I think it would be a terrible idea for 99.9% of chins. First most chins are not suited for that, they would need to be abnormally outgoing and not skittish of strangers at all, and be ok with regular travel which most aren't. Most chins take at least a week if not longer to adjust to a new place, but you can get the odd one that doesn't realize it's a prey animal and takes life in stride. So unless they are extremely laid back chins regular travel and new people is going to be very stressful, and that is still assuming all the humans are behaving (no loud voices, screaming, crying, no grabbing at them, etc). You can't train them to be ok with that either it comes down to personality.
Next when traveling from place to place what is their setup, do they have secure encloses in the vehicle with zero contact with other animals (including preventing airborne transmission of things), and can they guarantee climate control at all times? So not only kept in AC in the vehicle (ideally in climate controlled cage/compartments) but also every place they are going, I know not all schools and care places have AC or working AC at all times. Even if the temp outside is cool, a room full of people can heat up quickly, meaning AC would likely be needed to keep the temp cool enough. Depending on the care home if they have AC they might not be willing or able to keep it low enough do to making the residents too cold (ideally below 20C with a room full of people). Also what age group and ablity level would they be in contact with, chins are fragile so even if you have the most chill chinchillas I would still not advise them to go to someone that is going to be taking them around young kids (under 12) or people that can't control themselves (physically or mentally), so I'm not sure how much "therapy" they would be. Also do they have things setup so they can make sure no one touches the chins and/or the chins can go back into their cage where they can't be disturbed if things get too much for them?
So I guess the bottom line, if they are the "perfect" chins (very laid back, good with handling and strangers, and enjoys travel), and the people can guarantee secure climate controlled enclosures while traveling and proper temp and humidity everywhere they go. As well as never take the chin around people that are unable to control themselves, it might work, however the likelihood of all that is very slim.
I do think some other rodents would work much better for that "job" though, things like rats, hamsters, or even guinea pigs would all be much much better options then a chinchilla. If they really want something similar to a chinchilla that is going to be more laid back they should look into rabbits, some of the larger breed rabbits can be very tolerant with handling.
and I'm upset mine won't sit still long enough to even get regular non-blurry photo 
