Georgia DOC Lays Off Chaplains
The Georgia Department of Corrections furloughed a third of its prison chaplains last month because of the state budget crunch. It also eliminated five unfilled positions.
Discussions about reducing the number of chaplains began last summer, and the department released 16 part-timers at the beginning of January. That leaves 30 chaplains — 18 full-time and 12 part-time — to counsel and provide services for 55,000 inmates and prison employees in 33 prisons. Not every prison has its own chaplain as some travel to various prisons. Volunteers from various religious groups help them …
Protestant Christians made up 61 percent of inmates admitted in 2008, according to the Department of Corrections. Those claiming no religion were 18 percent, Catholic Christians were about 4 percent, Muslims about 2 percent. There was a smattering of other faiths, such as Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Buddhists.