Standing committee
Corrections
Carrying the message behind the walls — and meeting people at the gate.
Committee website
MSCA 9 Bridging the Gap (shared with Treatment Facilities)
area9btg.org
In Area 09, Corrections works as part of the Treatment Facilities service and uses the same website: Bridging the Gap connects people leaving correctional and treatment facilities with a Temporary Contact in A.A., and the site's resources include the Pre-Release Contact request (F-163).
What this committee does
The Corrections Committee carries the A.A. message to alcoholics in custody and helps them find A.A. when they are released. In Area 09 it links inmates in Southern California jails and California state prisons, the local Hospitals & Institutions (H&I) committees, the districts, the Corrections desk at the General Service Office, A.A. members, and professionals and families of inmates.
- Type
- Standing committee
- When we meet
- Every 4th Tuesday · 7:00–8:30 PM
- Who serves
Erika D. · English
Open seat · Spanish
- Area committee guidelines
- Approved September 9, 2007
Its work in Area 09
- Corrections Correspondence Service (CCS): keep a list of A.A. members who write to inmates, send new volunteers to G.S.O., and keep an Area post office box so writers’ home addresses stay private.
- Pre-Release Contacts: be G.S.O.'s contact for inmates being released into Area 09 and pass their information to the local H&I committee.
- Answer inmates’ requests, or forward them to the committee that can help.
- Stay in touch with the Corrections desk at G.S.O. and explain to non-A.A. professionals what A.A. does and does not do.
- Bring corrections-related Conference agenda items to the Area and chair the Corrections table at the Pre-Conference Workshop.
- Attend the Southern California H&I Intergroup meeting each month and Area events when asked.
How to get involved
When possible the committee includes district representatives, local H&I and intergroup representatives and any A.A. member — each district, H&I committee and intergroup has one vote, and a simple majority of members present decides. It meets on Zoom on the 4th Tuesday of each month (7:00–8:30 PM) and in person during the Area meeting (usually the 2nd Sunday). You don’t need prison experience — sobriety in A.A. is what counts.
How it is organized
The Chair is elected for two years at the January Assembly of even years; experience in corrections work is suggested for the Chair or Co-chair. Other positions (Secretary, representatives) are volunteers approved by the committee. The committee submits its budget to the Finance Committee each September. In Area 09, Corrections works as part of the Treatment Facilities service and uses the same Bridging the Gap website (area9btg.org).
A little history
Area 09 had a single Hospitals & Institutions Committee until 2003, when the Assembly divided it into Treatment Facilities and Correctional Facilities committees; following the 2005 Conference, the committee was renamed Corrections.
When we meet
When
7:00–8:30 PM · Pacific time
- Next: Tue, Oct 27, 2026
- Next: Tue, Nov 24, 2026
- Next: Tue, Dec 22, 2026
- Next: Tue, Jan 26, 2027
Contact
- Also meets in person on the 2nd Sunday, during the Area meeting.
Add to your calendar
Google Calendar and the .ics file add every date of this meeting; Outlook.com adds the next date.
Also meets during the Area meeting break-out
The Area usually meets on the 2nd Sunday of the month (the calendar has each date), 9 AM–3 PM, in person and on Zoom; registration opens at 8 AM. Committees meet in break-out rooms during the meeting — ask at the registration table where yours is.
Area meetings: places, agendas and flyersWho serves
Panel 76There is a seat for you
This committee has open positions. Chairs are elected or confirmed at an Area meeting — write to the Area Chair to say you are interested, or come to the next meeting and introduce yourself.
Who served in Panel 74
- Erica D. · Corrections Chair
First names and last initials only. The e-mail addresses belong to the service position, not the person, and pass to whoever serves next.
Guidelines & reports
Area committee guidelines
How this committee is organized in Area 09, as approved by the Assembly.
Earlier versions (1)
More copies in the document library (4)
Reports & records
Minutes, reports and flyers from the document library, newest first.
A.A. literature & service material
This service on aa.orgFrom the General Service Office (aa.org): guidelines, workbooks and pamphlets for this service, in English and Spanish. The codes help when ordering printed copies.
On aa.org1
A.A. Guidelines2
Workbooks1
Kits & resource lists1
Service material3
Forms & useful links
Frequently asked questions
Do I need prison experience to do corrections service?
No. What people in custody want to hear is how we got and stayed sober through the Twelve Steps. Sobriety in A.A. — not time served — is the qualification.
How do I become a pen pal to an inmate (CCS)?
Sign up with the committee or fill out the C.C.S. outside volunteer form. Letters are routed through a post office box, so your home address is never shared; you will usually write to someone in another state.
See something out of date? Tell the Web Servant: webmaster@msca09aa.org · edit the data file
Related committees & service
Hospitals & Institutions
Taking A.A. meetings to people who cannot get to one.
Tara F. · Alternate Delegate
Local H&I committees meet monthly; the So-Cal H&I Intergroup meets on the 4th Sunday
Treatment Facilities
Carrying the message into treatment — and Bridging the Gap to A.A.
- Daisy F. · English
- Open seat · Spanish
At Area meetings
Cooperation with the Professional Community
Telling professionals what A.A. is — and what it is not.
- Louis T. · English
- Dario D. · Spanish
At the Area meeting break-out (usually the 2nd Sunday)
Accessibilities
So that no barrier keeps an alcoholic from the A.A. message.
- Bob K. · English
- Open seat · Spanish
Every 2nd Thursday · 7:00–8:00 PM