The Shalem congregational assistance plan: a ten year retrospective

ABSTRACT

A Congregational Assistance Program (CAP) is a unique initiative that appropriates the Employee Assistance model of service provision but instead of centering the counseling around the workplace for employees and their families uses the church as the hub. This article examines the ten-year developmental history of the first Canadian CAP situated in Ontario. The rationale for its development is provided along with how the program was first piloted. A narrative of its subsequent growth and development is offered along with outcome data detailing growth in church and household participation, service user demographics, utilization, and presenting issues. The article concludes by examining the future direction for CAP both in terms of service delivery and program evaluation.

KEYWORDS:

• Congregational assistance program
• counseling
• church
• case study
• Canada

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. As of 2020 CAP has been adopted by over 75 churches.