Summary

This position provides spiritual and pastoral care to all detainees and also facilitates their opportunity to pursue their individual religious beliefs and practices in accordance with current law, federal regulations, and the CBDC Standards.

The Religious Services Coordinator provides religious worship, education, counseling, spiritual direction, support and crisis intervention to accommodate the diverse religious and spiritual needs of all detainees.

In addition, it is the facility’s subject matter expert concerning religious practices.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

• In emergency notifications, helping to bring resolution to crisis situations involving detainees, staff, or their families, responding to identified needs of detainees, being an advocate for the religious rights of detainees and administering all requests for Religious Beliefs.
• Provides regular and person religious leadership at worship and prayer gatherings, establishing working relationships with local clergy and coordinating their contributions to the facility's religious program, providing assistance to such clergy in the understanding of detainee related problems, overseeing all religious services and meetings and overseeing the fair and equitable management of all resources.
• Provides program administration by supporting policies and needs of the institution, attending regular facility staff meetings and facility events assisting the facility’s compliance team in documenting ongoing compliance with the religious practices component of the facility and collaborating with all departments for ongoing socialization of detainees.
• Provides institutional coordination by being a ready resource for information to staff, communicating clearly and in a timely way for information or requests, providing training programs and materials for staff in new and / or unfamiliar issues of detainee religious beliefs and practices, providing appropriate training for staff (both lay and clergy volunteers) concerning cultural, social, and religious diversity and an awareness and sensitivity to differences of all faiths represented by the inmate population and representing the facility’s Religious Services Program in appropriate public forums.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Minimum Requirements

• Is an ordained clergy or member of ecclesiastically recognized religious institutes. In lieu of professional ordination credentials, adequate documentation of the applicants' recognized religious and ministerial roles in their respective faith communities is required.
• A complete and thorough knowledge of all recognized religions as well as their basic tenets and worship requirements.
• Knowledge of basic security procedures in a detention setting and the skill to implement / maintain these procedures within the religious program.
• Knowledge of existing facility’s, relevant Policy and Procedure Standards of the American Correctional Association, and other guidelines that govern religious programming.
• Skill in implementing and monitoring compliance with policy directives / guidelines.
• Skill in interpersonal communication with staff, detainees, and volunteers within the facility setting as well as outside agencies and organizations.
• Knowledge of fiscal management procedures.
• Demonstrated management ability to provide a religious services program that ensures fairly and equitable services for all religious.
• Skill in interviewing and counseling (individual / group).
• Ability to work with computers and the necessary software typically used by the department.

GEO Secured Services

Last updated : 2024-04-23