As I understand it, my wife has a choice of going into a halfway house March 12, 03 or waitng another two months and going strait to homeconfinement May 10,03. Interested in any recommendations based on experience. Thanking you for your insight in advance.

BOB-CHECK OUT TH POSTS IN THE 1/2 WAY HOUSE/HOME CONFINEMENT THREAD IN THIS SAM FORUM FOR SOME INFORMATION ON THESE PROGRAMS (PROS AND CONS)

I would think she could decide this by determining how bad she wants out of where she is. If it is not that bad and she can tolerate it for 2 months what the heck. It should be just how bad she wants to move and change where she is.

My wife has told me of several ladies in with her that they are in for messing up in the halfway house. Seems they are very strick.Steve&kids

From what I understand it would be better to go home, as far as I know it's pretty easy to get a violation in a half way house.

My opinion has always been that half way houses are a trap. I feel like a broken record. People coming out of Calif 1/2 way houses successfully are the exception not the rule. Most end up back in with more time.-------KIen

All right, someone please give me the rundown on these places? What is the basic "day" in a 1/2 way house? If they are so strict then how are all these people going back in w/ more time? Are they going back for infractions of the rules or is this like some breeding ground for crime they are being placed in? Either way "trap" sounds like a good description, Ken!

vnvdvc,

Great question. First let me say that the difference between Calif. state prison 1/2 way houses & Federal prison 1/2 way houses are like night & day. As far as I know every federal prisoner has to go through a 1/2 way house before hitting the streets. So most people going through fed system make it through just fine. I personally know 3 guys who have done fed time & all 3 made it through fed 1/2 way houses. In 15 years of going in & out of jails & prisons, I have come across many people who have gone to Calif. state 1/2 way houses. I don't ever remember anyone who has made it through the state system. All I have heard is stories of how it didn't work out. So what I'm about to tell you only comes from a very unscientific method, LOL. It all comes from other people's stories, in Calif state 1/2 way houses not everyone is eligible to go to them. There are many reasons why you may not be eligible from type of crime, medical conditions, refusal, etc. I am not eligible to go because of resisting arrest, assault on officer, felony evasion charges. Just having an arrest record like mine (doesn't have to be a conviction) & your not eligible. There are many other reasons too. Even if I was eligible I would decline their very generous offer, LOL. So everything I'm going to explain has only to do with Calif. 1/2 way houses, as I have no idea how other states run theirs. Like I said the federal system is comepletely different.

So here goes, (stretches fingers & cracks knuckles, LOL).
Calif. 1/2 way houses are viewed as a privledge, a privledge many in corrections feel shouldn't be offered to prisoners. There are some, & I admit they are the exception not the rule, who like to violate prisoners & send them back to prison. The counslors in Calif. half way houses are mostly CO's who have advanced to the job of parole agent. They know that many people who get out screw up & violate the provisions of their parole & end up back inside, so they really watching the prisoners closely.

I should add here, that for the most part, every person who has failed at 1/2 way houses has screwed up themselves. They are guilty of what they were charged with. It is their own fault. One of the problems lay in the fact that CDC knows the problems & hasn't taken any steps to try & make it better to increase sucessful completion. CDC may even view the high incedence of violations as the program working by weeding out people not ready to be on the outside, even though the person will be on the streets soon anyway.

When you are sent to 1/2 way houses you are still considered
in custody, & all rules & regulations you lived by while locked up apply just the same. At 4-6 months to the house they call you in & see if your eligible for a 1/2 way house. They explain how they work & have you sign the application to go. They then process your application, & once approved your assigned to the district close to where your going to parole. They then put your name on a list & you wait till a bed opens up. People either go to parole, go on the run, or go back to prison. When a bed opens up (here between 45 days to the house & 2 weeks to the house.) your given a days notice & then transfered to your new home. Generally (there are exceptions), your given $200.00 "gate money" when you parole. At a 1/2 way house they give you $100.00 & keep the rest for when you leave the house & go home.

Here these 1/2 way houses are usually old motels or apt buildings where everyone there is in the program. You get assigned to a room that you share with another guy. Each is responsible for their own personal property & personal areas (drawers, clothes in closets, etc.), & general areas are the responsibility of both guys. So anything found during room searches is held against both guys unless one cops to it.

violations are either minor or major & can lead from doing extra duty (clean up) to being sent back to prison, put in the hole, with a loss of credit (which leads to doing more time), & higher points. Most (the rule not the exception) PO's will violate you for even the pettiest things while in 1/2 way houses.

Many guys who go to 1/2 way houses just want out of prison & have no interest in going straight. They want to get out so they can see their G/F's, get high, etc. So your chances of being roomed with one of these guys is high (better than 50-50). They will start using, bringing dope to the room, bringing alchohol to the room, & even bringing women to the room. So your nose is being rubbed into things you may be trying to get away from. Also these guys don't hide their stuff in their personal areas, they put it in the general areas, which means your just as responsible for it. If you snitch on these guys you will get a rat jacket put on you & it will go in your file. Many guys have gone back to prison over what their roomate did. From hiding weapons, to dope, to throwing out empty beer bottles, like the cops don't check the trash for signs of drinking & drug use.

Violations strong enough to send you back to prison, means you go back & are put in the hole. Your points go up, being your in the hole your custody status changes so your not getting the same time credits as before plus they taks some or all of your time credits built up, away, so you end up doing more time, & this can go from days to many weeks.

Besides getting violated for what goes on in your room, many guys submit to the temptation to use drugs or drink, from roomates or other guys who stay in other rooms. They also violate for coming back late, not going where you say your going to go, for going places your not supposed to go like G/F's places, or friends places.

With the restrictions they make it difficult to get work, a guy got a job & when he told his PO, the PO called the employer & told him the guy was on parole & living at a 1/2 way house (which the guy hadn't told them), & what the guy had been convicted of, the employer then decided to pass on hiring the guy. The PO's are always threatening to send you back to prison. If you do this I'll send you back, If you don't do this I'll send you back, etc. They make it hard to get a job, to keep a job, to get to work, etc.

I have heard many stories where guys ended up back in prison, in the hole, doing more time. All because they wanted to go home about 30 days early, some even less, & your not really going home, it's just a tease, a taste, but not the real thing. Everyone of them said to me that they would never go back to a 1/2 way house, they all advise against anyone else going. CDC uses that carrot on the stick, of getting out early (which your really not) as inducement to get people to sign up. Most people go in to it with the best of intentions, they do want to get a job, stay clean, & get home & then finish their parole. They acctually get there & reality hits them, & the bubble pops.

There are a hundred stories I could tell, but with the above description I think you get an understanding of the pit falls. They (CDC) put a little cheese out to see if anyone will bite, Some get the cheese & get away but most don't they get caught. Thats why I call it a trap.------Ken

DAMN, this is a long post. That's what happens when I get on roll. LOL.

ken ~ nothing wrong with a long post, you are so informative! i love reading your posts because you've "been there, done that" and they are so insightful and full of good information!

i don't know much about 1/2 way houses, but from what you describe, it does sound like these people are placed in these programs without much support! is there a "house mother" or "house father" there? correctional guards? any kind of therapy provided? and furthermore, from your description of these places (old converted hotels, etc) it sounds as if they are in locations where even the most well-intentioned person could easily go astray?!?

OK LADIES:

Who among us thinks Ken should STOP apologizing about how much he rambles on, and INSTEAD start writing a REAL BOOK about all his experiences!

Hands up, those who agree!

Ken, I am absolutely serious! You OBVIOUSLY write with ease. You have the experience and knowledge. You've got the heart.

What the heck is STOPPING YOU, boy?

Love,
Menolly

AGREE!!!!!

Very Informative---I AGREE TOO!!!!!!!!!!!

Menolly,
LOL, LOL. OK no more appologies. I know what you mean, I tell others not to worry about it, so I guess I should take my own advise. See you can teach an old dog new tricks, LOL.
Thanks for your thoughtful post. I don't really think I have all that much to say, or that my life has been all that interesting. I occasionally do research & analysis for studies commissioned by private organizations, so that pretty much keeps the writing bug fed. I am thinking of writing an article- short story about an old provo & his take on the current divide in the republican movement, & violence in Northern Ireland, talk about obscure, LOL.


aprilcat,
yes your right, these places are located in places where it's easy to go astray. It's one thing to expect people to stay away from situations that will lead them to use dope, drink, or violate their parole. It's a whole other thing to expect them to stay good when they get their noses rubbed in it daily. There is no support system. The people who run it do nothing more than monitor the prisoners. Each one has a PO (parole agent/officer) who acts as a counslor (a rather lose term since they don't council anything or anyone), who handles all the cases at the facility. His main job is paper work, drug test, verifying prisoner info, transporting violaters back to prison, & tracking down abscounders. There is no therapy of any kind. You can go to AA/NA meetings, but you better not be late getting back, no I missed the bus, or the bus ran late (you should have left earlier), there are no excuses. Well, if your in the hospital they will let it slide if you say please, LOL.


Thank you all for the compliments. Love & Respect----Ken

ABSOLUTELY, ABSOLUTELY, ABSOLUTELY!!!! KEN, YOU ARE A BORN WRITER! NOT ONLY ARE THEY IMFORMATIVE, YOUR POSTS ARE FUNNY. AND SAD. AND INTERESTING. GO FOR IT!

Dear Old Dog;

Isn't it up to the READERS to decide if you "have all that much to say" or that your "life has been all that interesting"?

So!!! We're deciding, and we all DISAGREE with you!

I don't think there is a single one of your long posts that hasn't sent shudders down my spine, and brought tears to my eyes!

Ken, I have shelfsful of prison reform books. They're written by lawyers, from a lofty, $1,900 suit perspective. They're written by bleeding-heart liberal do-gooders, from a moral and/or religious perspective. They're written by journalists, sometimes from a "soft-on-crime" perspective, sometimes from a "let's throw the key away, on this scum" perspective.

Everyone talks ABOUT inmates, and ABOUT what we should do TO THEM. No one ever LISTENS to them, or asks "What do YOU think would turn your life around?"

You, my dear friend, could be such a POWERFUL voice. Yours is the voice that is missing. The world needs to hear from you, DESPITE (perhaps TO SPITE!) all the lawyers and journalists and meddling do-gooders.

You have incredible grammar skills, punctuation skills, word-building skills. You have a story. You ARE a success story, one that NEVER gets told. And you send shivers through this menopausal old hag's bones!

I am not saying you HAVE a voice.

I am saying YOU ARE A VOICE, and one that needs to be heard. And it appears that a few others 'round here, agrees with me!

Please allow me to teach you to stop shutting yourself up! I know you can walk. Now you need to learn to talk!

These are not mere compliments, Ken. They are plain truths to me, that I wish I could grab your shirt front, and shake you, and say "Know all of this, Ken!"

I know of your interest in movies... Perhaps you should contemplate writing a screenplay... a documentary...

I see all your posts here, as first drafts. Won't it be interesting if in 5 years or so, you too see them that way!

Love,
Menolly

N5422T:

Apologies for taking over your post, but it is called "Choices to make"...

I CANNOT add a single word of advice to what Ken's given you.

Love,
Menolly

Does anyone know anything about half-way houses at the Federal Level?

Thanks,
Molly

ken rocks! i love to read his posts! he is a walking crime/law library!!! :D

I agree w/the general consensus about Ken. He is a great guy & a wealth of information that he loves to share w/all of us!!

NOT ONLY IS HE A WALKING CRIME LAW LIBRARY, BUT HE IS SUCH A SPECIAL PERSON ON THE INSIDE. HIS HEART IS BIG AND FULL AND HE REALLY CARES ABOUT PEOPLE... I WILL NEVER FORGET THE SUPPORT HE HAS GIVEN TO BUTCH BECAUSE IT REALLY PICKED BUTCH UP IN HIS TIME OF BEING DOWN.... KEN PROBABLY DOES NOT EVEN REALIZE JUST HOW MUCH HE DID HELP...


YOU ARE A BLESSED PERSON.... AND AS APRILCAT SAYS, YOU ROCK GUY....

YOU BETTER PLAN TO COME TO THE NATIONAL PTO MEETING IN MARCH...

LOVE YA
DONNA

I have to add my 'thumbs up' to Ken! I too have a corrections back ground, but in our only youth prison here! I haven't put the time in as you have, but I sure do appreciate reading and learning from YOU!

P.S. What is this national PTO meeting in March? Sounds
like it would be great!

PAM

GO TO THE FORUM IN (I THINK) NEW PTO USER OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT AND LOOK FOR THE THREAD THAT SAYS NATIONAL PTO MEETING PLANS.... WE HAVE SET A TENTATIVE DATE OF MARCH 15,16, AND 17. WE ARE TRYING TO GET IT TOGETHER NOW.... BELLA, RENEE, JOY, SHERRI, AND MANY OF THE OTHERS ARE TRYING TO GET IT SET UP.... WE WANT TO HAVE IT CLOSE TO DAVIDS HOUSE AT MAYBE A HAMPTON INN OR SOMETHING....

PUT YOUR IDEAS THERE TOO..

LOVE YA GIRL

DONNA

OK, so where's David's house? And are we talking about Fed X? Or some other David?

I can see I also have to go searching for this post...

Menolly

Found it. It's in "Non-Prison Talk Conversation" under "Planning an annual PTO Get-2-Gether".

Also discussing "carpooling" etc. under the "Illinois, USA" forum...

Menolly

OK guys, now I am flabbergasted, I litteraly had to sit down, & take it all in. I'm speachless. I need some time to think of a response to all this. I am overwhelmed. -------Ken

Ken, thank you for the informative response to my questions. Now I must sit and try to digest this flop-house idea for what it is, a set-up by the doc to retain the high inmate volume which undoubtedly brings in the high dollars from the state for them. Justify that budget!! I know, I'm being overly dramatic, but what a freaking joke! Why do they even bother? To further break a person's spirit? One more thing I can be sick about! Not that I harbored any delusions about the 1/2 way house in the first place. When did the state start getting fat off the prison industry? How far back do the dollars go for them?
Another question, if you do make it to parole, aren't they just as quick to send you back for a parole violation?
Does a person who went back in for a 1/2 way house violation or a parole violation count as a recidivist in the statistics?
Peppering you all with questions could quickly become a hobby for me, so I will stop rambling and start listening....

KEN-WE DO ALL LOVE YOU AND APPRECIATE YOU SO MUCH. TO BE BOTH INTELLIGENT AND TRULY COMPASSIONATE IS SUCH A RARE FIND (ESPECIALLY IN A MAN--HEE HEE--JUST KIDDING-DON'T BASH ME GUYS) YOU HAVE BEEN SUCH A DESIRED AND NEEDED ADDITION TO PTO-I CAN'T THINK OF ONE PERSON HERE YOU HAVE NOT HELPED IN SOME WAY-AND FOR ALL THE HELP YOU HAVE GIVEN ME PERSONALLY, THANK YOU, THANK YOU-WORDS ARE INADEQUATE TO EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE TO YOU. THANK YOU FOR BEING YOU, AND FOR BECOMING A PART OF OUR LIVES.

~~~DON'T BASH ME GUYS~~~

Do you really think you could get away with that comment? LOL

NO B-RAY-- I KNEW I WOULD HEAR BACK FROM YOU...:)

BUT THEN YOU ARE AN EXCEPTION TO THE RULE TOO---

LOVE YA!!!

Ken,

Since my husband is in federal prison, and indicates he will be going to a halfway house, what have you heard are the differences? I can't bear finally having him with me (in a sense) and then not having it be successful. He has a 14 year clean record, but indicates there are many complications that could send him back that we need to be aware of. I want to be well informed in advance. Drugs and alcohol shouldn't be a problem at all, even though that was his conviction. He is enjoying life sober!

Thanks for your help in understanding the system.

Kelli

Molly,

I don't know much about the federal level, I'm sure David could tell you more than I can. I do know that it is completely different than the state level & the chances of successfully completeing it is much higher.

KelliKoz, my post to molly I think will apply to you too. Being that I believe most federal prisoners have to go to halfway houses so they are ran very differently. Also the situation I describe is how things are in Calif. other states may be very different. Also everyone's experiance probably will be different. Like I said, I have never been to one, all I'm doing is relaying info that others (many people in fact) have told me, & from what I've gathered over the years. There are people who even make it through our state 1/2 way houses but the numbers aren't very encouraging.

vnvdvc, once you hit the street the PO's you get can run the whole range from as****e's to fairly good ones. I had one where after I gave two clean test, & I had been working, & I had a stable home life, she put me on mail in's, where all I had to do was mail in a form once a month, stating that all was good & nothing had changed regarding my family, my work, or address. There are some who, you get the feeling their only purpose is to send you back to the joint. It all seems to be the luck of the draw. I will say from my xperiance parole agents are much better than probation officers.

Thanks Ken, from a fellow (redheaded of course) Irishwoman.
I know my love is not going back! He's had friends go to halfway house, so I'll just ask him and report back or wait till Dave shows up again
Kelli
:)

We Love You Ken! How about a Dear Ken thing, you know like dear Abby?

Thanks to all! I printed the thread and mailed it to my wife for her to read. Thanks again.

There should be quite a bit of info on Federal Half Way houses in the Probation, Parole & Supervision forum. If you have any questions in regards to Fed 1/2 way houses that isn't in there, I will do what I can to fill you in on them. Please ask in open forum rather than PM or Email so everyone will benefit from the information.

David

Does every person in a federal halfway house get to go home for part of it? From what I am understanding, my sentence might look like this: if I have a 12 mth sentence, I would actually serve 10 mths (with the 54 days off), serve 6 mths in jail, be released to a halfway house for the last 4, actually live there for 2 mths, and be released to home-while still paying the halfway house-for the last 2 mths? Does this sound right? Or am I way off?

Faerigirl, please let me know when you get an answer.Steve&kids