(730 ILCS 220/5)

(This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a delayed effective date)

Sec. 5. Findings and declaration of policy.

(a) The General Assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares the following that:

(1) Chaplains play a key role in helping persons committed to correctional institutions and facilities transform their understanding of responsibility, choices, and possibilities and that behavior only changes when hearts change.

(2) Without a spiritual-based transformation there is little hope for sincere, lasting change in any of us. Without a faith-based after-care living situation an ex-offender has little chance of succeeding on the street.

(3) That the chaplain's personal contact is crucial. A chaplain ministers through relationship. Being accepting, nonjudgmental, and working toward self-esteem issues is important.

(4) According to a Pew Research Center 2012 Study, Religion in Prisons, 50 state survey of Prison Chaplains, about 71% of chaplains identify as Protestants, 13% as Catholics, 7% as Muslims, and the remainder identify with other religions, including Judaism and Native American spirituality. A plurality of the chaplains 44% consider their faith to be part of the evangelical Protestant tradition while 15% come from a mainline Protestant tradition and 7% are from a historically black Protestant tradition.

(5) A Pew Forum survey ranked the top 3 activities of chaplains that are most important, personally leading worship services, religious instruction sessions, or spiritual counseling sessions. About 75% of the chaplains surveyed consider this to be among their most important functions, including 57% who ranked it as their number one priority.

(6) The Pew Forum survey found that most prison chaplains say there are too few religious volunteers to meet the needs of all inmates. About 69% of prison chaplains surveyed say there are some religious groups for which there are too few volunteers in the prisons where they work.

(7) A 2020 Audit of federal prisons found that the Federal Bureau of Prisons chaplaincy services departments are not staffed according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons guidelines at many institutions. The Federal Bureau of Prisons current policy states that, at a minimum, each chaplaincy services department should be staffed with at least one chaplain and one religious services assistant. This standard translates to a minimum need for 122 chaplains and 122 religious services assistants throughout the Federal Bureau of Prisons. However, as of March 2020, nearly half of the Federal Bureau of Prisons institutions had no religious services assistant, 3 institutions had no chaplain at all, 21 institutions employed a single chaplain, and 2 institutions had only recently filled their only chaplain position after long vacancies. In addition to the minimum staffing level, Federal Bureau of Prisons guidelines also suggest that institutions supplement the minimum requirement with additional chaplains based on inmate population (one chaplain per 500 inmates) and specific characteristics of the institution, such as being a major medical center, having 2 or more satellite facilities, or the inclusion of a special unit, each of which should have one additional chaplain. Therefore, the Federal Bureau of Prisons' chaplaincy services staffing and supplemental guidelines suggest that a fully staffed chaplaincy would include 357 chaplains and 122 religious services assistants. As of March 2020, the Federal Bureau of Prisons' chaplaincy staff included only 236 chaplains and 64 religious services assistants, which is approximately 30% below what the Federal Bureau of Prisons' guidelines consider to be a fully staffed chaplaincy for the inmate population. The 2020 audit of federal prisons reports that some Federal Bureau of Prisons institutions were without any chaplaincy staff. During the audit, there was a peak of at least 3 institutions that were without a chaplain. The audit found that critical tasks may not be accomplished, including purchasing and reviewing library materials and conducting certain faith-based programming.

(b) It is the intent of the General Assembly to rectify in this State the deficiencies that occur in prison ministries of other states and the federal prison system by enacting the Faith Behind Bars Act.

(Source: P.A. 103-331, eff. 1-1-24.)