Volunteer Policy Statement

Overview:

The Department of Corrections (The Department) is committed to developing and maintaining a strong and progressive volunteer policy as part of the goal of meeting the rehabilitative and reintegrative needs of prisoners and supporting the key outcome of reducing reoffending. In practice, this commitment extends to supporting and valuing the role of community volunteers, capacity building and working in partnership with volunteer groups and organisations to meet prisoner needs.

Our policy:

The Department recognises that the existence of a diverse and energetic pool of volunteers brings a community perspective to its services and contributes towards helping offenders to positively return to the community. The Department therefore endorses the following policy on prison volunteering:

Vision

The Department’s vision is one of a professionalised prison volunteering service, built on the principles of community participation, diversity, self-improvement and value-added services.

Recognition

The Department recognises that:

• Volunteering activity is an essential part of the prison environment
• Volunteers come from many different social, cultural and ethnic backgrounds
• Volunteers may prefer to work through a voluntary organisation or independently; as part of a team or as an individual
• Volunteers are valued and respected members of the wider community, working in partnership with, but not ‘owned’ by, the Department
• There are different cultural ‘worldviews’ of the terms ‘volunteer’ and ‘volunteering’ and that these differences should be respected and valued
• Volunteers should not replace paid staff

Commitments

To support its vision, the Department is committed to:

• Ensuring the prison volunteering experience is a safe and rewarding one
• Reducing barriers to volunteering by putting in place streamlined and consistent processes
• Recognising the importance of volunteers by putting in place professional and unambiguous procedures
• Valuing and celebrating the contribution of volunteers
• Consulting with volunteers and their organisations on policy and operational matters that impact on volunteering
• Communicating regularly with volunteers and their organisations, to share information, encourage feedback and champion the sharing of ‘best practice’
• Working closely with the Prison Chaplaincy Service of Aotearoa New Zealand (PCSANZ) to provide a link between the Department and the faith community
• Capacity building in line with prisoner need
• Increasing and promoting the understanding of prison volunteering in the wider community

Prison volunteers – a definition:

For the purposes of the volunteer policy, a volunteer means a person who seeks to engage in specified, unpaid activities (voluntary work) within Prison Services for the benefit of prisoners, their whānau and the wider community.

The volunteer policy excludes Kaiwhakamana (Māori cultural visitors), Fautua Pasefika (Pacific Island cultural visitors) and those volunteers who wish to provide random or one-off services or activities, such as an annual concert.

The volunteer policy is specifically designed for volunteers who wish to offer their services in a regular and on-going capacity and become a Volunteer: Specified Visitor (an ‘approved volunteer’) in terms of the Corrections Act 2004 and Regulations 2005.

'One-off' volunteers:

Volunteers or volunteer groups who wish to enter a prison for a random or one-off service or activity, (such as a concert or drama production) should contact the appropriate Prison Manager.

Government Policy on Volunteering:

A Government Policy on Volunteering was endorsed by Cabinet in 2002. The Government’s vision, embedded in the policy, is 'A society with a high level of volunteering, where the contributions people make to the common good through volunteering and cultural obligations, are actively supported and valued.'

The Department shares this vision and is fully committed to putting the Government Policy on Volunteering into practice.