Staff Chaplain Daniel K. Coffey, M.Div., BA, CDC
The Department Staff Chaplain serves as the primary chaplain for the Indiana State Police, leads the efforts of the District Volunteer Police Chaplains, coordinates the Critical Incident Stress Management Team, and manages the Employee Assistance Program. The Department Staff Chaplain is a member of the Superintendent's Staff.
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Volunteer Police Chaplains
Indiana State Police Volunteer Police Chaplains provide emotional and spiritual support and assistance to ISP personnel, their immediate family members, and to members of the public who are victims of crime or accident. Police chaplains ride along with officers on patrol, interact with ISP personnel, respond to critical incidents or disasters, and are generally available to assist with a wide range of possible crisis interventions. This is primarily intended to mitigate the negative effects of stress among the department personnel and their families. Secondly, this helps to compassionately resolve distressing situations, oftentimes involving members of the community. Thirdly, clergy appointed as chaplains may serve the pluralistic religious needs of the department personnel, their families, or victims of crime or accident, when invited and appropriate.
ISP chaplains are civilian members of the Department and are not responsible to enforce any laws. Currently, there are approximately 50 volunteer police chaplains serving in the program. You may verify the authenticity of Indiana State Police chaplains by requesting to see their Indiana State Police chaplain identification. If you have any concerns about the identity of a suspicious person possibly posing as a chaplain, you are encouraged to request a police officer from any agency, especially ISP, to assist in verifying his or her authenticity. The Indiana State Police chaplain program does not actively solicit financial donations.
For many years prior to 1975, clergy from various communities across the state supported ISP personnel informally through ride-along and crisis interventions. This led the Indiana State Police to follow the example of other police agencies across the country and officially initiate its own chaplain program that year.
Critical Incident Stress Management Team
The Indiana State Police Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Team is a peer support style program that follows the Mitchell / ICISF CISM model. The Indiana State Police CISM Team is designed to assist emergency responders who are exposed to critical incidents to identify and cope with their personal reactions to these stressors. Although CISM is not considered psychotherapy, the focus of CISM is to provide practical “psychological first aid” in an effort to mitigate the negative effects of job stress, particularly in crisis or emergency situations. Critical Incident Stress Management includes pre-incident training and post-incident services. Depending on the dynamics of the respective situation, CISM can be provided on scene and as a follow-up to the response. In an effort to support other first response agencies through mutual aid, the Indiana State Police CISM Team provides services to other emergency response agencies which request CISM assistance.
A critical incident is an event that is generally considered extremely unusual in the range of ordinary human experiences. It can be defined as an occurrence with sufficient impact to produce significant emotional reactions now or later. Essentially it is any profound incident that is emotionally compelling or draws excessive media interest. Please click the following link for helpful information on ways to respond to critical incident stress:
The Indiana State Police CISM Team is comprised of 42 team members including troopers, district volunteer chaplains, dispatchers, and motor carrier inspectors. The team organization consists of three regional Team Leaders, three regional Assistant Team Leaders, an Assistant Team Coordinator, and Team Coordinator. This team is registered with the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF).
You may verify the authenticity of Indiana State Police CISM Team members by requesting to see their Indiana State Police department picture identification. If you have any concerns about the identity of a suspicious person possibly posing as a CISM Team member, you are encouraged to request a police officer from any agency, especially ISP, to assist in verifying his or her authenticity. The Indiana State Police CISM Team does not actively solicit financial donations.
Employee Assistance Program
In addition to the Chaplain Program and the CISM Team, the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) also offers confidential consultation for almost any concern one may experience. This confidential service is specifically for Indiana State Police employees and members of their households, who may directly access our EAP provider network by simply making a phone call to a 24-hour call center at 1.800.865.1044. If at any time an employee or family member has a question or concern about our Employee Assistance Program they are more than welcome to confidentially speak with the Department Staff Chaplain. At no time should a member of the public encounter an individual claiming to be a member of the Indiana State Police Employee Assistance Program nor is the EAP directly involved with enforcing any laws. The Indiana State Police Employee Assistance Program does not actively solicit financial donations.
Death Notifications
Information pertaining to the death of a family member of an individual incarcerated within the Indiana Department of Corrections needs to be delivered through proper channels of the Indiana Department of Corrections.
Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Resources
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline website, or by phone at 1.800.273.TALK (8255), or call 911
Indiana State Suicide Prevention Plan
Indiana Department of Mental Health
Chaplain Training
Incoming Indiana State Police District Volunteer Police Chaplains must attend the 12 Basic Courses of the International Conference of Police Chaplains (ICPC), ISP History, FEMA Incident Command System (NIMS) courses IS-00700, IS-00800, IS-00100.LE and IS-00200, QPR Suicide Prevention, Psychological First Aid, and Disaster Response. All current chaplains have completed this training or are in the process of undergoing this training. Volunteer District Chaplains are provided an annual conference and periodic training opportunities for continued education and networking.
The 12 ICPC Basic Courses, ISP History, QPR Suicide Prevention, Psychological First Aid, and Disaster Response are all available through ISP upon acceptance to the program.
FEMA Incident Command System (NIMS) courses IS-00700, IS-00800, IS-00100.LE, and IS-00200 are available through FEMA.
Follow the links below for more information about Volunteer Police Chaplain Training: