About Corrections

The Correction Facilities Committee shall be responsible for supplying chairpersons, speakers and literature in order to carry our message of recovery to alcoholics in correctional facilities. The outreach subcommittee chairperson shall deal directly with institution staff and personnel who are responsible for the alcoholic. The chairperson is also responsible to facilitate clearance for members to attend meetings and to ensure compliance with each facility’s policies. The chairperson of this outreach subcommittee is responsible to ensure compliance with the policies of each correctional facility.
The outreach subcommittee shall meet regularly and encourage participation.

GVIS Procedures & Guidelines

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The Intergroup Committee shall consist of members of Alcoholics Anonymous duly elected to represent their respective groups as Intergroup Representatives, sitting members of the Operating Committee, outreach subcommittee chairs and a non-voting recording secretary. The Intergroup Committee provides direction in the management and operation of the affairs of A.A. in the Intergroup service area. The Intergroup service area will be defined by the Intergroup committee. Each member is entitled to one vote.

The purpose of a corrections committee is to coordinate the work of individual A.A. 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 A.A. community through prerelease contacts. A corrections committee may function within the structure of a General Service Conference area committee or an intergroup/central office. As A.A. has grown, it seems that a committee formed within the A.A. service structure works more effectively than an individual member or group.

A.A. Guidelines for Corrections

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A.A. Guidelines are compiled from the shared experience of A.A. members in various service areas. They also reflect guidance given through the Twelve Traditions and the General Service Conference (U.S. and Canada). In keeping with our Tradition of autonomy, except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole, most decisions are made by the group conscience of the members involved. The purpose of these Guidelines is to assist in reaching an informed group conscience.

This Corrections Workbook is designed to help A.A.s who are involved in corrections
work to form effective corrections committees in their areas. If your area already has a
functioning committee, this Workbook may provide new ideas or new ways of implementing old ideas.
The Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous was in its seventh year when a pioneering
warden at San Quentin asked nearby A.A.s to carry the message to alcoholics in the
prison. The year was 1942—the warden was Clinton Duffy. He was heard to say, “If the
A.A. program will help just one man, I want to start it.” Today there are hundreds of A.A.
groups behind the walls, as well as corrections committees serving them.
In 1977, the General Service Conference recommended that the Institutions
Committee be dissolved and two new committees—one dealing with Corrections, and
one with Treatment Facilities—be formed. The 1983 General Service Conference recommended that a Corrections Workbook be developed for carrying the A.A. message
into correctional facilities.

A.A. Corrections Workbook

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This Workbook is service material, reflecting A.A. experience shared at the General Service Office. A.A. workbooks are compiled from the practical experience of A.A. members in the various service areas. They also reflect guidance given through the Twelve Traditions and the General Service Conference (U.S. & Canada).


A.A. in Correctional Facilities

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Carrying the Message into
Correctional Facilities

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A.A. Corrections Prerelease
Contact Information (Outside)

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