NCJ Number
191366
Journal
CTM-Corrections Technology & Management Volume: 5 Issue: 5 Dated: September/October 2001 Pages: 44-46
Date Published
2001
Length
3 pages
Annotation
The chaplain at the Delores J. Baylor Women's Correctional Center in New Castle, Delaware, listens to inmates' problems and keeps their thoughts confidential, and she helps to secure personal items and services for inmates that make their lives better while in prison.
Abstract
Situated in a tiny office next to the gymnasium that doubles as a chapel and auditorium, Chaplain Bernita A. Earle attends to the spiritual and other needs of 400 women inmates. Her working day typically starts with the opening of her mail, which often contains requests from inmates for personal items. The ladies who do not have money or families to support them submit requests for such items as deodorants, lotions, and shampoos. Since the State does not provide such items for inmates, Chaplain Earle contacts churches and community organizations for the donation of such items. As chaplain, she is responsible for coordinating the volunteer efforts of approximately 25 organizations that present special religious programs for the inmates. In developing therapeutic relationships with individual inmates, Earle keeps all conversations confidential. They do not become part of the inmate's records. She views herself as a servant to the inmates and not as a judge. Her aim is to give the inmates a sense that their lives matter to God and that what they have done in the past does not disqualify them from a fulfilling future.