The New Volunteerism Project

The Archival Collection of
Ivan Henry Scheier

GUIDELINES AND STANDARDS 
FOR THE USE OF VOLUNTEERS IN 
CORRECTIONAL PROGRAMS
@ -- permission for use-with-acknowledgment

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The project staff is deeply indebted to June Morrison, Ph. D. for her major role in the design and development of the survey and in the computer analyzation of the survey results.

The Project staff also wishes to acknowledge with appreciation the assistance of the following people in preparation of this book: Mr. Richard Bourke for editorial assistance; Mrs. Ruth Wedden for consultative contribution; and in the typing and re-typing of the manuscript, Kathy Kimberlin, Dee Weese, and Sigrid Strecker.

PREFACE

Volunteers today constitute a significant work force in the criminal justice tem, as individuals and in groups. At present estimates, the citizen volunteer outnumbers paid workers in the system four or five to one. Exclusive of law enforcement agencies, and above the misdemeanant court level, approximately 7070 of criminal justice agencies have some sort of volunteer programs.

But many of these are token programs, and even where they are not, sheer massiveness of citizen involvement is not necessarily a benefit. Poorly managed program can lead only to mistakes on a massive scale, rather than the positive impact originally intended.

Recognizing the importance of proper volunteer program management, the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration contracted with the National Information Center, In October, 1970, for an 18-month project to prepare guidelines for the development and operation of volunteer programs throughout the correctional spectrum, juvenile and adult, in both open and closed settings.

This report is the product of that project. It was keyed primarily to a national survey of existing volunteer programs in courts and corrections. It is intended for the planners and leadership of these programs, professionals in corrections, judges, directors of volunteer programs.

The national survey results, discussed in Section 1, clearly justified LEAA's concern for the development of program management guidelines and standards. Thus, the best obtainable statistics indicated a yearly volunteer turnover rate of 509'o. Moreover, when agencies with volunteer programs were asked if their volunteer program could be improved in any significant way, only 3 of 238 respondents said "no".

The survey also provided systematic background on the priorities for guide-line information, as perceived by people in the field.

This report is closely geared to these expressed priorities. It also reflects analysis of existing reference works in the volunteer program management area. There are many of these, but they are sometimes difficult of access, and not always well-organized under one or a few covers. Moreover, the rapidly developing field of volunteer program administration consigned many of these publications to obsolescence, though only a few years old.

The above considerations led to the following emphases and strategies in this book:

1. Relative emphasis on -current informational needs in the field as reported in the survey instrument.

2. These topics are gathered all under one cover, and organized for ready reference by the user. The book is designed so that it can be read through chronologically in logical sequence. However, the various topic chapters can also stand by themselves for readers who are confident of their knowledge in some areas but not in others.

3. The guidelines are as succinct as possible, condensing and updating previous knowledge, for the user who does not wish to spend six months reading before beginning actual operations. However, where the reader wishes to delve further in any particular area, he will find references to other, more detailed works, providing only that they are (a) reasonably easy to obtain and (b) not substantially obsolescent.

4. The book is divided into four major sections.

I.   A report and analysis of a national survey of volunteer programs in the criminal justice system, .to establish the extent and nature of the need for guidelines.

II.   General principles and guidelines for program development and management, regardless of type of program.

III.   A selection of a range of model programs, relatively well-tested in field experience, which the user may consider adapting to his own local needs, objectives and conditions.

IV. A Resource Section, describing where further assistance may be obtained in the implementation of effective programs. '

Throughout, this is intended as a practical field guide for planning and leader- ship of volunteer programs in court or correctional settings. Theory can be found elsewhere, but good practice is urgently needed now.

Ivan H. Scheier, Ph.D.
Project Director
June, 1972

 

GUIDELINES AND STANDARDS FOR THE USE OF VOLUNTEERS IN CORRECTIONAL PROGRAMS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIV, SACRAMENTO, CA

UNIV OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY, CA

UNIV OF DAYTON, OH

DELAWARE TECH & COMMUN COL, WILMINGTON , DE

DALHOUSIE UNIV LAW SCH LIBR, NS

PALM BEACH COMMUN COL , FL

SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN LIBR COOP, MI

UNIV OF MASSACHUSETTS LOWELL, S CAM , MA

UNIV OF TOLEDO, COL OF LAW, OH

FINGER LAKES LIBR SYST , NY

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Ivan Scheier
Stillpoint
607 Marr
Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, 87901
Tel (505) 894-1340
Email: ivan@zianet.com

For comments and editing suggestions please contact Mary Lou McNatt mlmcnatt@indra.com