Thank you for your interest in serving as a volunteer with the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction. Volunteers can make a significant difference in the lives of people in custody.

As a voice for positive change, you can support correctional residents in their rehabilitation efforts. And if they’re eligible for release eventually, you can inspire them to prepare for successful reentry.

Volunteers assist NCDAC staff with a variety of services inside and outside our facilities. Most volunteers assist with programs. These can be religious, educational, vocational or even behavioral. In general, what we ask our volunteers to do is to act as a positive role model and a voice of encouragement. Much of that will occur as you support existing rehabilitative programs, corporate worship or faith-based activities, or other facility needs.  

We welcome you to contact the facility where you are interested in volunteering. You can also contact NCDAC’s Chaplaincy, Prison Programs or Rehabilitation and Reentry offices with any questions about specific volunteer opportunities.

Volunteering at NCDAC

Learn about how you can be a volunteer in a NCDAC prison facility (15 mins.)

What NCDAC Volunteers Do

The list below is not exhaustive, but the activities are typical.

  • Serving as a member of the prison’s Community Resource Council.
  • Assisting with religious activities.
  • Tutoring or conducting classes.
  • Participating with an organized group already active at the facility, such as a prison ministry or Alcoholics Anonymous.
  • Performing office activities, freeing staff for more direct work with residents.
  • Organizing or officiating games.
  • Leading arts and crafts; coordinating entertainment events.
  • Working in the facility’s library.
  • Assisting offenders who are preparing for release and reentry —from helping find housing to coaching life and work skills.
  • Outside the facility, providing transportation to employment or for family to visit.
  • Sponsoring an eligible offender for Community Leave or Transitional/Reentry activities, taking them to approved activities in the community.

Volunteer eligibility

You must be 21 or older and have active state-issued identification, such as a driver’s license.

You should expect to undergo a criminal background check. If you have previously been convicted of a crime, in many cases you can still serve as a volunteer. In fact, your experiences on the inside and outside will be valuable and welcome. You must have completed your sentence, including community supervision, at least one year prior to volunteering and received no new criminal charges during that time. 

We cannot accept as a volunteer anyone convicted of a sex offense, or who is required to register as a sex offender or as a sexually violent predator in North Carolina or any other state.

NCDAC also restricts who can volunteer to work directly with people in custody who participate in outside-the-facility programs such as Community Leave or Transition & Reentry activities. Male volunteers cannot sponsor female offenders outside the prison, and female volunteers cannot sponsor male offenders in community programs.

To become a Community Leave sponsor or a Transitional & Reentry volunteer, you must volunteer inside the prison at least once a week for one month. Volunteering in the capacity of a Community Leave sponsor or a Transitional & Reentry volunteer requires you to request and receive approval. Reach out to the facility Community Volunteer Coordinator with questions.

NCDAC employees, former employees and their families can serve as volunteers, but there are restrictions. They cannot volunteer in the facility where the employee works. They also cannot sponsor an offender for Community Leave. Disciplinary and investigatory exclusions would also apply. An employee’s chain of command must be notified of volunteer service in another NCDAC facility.

We are grateful for what volunteers do on behalf of our offenders. But our primary responsibility is to maintain safety and security. If you behave in a way that jeopardizes secure operations, or if you misrepresent yourself or your prior or existing relations with a person in custody at the facility where you volunteer, then we may suspend or permanently ban you as a volunteer. Depending on the action, we may also involve law enforcement and prosecute.

No Personal Relationships

NCDAC cannot permit anyone to volunteer inside a facility where they have a personal relationship with someone in custody. 

That means a volunteer can’t be family, nor can they have had an intimate, romantic or other close relationship with a resident of that facility before their incarceration.

A volunteer cannot be on the visitor list of anyone in the facility where they volunteer, nor can they be the clergy of record for anyone there.

A volunteer also cannot be in communication with a resident of the facility where they volunteer — whether that’s by mail, telephone or tablet. 

The first step in becoming a volunteer is to apply, using the link on this page.

If you wish to serve as a religious volunteer, please first contact the faith organization with which you wish to volunteer.  After completing that organization's application process and training, you may complete the NCDAC volunteer application.

Apply to be a prison volunteer

This form serves as the official application for all volunteering across NCDAC Institutions.

Applying to Volunteer

Have the folowing documents and information within reach as you apply:

  • Street address and mailing address
  • Phone number
  • Email address 
  • Your full Social Security number and active driver’s license or other state-issued ID
  • The facility or facilities at which you would like to volunteer
  • And the types of volunteer service you would like to provide.

If you are interested in volunteering in a specific religious capacity, you’ll need to provide:

  • Your religious or faith affiliation.
  • The faith organization with which you wish to volunteer.
  • The type of service or activity you wish to provide.

New Program?

If you wish to propose a new program that is not already approved and operating at an NCDAC facility, our volunteer application is not the place for that. Proposals for new volunteer-based programs may be submitted here.  

Volunteer Training

If you are approved, you must complete volunteer training before you will be allowed to take part in volunteer activities. Some training may be in separate sessions, and some may be taken online. 
Facility training will cover:

  • What to expect inside correctional facilities
  • Sexual assault and harassment, and the Prison Rape Elimination Act (also known as PREA)
  • Safety, security and emergency procedures.


At your initial volunteer session, you will also be issued an NCDAC volunteer ID card — blue for inside the facility. (If approved later, you will be issued a salmon-colored volunteer ID for events in the community.)
Prior to entering a facility, you must also know and follow:

  • NCDAC tobacco policy — It’s not allowed in our facilities, and it’s a felony to provide tobacco to an offender.
  • Confidentiality requirements — Do not share information about people in custody with friends, relatives or on social media.
  • Your duty to report illegal, unsafe or non-secure incidents.
     

Entering & Exiting

You should also know what to expect when entering and exiting an NCDAC facility.

You will be searched every time you enter. This applies to everyone — staff and visitors. You will be patted down by hand. Female visitors will be patted down by a female staff member.

Everyone must pass through a metal detector in the gatehouse. You will empty your pockets first. If possible, leave all metal behind. This includes jewelry. Belts and shoes can trigger the metal detector. Sometimes, even hair extensions and the underwire in ladies’ garments are detected.

To avoid removing clothing items to pass through the metal detector, please be mindful as you dress for your volunteer visit.

If you have surgical metal sunch as plates, screws or artificial joints, please bring medical documentation of your implant.

Each time you enter the facility, you must present your volunteer ID card (blue for inside the facility) and your valid driver’s license or other valid state-issued ID.

You will sign in upon entering and sign out upon exiting.

We strongly advise that you bring nothing inside the facility except your driver’s license, your volunteer ID card (when issued), and your car keys.

Dress Code

Please read and follow the policy for appropriate attire.

  • Don’t wear see-through or sheer clothing.
  • Please don’t allow underclothing to show.
  • If you wear leggings, cover them with a long top or skirt.
  • Avoid spaghetti-strap tops.
  • Shoes must have closed toes
  • Skirts and dresses must reach the knees, and slits cannot extend above the knees. 
  • Jeans or other items cannot have rips, tears or holes.
  • Words or images on clothing cannot be obscene, nor can they refer to criminal acts, illegal drugs or gangs.

Please pay careful attention to what you’re wearing. Don’t be turned away at the gatehouse or forced to change clothes.

Contraband

You also need to be aware of and follow NCDAC contraband policy. Drugs, alcohol and tobacco are prohibited. We will prosecute attempts to introduce these into a prison. Leave behind your cellphones, smartwatches, smart glasses, laptops, tablets, or any other electronic communications device.

Do not bring anything to give offenders — including personal items or publications. If you want to bring in materials for programs, be sure to have them approved beforehand.

Volunteer Best Practices

Inside the facility, there are best practices we advise you to follow that will make your volunteer experience much better for everyone — you, staff and the facility residents.

First, avoid undue familiarity with people in custody:

  • Don’t give or accept any gifts or tokens.
  • Don’t share details of your personal life.
  • Don’t touch them or allow them to touch you. Brief handshakes are acceptable, but no hugs.
  • Don’t pass messages to or from a resident. This includes messages to or from their family.
  • Don’t correspond directly with someone in custody, either by telephone, tablet texting or mail. This is prohibited by policy.
  • Don’tdiscuss one resident’s circumstances with another.
  • Don’task a resident about their crime or become involved in their case.
  • Don’t offer money or other financial resources to someone in custody, nor to their family.
  • Don’t offer to visit a resident’s home and family.
  • Don’t give personal items, including Bibles or other publications.
  • Don’t criticize or be led into controversial discussions about prison conditions, policies, or individual staff members.
  • Don’t (for any reason) provide your home address, telephone number, or other vital information. 

It is to your benefit to read and follow these additional best practices — our Do’s and Don’ts for volunteers.

  • Do be an example of truth, hope, honesty, and optimism.
  • Don’t accept a resident’s version of a story at face value. Even if substantially true, it may not be the whole truth.
  • Do realize that you have limitations as to how much help, support, and counsel you can provide. You do not want to get pulled into a situation you cannot control or be subject to undue familiarity. 
  • Don’t be shocked at what you hear. If you are shocked, don’t show it.
  • Do remember that you are helping people in prison. Accept them where they are in life, as they will not always be where they are now.
  • Don’t make promises, especially those you can’t keep.
  • Do allow someone in custody to claim ownership of their problems.
  • Don’t dress inappropriately or provocatively — remember where you are. But do be prepared to handle flirting or romantic and sexual advances.
  • Do be a benefit to the facility and to offenders through your actions — more than by your education or your calling.
  • Don’t share your personal or work problems.
  • Do be extremely careful with information provided by a resident “in confidence.” Remember: When in doubt, report it.
  • Don’t air your complaints or concerns regarding prison staff or administration. Address those directly to an appropriate staff member.
  • Do remember to bring a valid photo ID and your volunteer blue card when entering.
  • Don’t criticize any religion, race, country, sexual orientation or anyone’s transgender status — no matter what your personal feelings are.
  • Do choose your words carefully. Some of your everyday language may be offensive.
  • Don’t offer to visit an a resident housed elsewhere in the facility. As a volunteer, you are prohibited by policy from visiting anyone in the facility where you volunteer.
  • Do call the institution if your group cannot meet at a scheduled time.

Is volunteering for you?

Thank you again for considering being a correctional volunteer. We appreciate all that our volunteers do to help our residents rehabilitate themselves and to prepare for their eventual reentry into the community.

Off