SCENARIO #7
Intermittent Requesting Diet Change
You respond to a voicemail message from a female intermittent client. She reports that she has been eating kosher for the past six months, so that she can marry her Jewish fiancé. She had asked to be put on a kosher diet, but was told to speak with the chaplain. The client requests that you put her on a kosher diet.
Citing specific guidelines, describe what you would do in this situation and why.
I pulled up her file on the computer and confirmed that there was a female intermittent by the name given, who had been here over the weekend. I told her that I would only put her on kosher, if I received a letter from her rabbi corroborating her story. I gave her my name and fax number. She promised to get right on this. I am still waiting for the fax.
GUIDELINE #1: THIS IS GOD’S WORK
- 1.1 (Excellence in what you can do) - Not taking the caller at their word, I wanted to be diligent and check out her story (first on her file, and then by fax from an outside source). The cost of kosher meals is such that we need to screen out frauds.
GUIDELINE #3: THE LARGER / OLDER YOUR INSTITUTION, THE LONGER ITS MEMORY
- 3.3.2 (Build your rapport with clients: E.g., do only for a client what they cannot do themselves) – It was up to this woman to arrange for someone to prove who she was. I was more than willing to arrange for her to eat kosher while incarcerated, but not until the client did what she could do. A chaplain must guard their time jealously.