FAITHFUL OBSERVATIONS: Jail ministry

The county has just expanded the jail to take care of the growth of inmates and this is an issue that affects families, taxes, resources and a concern about a revolving door of repeat offenders, along with a regular flood of new inmates. This is the first of a series of columns about jail ministry in Kootenai County and in talking to those involved, my eyes have been opened to the problem. We would all concur that doing time in jail or prison is the natural consequence for an offense, but it is also a chance to turn a life around.

The first person I interviewed was our jail chaplain, Rick Kahlbau, who has only been in this position for the past three months, when he replaced Larry Green, who had held that position for many years and recently passed away this year. Here is the conversation I had with Rick:

Rick, you are new to this position but I understand not new to this type of ministry?

That’s correct, I have been serving as a volunteer Kootenai County chaplain for six years both at the jail, and as a patrol chaplain. As a patrol chaplain your focus is to directly support deputies and their families from the stress challenges but also indirectly support them by being willing to take the responsibility to make death notifications to family members of those who have died in Kootenai County from natural causes, to those who have died by law breakers. However, as a jail chaplain, we directly serve inmates how to make choices so they will never return to jail, by counseling, teaching, encouraging and instructing them to make better, healthier and wise choices and lifestyles. However, we also indirectly support jail deputies with the daily stress, frustration and challenges they face as well.

Your title also includes being the “program director” what does this entail in a jail?

First, you have to understand this is a jail — not a prison. Typically we have people incarcerated for less than a year because they are waiting to go to trial, they typically have not been convicted of a crime, therefore, our programs are short-term. We have some classes and studies, however, programs like GED or 12-step programs or similar assistance programs are typically not productive because inmates do not spend the time in jail to complete these types of curriculum or classes. We try to counsel prisoners and give them direction with the over 25 volunteer chaplains who have made this commitment.

We are presently working to develop a website with resources available to those being released. My hope is for churches or groups to offer GED classes, preparing resumes, parenting classes, mentoring groups and many other assistance-based programs to help these inmates make better choices and obtain good mentors, to help them make better choices for their lives. I have been able to refer inmates to programs such as the Union Gospel Mission for women, St. Vincent de Paul, Samaritan ministries, 24/7 and other community resources that we can plug people into.

What is the process when an inmate is released from jail?

I am glad you asked that question! This is the most important step and something everyone can be a part of, which will be the most help. First, let us suppose a young man is arrested in August downtown, perhaps for drunk and disorderly and fighting and ends up being booked at 2:30 in the morning and is dressed in his T-shirt, shorts and sandals. If he ended up spending six months in jail but then was released, for any number of reasons, he is released on the hour at 2:30 in the morning, except now it is January and 10 above zero! Where does he go if there is no one to meet him? We are moving forward with helping to supply clothing and basic necessities, along with the help of the probation department. Our county has some halfway houses operated by ministries that are doing a yeoman’s work in trying to change the lives of released inmates. While the county’s position for my role is to not have repeat offenders, the heart of the chaplain program is to see the hearts and lives of inmates be totally turned around. This can only be accomplished if we don’t give up when they leave the jail.

After this conversation we will do some columns on the ministries of these halfway homes! We read about all the problems of addiction, homelessness, rising numbers of inmates but Rick what is the ultimate answer?

I can tell you that if we go to the root cause, it is most often the family. Most of the people we see come from broken homes, no father or certainly not a “biological father” in the home. We know the results of kids coming from these environments — higher drug use, lower self-esteem, poor academic achievement and higher suicide rate and of course much higher chance of being incarcerated.

We try to change the person from the inside out — to give them hope and direction and our chaplains lead them in Bible studies and mentoring after they are released. Within the new addition to the jail, we are expanding from four meeting rooms to seven or eight, which will give us more space to meet with inmates.

What are the needs you have that people reading this column can provide?

My hope and prayer is believers will be willing to stand in the gap when these inmates are released to mentor them and help teach them productive lifestyle choices. If someone has an interest in being part of helping the great need within our county, they can call me and talk about how we can join together to make a difference in the lives of these inmates. We would welcome your prayers for people that are broken and need our help and God’s power for a new direction in their lives, but also pray for those in the law enforcement community and first responders. These folks go through a lot of stress and challenges that is almost impossible to understand unless you have been in the trenches with them.

Chaplain Kahlbau, my wife, Jane, and I have learned so much through these interviews and we thank you for what you are doing. One last question, if someone wants to contact you regarding how to help, how should that be done?

They can email me at rkahlbau@kcgov.us or call at 208-446-2221.