Corrections Facilities Committee

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Corrections Facilities Committee Purpose: The purpose of a correctional facilities committee is to coordinate the work of individual AA members and groups who are interested in carrying our message of recovery to alcoholics behind the walls, and to set up means of smoothing the way from the facility to the larger AA community through pre-release contacts.

Corrections Facilities Committee Guidelines

Service Opportunities:

There are many different opportunities to carry the AA message. Committee Members may be involved in the following:

Cleared Volunteer: Volunteers that have been certified and/or approved to visit facilities. They carry the message (Step 12) by conducting meetings with inmates at correctional facilities.

Special Volunteer: With the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) volunteers are allowed two visits to carry the message at a facility before or during the application process.

AA Liaison: This Volunteer is the coordinator between the Volunteer and the facility.

Correspondence Volunteer: Write and sponsor an inmate. Must have at least 1yr of sobriety and worked the 12 Steps with a Sponsor.

Prerelease Volunteer: Correspond with an inmate and assist the inmate in the transition from incarceration to AA. Must have at least 1yr of sobriety and worked the 12 Steps with a Sponsor.

Committee Project Volunteer: Participating in Corrections Facilities Committee Projects.

Volunteers Carry the Message to the Following Corrections Facilities

Cleared Volunteers carry the message to the following facilities:

Travis County Corrections Complex (TCCC) – Del Valle:  For details on the Volunteer application process, contact the CFC Chair below.  Volunteers are required to have 3yrs of sobriety. After your application and background have been processed and approved, you will be contacted by email to attend orientation/training with the TCCC Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Coordinator.  The SUD Coordinator will be your direct point of contact. There is no AA Liaison Volunteer.    

Meetings are:

    • Tuesdays 
    • Check-in 6:30pm – 6:45pm
    • Start Time 7pm
    • 1 Hour Meetings

Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ)(State Facilities):  Although, TDCJ does not have a minimal sobriety duration requirement, the District ask that you have at least one year of sobriety and have worked the 12 steps with a sponsor.  To apply access https://www.tdcj.texas.gov.  In the center of the webpage “How Do I…?” click on “Become a Volunteer”. Read through the webpage. As you scroll through the page click on “Volunteer Training/Orientation Schedule”. Find a city, date and time that you can attend. At the training/orientation you will complete your application.  After you have been approved, you will be contacted by email.  Once approved, contact the CFC Chair below for information pertaining to the AA Liaison for the following facilities:

Travis State Jail – Austin FM 969:

  • Chaplain Winslow, Volunteer Coordinator
  • Paul M, AA Liaison
  • Meetings (All meetings are 1 ½ hours)
    • Mondays 2:15pm; check-in 1:45pm
    • Mondays (Spanish) 5:30pm; check-in 5pm
    • Tuesdays and Thursdays 6 pm; check-in 5:30pm

Gatesville Facilities:

  • Huntsville Volunteer Services
  • Lois H, AA Liaison
  • Meetings
    • 4th Saturday of the Month
    • Car Pool from 617 Fellowship at 6am or drive directly
    • Morning rendezvous at Gatesville for all Volunteers before meetings is at Stripes 
    • Morning and Afternoon Meetings are conducted
    • Start Time Varies

Lockhart Correctional Facility:

  • Chaplain Lawson, Volunteer Coordinator
  • No AA Liaison
  • Meetings (All meetings are 1 hour)
    • Saturdays 8:30am; check-in 8:00am

What you are allowed to bring into all facilities:

  • Car Keys
  • Government ID
  • Big Book

Corrections Correspondence

The District does have a Corrections Correspondence Committee.  The Committee will soon implement a District wide program. The Committee is currently reviewing and discussing the following:

  • Sponsorship
  • Webpage Information
  • Corrections Correspondence Workshop Planning
    • Corrections Committee AA Guidelines – Corrections Correspondence Services
    • AA Corrections Correspondence Services
      • Pamphlets
        • F-73 Inside Form
        • F-26 Outside Form
    • AA Videos
      • A New Freedom
      • Carrying the Message Behind These Walls
      • AA in Correctional Facilities
    • Panels
      • Current Correspondence Sponsors
      • Inmates (Sharing From Behind the Walls)
    • Initial Contact Script
    • Announcing the Workshop District Wide
  • PO Box/Confidentiality/Anonymity
  • Online Scanning and Logistics
  • Prerelease Correspondence Program
    • Pamphlets
      • F-162 Outside Form
      • F-163 Inside Form

The Committee’s next meeting is scheduled for 6/14/20 at 1:30 pm, presented on Zoom. Please
contact the CFC Chair if you are interested in participating as a Committee Member.

Corrections Prerelease Program

The District does not currently have a Corrections Prerelease Program.  The Corrections Facilities Committee will soon implement a program once the following is conducted:

Corrections Prerelease Committee is formed

Corrections Prerelease Workshop is conducted

A P.O. Box is in place

Volunteers are needed.  Please contact the CFC Chair if you are interested.

 

Committee Meets:

We meet quarterly in the 12 Step Room, on the 4th Sunday of each month at 1:30 pm at Western Trails, 1800 Fortview Rd, Austin, TX 78704.

Corrections Facilities Committee Meeting Flyer

Committee Chair Contact:

Stanley E. – Stanley E’s e-mail