The faith factor has been identified as both a significant variable in positive inmate adjustment and a potential remedy for recidivism. At the same time, very little has been written about the primary facilitator of religious services inside our nation’s jails and prisons—the chaplain. In Correctional Chaplains: Keepers of the Cloak, Dr. Thomas Beckner has provided a comprehensive perspective of this vital profession. This book will familiarize the reader with the work of chaplaincy in contemporary correctional settings and offer a functional model that incorporates a wide range of job roles within an enduring paradigm and suggest a template for ministry within any correctional setting. 

Dr. W. Thomas Beckner is a recognized authority on correctional chaplaincy, having served in a variety of roles in the criminal justice arena over the past 35 years. He has served in jail and prison chaplaincy, non-profit prison ministry, chaplaincy placement & supervision, and as a consultant to several state and county agencies.  Dr. Beckner has pioneered educational programming for correctional ministries—for community-based non-profit organizations as well as college certificate programs—and has been both a department head and graduate coordinator for criminal justice degree programs at two universities.

The mass incarceration of women in American society has risen dramatically to 2018 estimates of 99,000 women living in state prisons, 89,000 women in local jails, and more than one million women are on probation or parole. Abuse and trauma, health problems, parenthood, and poverty add to the “collateral consequences” of incarceration when these women look for work, housing, and financial support after release. The purpose of this text is to give voice to the experiences of these women and improve important ministry outcomes for those faithfully working on their behalf. It is also a call to action for God’s people to demonstrate mercy and justice for justice-involved women. The authors merged interviews, surveys, and site visits with over 550 individuals in 38 states to gain this perspective.  

Those who serve these women, as well as those who are interested in getting started in female justice initiatives, will learn the:

• personal and economic impact of female incarceration • process of incarceration from arrest to release
• profile of justice-involved women • patterns of socialization in correctional facilities • problems of reentry and recidivism
• psychological and spiritual healing that leads to change • practices of effective ministry programs

Dr. Lynn O. Cooper is Professor Emerita of Communications at Wheaton College, applying social science research in group dynamics and social influence. Dr. Karen K. Swanson is Director of the Correctional Ministries Institute, Wheaton College Billy Graham Center. She develops and teaches specialized training in correctional ministries for professional and volunteers.