As far as the Staff is concerned volunteers need to know what the staff will and won t do what role they have in the services or activities and a constant reminder to be helpful, respectful, gracious, kind, friendly and encouraging to staff. Volunteers should never engage in an exchange with inmates about the officers its none of your concern.

14 Slide 12 Volunteer Training Content Program Administration Attendance Entry and Monitoring Reporting Inmate Understanding Nature of population Nature of offenses Basics of judicial system Segregation and Keep Separates The jail has administrative requirements and expectations that you might have helped establish. Attendance of the inmates (how they sign up for the class or register for the class, who is supposed to visit in some facilities you receive a list of who is expected and indicators regarding certain classifications of the inmates, e.g., who to KEEP SEPARATES. Know the procedures & who is who. To run your program effectively: entry into the facility, badges, procedures, where your class is to be held, how do you gain access, how is it monitored, & reporting: what is expected of the volunteer after the fact (record the attendance, submit a document, or report back). Volunterrs need to be trained and reminded regularly. Understanding the Inmate Population is important. Understanding your audience is always important. Many volunteers have never been incarcerated I was one of those volunteers Need to understand who is in this facility, who is coming to your class, why to they come all important. If you are in a pre trial facility your students won t typically be in front of you for more than 90 days and possibly much less. Their motivations and interests, particularly in spiritual things, might be much different than those of inmates in a state prison with years sentences. How might that be? How might nature of offenses adjust your audience?

15 Slide 13 Volunteer Training Content Program Goals Purpose and Objectives Curriculum and Guidelines Doctrine and Theology Focus on the clear Gospel Avoid denominational distinctives Avoid personal theologies Avoid confusing terminologies To think every volunteer knows what they should be doing because of the name of the class is shortsighted. Is it clear what should be discussed (or not discussed) in a Bible class? Or what the objectives should be? Obviously the BIBLE is the text but where are we going with this? Sometimes volunteers have to be fired because they do not follow the rules (such focus on basic truths, not denominational distinctives). Point here: Be sure the plan and objectives are clear and that you know what is being taught if its your program. Our programs are almost exclusively Bible centric Evangelism and Discipleship. Yet we engage literally 100 s of churches and varying denominations so we have to continue to preach the basics: 1. Focus on the clear Gospel 2. Avoid denominational distinctives you baptize with sprinkling, they dunk you, they do it three times, and you we use a fire hose.. 3. Avoid personal theologies I think that wine, women and theatre are the worst things in our society 4. Avoid confusing terminologies give your life to Jesus come to Jesus give your life to God.

16 Slide 14 An Approach to Volunteer Training Topics Role of Qualified Volunteers why are you here? Scare them off Biblical Basis for Correctional Ministry why are we here? Relating Appropriately to Correctional Staff Normally volunteers have few ministry opportunities with correction staff because the staff views the volunteer as an outside; rudeness, criticism of staff or the jail by the volunteer, etc. can put barriers in the way of the chaplain s ministry to the correctional staff (they know the chaplain and some have been helped by the chaplain during grief or problems) Relating Cautiously to Inmates Inmate Manipulation and Con Games What topics then would we recommend to you if training and preparing volunteers: Role of Qualified Volunteers why you are there why they are here what this involves high level of commitment, competency, quality don t make it sound easy. Make sure if they are in they know what they are getting into. Biblical Basis for Correctional Ministry why are we here? What our goal is? How does this fit into the Gospel into God s economy? Relating appropriately to Correctional Staff Normally volunteers have few ministry opportunities with correction staff because the staff views the volunteer as an outside; rudeness, criticism of staff or the jail by the volunteer, etc. can put barriers in the way of the chaplain s ministry to the correctional staff (they know the chaplain and some have been helped by the chaplain during grief or problems) Relating Cautiously to Inmates Who they are how they think how they operate Next level is inmate manipulation and con games

17 Slide 15 Jail Ministry Guidelines for Volunteers Follow the rules from the jail and the chaplain Don t criticize the jail or staff ever to an inmate (report problems to the chaplain for him to deal with criticism to inmates does no good and can harm) Don t criticize other religious groups to inmates Be dependable/reliable (don t add to inmate trust problems by failing to do what you say you will do or be there when you should be there) Report completely so the chaplain is aware of what happens when he is not present

18 Slide 16 Jail Ministry Guidelines for Volunteers Do not provide medical or legal advice (even if professionally qualified to do so) unless involved in programs specifically providing such Give nothing to inmates without permission Only contact others for inmates within guidelines provided Never make unconditional promises Don t provide personal contact information without permission; use the ministry s contact information when asked for such

19 Slide 17 Questions & Discussion Your turn now Some attending the workshop may have insights that would help others at the workshop, and, of course, the presenters will try to answer any questions that participants in the workshop may have. Both presenters would be happy to communicate with workshop participants later as well as during the workshop. Their s addresses are: Dale Pace: Jon Evans:

20 Slide 18 Wrap up & Conclusions We focused on initial volunteer training; continuing & advanced training is also needed A variety of issues face jail training: where & how long; incorporation of required material (such as PREA); who is required to have the training; etc. We pray God will bless your ministry with much spiritual fruit and that the workshop has been helpful Annotations identifies helpful resources We addressed only part of training a jail ministry should provide for volunteers; that part is initial training for volunteers so they can function effectively within the jail. The jail may want the volunteer exposed to PREA, entrance to the jail, etc. Such may be included in ministry volunteer training or handled separately by the jail. Other training (or credentials) may be required for some activities of jail ministry. For example, Celebrate Recovery program leaders in a jail ministry must have appropriate credentials. General initial training of jail ministry volunteers would not qualify one to lead Celebrate Recovery sessions (but general volunteer training might be required for those qualified to lead Celebrate Recovery to lead sessions at the jail). A similar situation exists for local pastors that might want to help with pastoral counseling in the jail ministry at their local jail. Two helpful resources for jail ministry volunteer training among material on the web are shown below: New Mexico Corrections Department has a helpful handbook for volunteers, which is accessible from Forsyth Jail & Prison Ministries handbook for volunteers is a helpful example, at