BOP Program Statement 5360.10 § 6

activities within the institution. Institution Chaplains are available upon request to provide

pastoral care and counseling to inmates through group programs and individual services.

Pastoral care and counseling from representatives in the community are available in

accordance with the provisions of §§ 548.14 and 548.19. In order to assess requests for

religious accommodations, the Chaplain may ask requesting inmates for additional

information regarding the religious practice requested.

a. Chaplains as Pastoral Care Providers. The Chaplaincy Services Department is directed by

full-time Bureau Chaplains. All Chaplains are qualified pastoral care providers who have

verifiable religious credentials and current religious endorsements as outlined in Program

Statement Chaplains’ Employment, Responsibilities, and Endorsements. All institution

Chaplains are employed to:

■ Plan, direct, and supervise all aspects of Chapel programming (worship, sacred scripture

studies, and faith-based reentry programming);

■ Have physical access to all areas of the institution to minister to inmates and staff;

■ Lead worship services in their own tradition (e.g., Protestant, Catholic, Muslim, Jewish,

Buddhist, etc.);

■ Provide professional spiritual leadership and pastoral care to inmates and, when appropriate,

to staff;

■ Provide accommodations for inmate practices that are religious in nature when consistent

with the secure and orderly running of the institution;

■ Supervise institutional Chapel activities;

■ Be the subject matter expert on religious matters and advise the Warden and institutional

staff accordingly;

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(1) Special Housing Unit (SHU) Religious Access. Ordinarily, all inmates, except those in

restrictive housing units, have access to regularly scheduled congregate services. Inmates of all

faiths will have regular access to Chaplains. Upon written request, inmates may also have access

to recognized representatives of their faith groups while in SHU. Each Chaplain will provide

pastoral care in SHUs and hospital units weekly. Faith group representatives will always be

escorted in SHU.

Chaplains will provide opportunities for individuals to receive the sacraments, and sacred rituals

while housed in SHU. This includes, but is not limited to, communion and Sabbath prayer items

such as matzo and grape juice. Ordinarily, sacred pipe use will be accommodated in SHU; it will

remain under the direct supervision of the Chaplain.

(2) Telephone Calls. Individual pastoral care includes counseling inmates and/or their families

in personal crisis and family emergency situations. When authorized by the Warden, Chaplains

may approve inmate telephone calls in emergency situations. Under the direction and guidance

of the Chaplain, other staff may monitor telephone calls which have been approved by the

Chaplain.

Each Chapel and SHU will be equipped with an additional telephone which is capable of

recording inmate telephone conversations. A notice in English and Spanish will be placed at the

telephone location to advise the user that all conversations are subject to recording and that using

the telephone constitutes consent. This telephone will be separate from the telephones provided

for staff use.

Calls must not exceed 15 minutes in length. Calls ordinarily will be made to a number on the

inmate’s approved phone list or to a hospital, hospice, or care facility. Inmates on phone

restriction should be cleared through Special Investigative Services (SIS) prior to an emergency

call. For inmates not on phone restriction, the Chaplain will document the reason for the

emergency call and forward to the SIS Department via email.

Chaplains will also maintain a telephone log which includes:

■ The date, telephone number and person called, and relationship to the inmate;

■ Name and register number of the inmate; and

■ A brief reason for the call.

(3) Women and Special Populations Inmates

a) The particular needs of women and special inmate populations may require the contracting of

additional spiritual counselors or advisers.

b) Upon request, religious counseling will be available to pregnant inmates to provide

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support and information during their pregnancy. Additional information may be found in the

Program Statement Female Offender Manual.

(4) Deaths and Serious Illnesses. Each institution will establish local procedures to notify

inmates and/or their families of serious illness or death of either family members or inmates,

respectively. The Chaplain will follow these local procedures and notify inmates or family

members accordingly.

In situations involving emergency notification to inmates, verification of the emergency (i.e.,

serious illness or death) is obtained using BP-A1031, Inmate Emergency Notification Form,

before notifying the inmate. Inmates may request to have a recording of a family member’s

funeral sent into the institution via a BP-A0331, Authorization to Receive Package or Property

form. Upon clearance from the mail room and computer services (if applicable), the Chaplain

will review the recording and coordinate a time for the inmate viewing. After completion of the

viewing, the recording will be sent home at the inmate’s expense or appropriately disposed of.

The Chaplain coordinates religious rituals for an inmate’s serious illness or death. In addition,

the Chaplain may advise the Warden regarding religious factors which may influence decisions

concerning the performance of autopsies on deceased inmates and the proper religious

considerations and disposition of the remains.

b. New or Unfamiliar Religious Components. The Bureau has established a procedure by

which consideration of new or unfamiliar religious components for inmates may be employed.

Field Chaplains should contact the appropriate Chaplaincy Services Coordinators (CSC)

regarding new or unfamiliar inmate religious requests for modifications to Chapel programs. The

CSC can help determine whether the administrative remedy or the BP-A0822, New or

Unfamiliar Religious Components Questionnaire is more appropriate for the religious issue(s)

presented.

(1) Requests. Inmates must submit a form BP-A0822, New or Unfamiliar Religious

Components Questionnaire, along with relevant supporting documentation, to the institution

Chaplain. This form must contain as much information as possible regarding the religious

accommodation being requested. The Chaplain may ask the inmate to provide additional

information to support his/her request.

(2) Religious Issues Committee (RIC). The Chaplain will convene a local RIC to review each

request for a new or unfamiliar religious practice. Members of the RIC will include other

Chaplaincy Services staff, Legal Services, Correctional Services, and any other discipline that

may be involved in the religious request and accommodation. Local RIC recommendations are

made in consultation with the CSC and documented via memo to the Warden with copies sent to

the CSC and the Assistant Chaplaincy Administrator (ACA).

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When a recommendation cannot be made locally, a memo requesting Central Office RIC review

will be generated to the Assistant Director, Reentry Services Division (RSD) through the

Warden, the CSC, and the Regional Director. The Assistant Director, RSD, then directs the

Central Office RIC convene.

The Central Office RIC will meet as necessary and maintain records of its recommendations.

Upon completing the review, the Central Office RIC will make recommendations to the Warden

regarding the least restrictive means to accommodate the inmate’s request.

(3) Implementation of the RIC Recommendation. The Warden has the discretion to expand or

change religious programming at the institution based on the security and orderly running of the

institution. The Warden will determine the local disposition of the request after the institution

receives the Central Office RIC recommendations.