Volunteer Overview

 

Who can become a Volunteer?

Any person of good character at least eighteen years of age, and sufficiently mature to handle the responsibilities involved, is eligible to become a volunteer. No individual has an entitlement to selection as a volunteer.

 

The Volunteer and Chaplaincy Services Units recruit, screen, train and monitor the activities of over 2,000 individual volunteers in the Philadelphia Prison System (PPS). The Volunteer Services Unit also places graduate and undergraduate students in field education assignments. The Chaplaincy Services Unit delivers religious-based programs to the inmate population, including worship services for all the major faiths, pastoral counseling, Bible study classes, an aftercare program that seeks to link discharged inmates with houses of worship in the community, and victim-offender reconciliation.

 

Aside from the general eligibility requirements referred to above, a student intern will require a PPS staff person who will supervise the student and meet the requirements of their College or University.

 

Placement is at the discretion of the Volunteer Services or Chaplaincy Services Director. In the case of volunteers who are physically challenged, arrangements will be made to accommodate the volunteer in any way possible in keeping with the safety and security responsibilities of the Philadelphia Prisons System.

 

Ex-offenders may be accepted as volunteers only after they have been released from Prison for six months or more, and subject to the Commissioner's approval. Inmate’s relatives may serve as volunteers provided they are not volunteering to serve in the same facility in which their family member is housed.

 

 

Orientation and Training

All prospective volunteers are required to attend a pre-service training/orientation session before they are admitted to participate in the Volunteer and Chaplaincy Service Programs. Approved applicants will be briefed on all rules and procedures related to their roles as volunteers in accordance with PPS Policy and Procedure. The Volunteer Services and Chaplaincy Services Directors will schedule orientation and training in conjunction with the Chief of Operations of the Training Academy.