The coordination of religious services within Custody Operations is the responsibility of Inmate Services Bureau, Office of Religious and Volunteer Services (RVS).
RVS acts as a liaison between management of the Department and chaplain programs, they provide the following:
- Review and process inmate removal orders for off-site funerals
- Process all visiting clergy
- Individual counseling to inmates for spiritual, personal, or family-related problems
- Reading materials including, but not limited to, Bibles (Old and New Testaments), the Quran, and other religious texts
- Religious materials (examples include Prayer Rugs, Kufi Caps, Yamakas, and Break Away Rosaries for the inmates)
- Worship, bible, and religious study classes conducted at various designated times
- Deliver death notifications to inmates (immediate family member of the inmate only)
- Death notifications will be made only after the death is verified by personnel assigned to RVS
- Provide family counseling available through Family Outreach
- Process paperwork for inmate marriages, with the exception of inmates housed at Men’s Central Jail (MCJ), which will be processed by the MCJ Legal Unit
Chaplains are responsible for purchasing or providing Bibles and religious materials, described above, and are available to inmates upon request. Each facility is responsible for inspecting religious materials prior to distribution. Only those materials which present unreasonable health, safety, or security risks may be prohibited.
Chaplains shall not:
- Provide legal advice or assistance
- Provide bail bond information
- Provide medical, mental health, or psychiatric care
- Perform marriages
- Assist with inmate trust accounts
- Provide personal care items
- Determine inmate classification
- Conduct personal favors for inmates (examples include personal phone calls to inmate’s family members, friends, or spouses)
-
- Exceptions include: death notification or death imminent situations of an inmate's immediate family member (i.e., father, mother, brother, sister, child, grandparent, grandchild, step child, half-brother, or half-sister). All deaths must be confirmed and all calls must be dialed, monitored and logged by a chaplain.
Physical Contact With Inmates
Chaplains shall not have physical contact with an inmate, with the exception of a handshake, holding hands for prayer circle, or a hand on shoulder or head for blessing. Individual counseling appointments shall be conducted in plain view of custodial personnel.
In compliance with Custody Division Manual section 3-04/025.00,“Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003” (PREA), chaplains shall ensure that they adhere with the Department’s zero tolerance policy towards sexual abuse of inmates.