Pre-Election Model Letter

This or something more personal should be sent to both:

Your Senator's Name & Address:  Click to find

Your Representative's Name Address:  Click to find

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Dear Honorable ________________:

I would like you to support Professional Chaplains within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), the Texas Youth Commission (TYC) and MHMR.  Chaplains make a substantial contribution and deserve compensation on par with other professionals.  Take care of our own and support Parity and Professional Equity for Texas’ own Chaplains.

Texas Chaplains have not been significantly reclassified in 40 years.  What does that mean?  It means that a 19-20 year old with a HS/GED and 1 year experience can enter TDCJ as a Programmer II at the same pay group as a Senior Chaplain with three degrees, 1,600 hours clinical, 5-15 years of TDCJ experience and decades of experience in ministry prior to that.  Even our under-paid teachers with bachelors degrees have a career ladder that far exceeds Chaplains with masters degrees and extraordinary experience.

Documented research has indicated time after time that religion reduces prison health care costs as well as contributes to the inmate’s general adaptation and to the reduction of recidivism.  No other department facilitates more cost savings to Texas.

With the above savings,  add the huge number of religious volunteers that chaplains supervise which contributes even  more monetary savings to Texas.  There is no way to measure all the effects of a full time Chaplaincy to so many mission critical and money saving aspects of TDCJ.  The savings are far beyond what TDCJ expends on chaplaincy.  Such monetary savings alone call for Parity for Chaplains, but that is  not all.

Most Important of all, the world has valued "Religion" for 10,000 years of recorded human history.  Religion has been and is the most powerful force for change in human character in history.  Who does not know this?  There is not even a close second. 

We need to empower Texas’ own Chaplains to more fully develop their profession.  Please help bring Parity for Chaplains and the Chaplaincy Profession.  This is the only way to more fully access the power of religion and religious education. 

I ask you to please support Parity and Professional Equity for Texas’ own Chaplains.

Sincerely yours, 
Sign your name and place your addressn

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Please Help the Cause of Professional Chaplaincy