My husband hears so many rumors inside. Halfway houses are a big one (another is LERA). Good or bad, I would like to send him personal stories so he can make an informed choice. He will be eligible to go to a halfway house in Dec. this year. Also, is there a list somewhere of halfway house locations?
Thank you in advance for reading this and helping.

Pati

I have the same question, where do you find a list of the halfway house locations? (federal, CCC's)

In the federal system halfway houses are called Community Correctional Centers. I found that in some news bulletins on the BOP site. I found too that the national director was "encouraging" the directors of such places to get on line (literally, use computers) with their employment resources and gave a link, utilize more home confinement to move halfway housed men/women back to their homes and work, and to monitor those released more carefully since some people find it easy to just walk away. I could not find a list of CCC's.

On personal stories. A fellow my husband is "vacationing" with told him (the poor guy didn't make it all the way through his probation) that halfway houses are just like prison in the respect that they are exactly what you make of them. He said recovering addicts have the worst time because of all the freedom and that the houses are often on the "bad side" of town where drugs/alcohol are within easy reach. He told my husband, too, that employment is the key. If you do not find employment you do NOT go back to the federal facility where you were. You go to a local facility to finish your time and compared to where you were and where the halfway house is could be hard(er) time.

My husband thinks he would opt for a halfway house to gain the freedom it would provide. Weekend visits with family and such. But my husband is "older and wiser" now. I don't know how a younger man who might be tempted to have just one drink or just one drag or even to run would deal with the freedom and the pressure to find work. (But, I think the whole idea of getting out to a halfway house puts some reality into getting a skill while you're in if you don't already have one. That's something my husband still needs to do. Learn another skill because his charge may prohibit him from re entering his former job.)

I do ot know of a central directory for half-way houses. His case manager can tell him what half-way houses are available near or in the district he is going to. You do not get to pick the half-way house. The community corrections coordinator for that distrcit makes those assignments.
Every half-way house is different. I have personally been in two of them; one in NC and one in SC. While many of their rules are the same, the attitudes and some programs can be a world apart. I have many friends that have been to different half-way houses and there comments support my statement that each of them are different.
When you are at a half-way house, you are NOT free. They monitor your movements and whereabouts closely. Their rules can be petty. Finding a job can be difficult (they are intensive in their monitoring of your work hours, etc) because many employers will not put up with the hassle of dealing with the half-way house.
But, if you have been locked up a long time. it's worth it. In my case, I wasn't down very long; only 26 months. I didn't want to go to a halfway house but they made me. For a guy who has been in a long time, the opportunity to adjust to the street, see his family up close with liberal visiting rules and home visits; I would say it is worth it.
A final point. If you are a white collar criminal you will generally have a tougher time dealing with halfway houses and probation officers than otherwise. Most of those people resent education and the fact that you made a lot of money. That has been my personal experience and the experience of others wc ex-felons I know. Hope this helped.

If you want to read the rules for the Community Corrections (I was wrong the first time...not Correctional) Centers they're called Statement of Work for Community Corrections Centers.

Thanks for the comment about attitudes toward education.

i have a question.. my husband is servingg 42 months. He has served 12 in jail already. Do you know when he will go to a half way house?
thanks!!!

God willing, I won't have to make the decision, but if I have to do it again, I will not go to a halfway house again. It's not worth it.

If your husband is in the federal system, and has a sentence of 42 months, he will actually serve 85 % of that. Good time is deducted at 54 days a year.
So on 42 months he will serve about 36 months. You are eligible for 10% of your sentence in a half-way house, so the max he can get in a half-way house is 4.2 months. They don't usually give you the max, so he will get anywhere from 2-3 months realistically. When I left the system last year they were really pushing half-way houses to reduce the population, so it's possible he could get the full 4 months. It is all up to what his TEAM recommends.
I hope this answered your question. Remember, if he is state, none of what I said applies. Every state is different.
Hang in there. The next two years will be over before you know it. It could be a LOT worse!

If your husband is in the federal system, and has a sentence of 42 months, he will actually serve 85 % of that. Good time is deducted at 54 days a year.
So on 42 months he will serve about 36 months. You are eligible for 10% of your sentence in a half-way house, so the max he can get in a half-way house is 4.2 months. They don't usually give you the max, so he will get anywhere from 2-3 months realistically. When I left the system last year they were really pushing half-way houses to reduce the population, so it's possible he could get the full 4 months. It is all up to what his TEAM recommends.
I hope this answered your question. Remember, if he is state, none of what I said applies. Every state is different.
Hang in there. The next two years will be over before you know it. It could be a LOT worse!

thank you so much! that helped me a lot!
so he will serve 36 months minus 12 that he served already right?

Yes, you get credit for jail time so it is the 36 less 12 months on jail. Their are some exceptions to this; for instance if their are any state charges, etc. to contend with. If there are no state charges and it is the feds holding him then the jail time will certainly count.
So with jail and half way house time you are looking at less than two years to go.
Good luck and God Bless!

Offpaper, I agree. But everyone has to make that decision for themselves. Some guys
(gals) might desperately need the money for their families, even less the 25% the half-way house takes. I think if I had been locked up for 5 years or more and had no family to help me, then I would want a long half-way house to get my feet on the ground.
But I only did 26 months, had family waiting, so the 5 weeks I did was a real pain and not worth it IMO. But everyone is different.

captainjack:
I agree, everyone has a unique situation. Besides the petty regulations (some undisclosed) that will get you a shot and there is the danger of getting a new charge resulting in even more time. It's so easy for someone to plant drugs or worse. Most halfway houses seem to be located in high crime areas where one can inadvertantly get involved with the unexpected. Cops seem to hang near halfway houses just looking for an excuse to lock up someone, but they have good reason since criminal activity is far from unknown in these facilities. It's a bad sign when the local cops and the US Marshall's are on a first name basis with the house staff. Also, halfway house staff hiring standards are very, very, low and it's hard to believe other than a miniscule amount of training is involved. I have firsthand knowledge as a resident of two halfway houses and now volunteer with job placement at a third. Bad places, all. There may be some great halfway houses, but I've yet to see or hear of one. The halfway house concept is a good one, but BOP doesn't seem to have the ability to execute the mission.

Here's a related question: what if they get the choice of halfway house or house arrest? My husband's arrangement says that either are choices. How can we persuade them to choose house arrest? Even if he isn't allowed to work, it would be worth it to me to have him home vs. a halfway house. The ones in my area aren't that great -- my profession allows me an "up close" view of these (social work) and I don't like what I see.

Thanks!

house arrest is pretty good...u get to go to work as long as u have proof(like work schedule)...and also u get to live at home wit ur family...the only thing is that u have to pay a certain amount of money each week to b on house arrest...but itz worth it...i would give anythin rite now for my man to b on house arrest...jus as long as hez home =) well hope dis helpz...take karez

replied to my thread. I think my husband has decided to do the half-way house thing. We need the money, but more than that we need to be with each other and that might be possible there. I know it's only for a few short months, but we both really want this. We have never been apart in 22 years of marrage, he has never been arrested, and I am struggling with bills. He wants to start earning "real" money a soon as he can. It won't be much but it will help and make him feel useful again.
I would love to hear more from someone who's been there.

Pati

replied to my thread. I think my husband has decided to do the half-way house thing. We need the money, but more than that we need to be with each other and that might be possible there. I know it's only for a few short months, but we both really want this. We have never been apart in 22 years of marrage, he has never been arrested, and I am struggling with bills. He wants to start earning "real" money a soon as he can. It won't be much but it will help and make him feel useful again.
I would love to hear more from someone who's been there.

Pati


Hi Pati,

I'm sorry that my reply is so late, but hopefully my experience will help your husband with his decision.

First thing, I wasn't sentenced to prison time, instead I was given six months at CCC with 5 years probation. The judge decided that my husband should receive the brunt of my punishment. My experience is merely from someone who hasn't been to prison but I hope that sharing will help.

Having never been in trouble with the law all my life, my arrest and pre-trial was a rollercoaster of emotions. Add to this that my husband (boyfriend at the time) was not released on his own recognizance as I was. For the two year period of pre-trial I had a hard time holding down a job and mainly did work through a temporary agency. They found out about my pending case and dropped me. I thank god that my parents selfishly helped me.

My first day at the halfway house in Vegas was very scary, though I told myself that if I survived three days in the Las Vegas Detention Center among prostitutes and crack whores (I don't mean this as insult, they were scary to me) I could survive this. I was put in a room with two other women, both recently released from prison. To the credit of my counselor, I believe she placed me in a room with completely non-violent and older offenders to save me from the others I had met there.

I was able to pack a bag of my own clothes and toiletries, but no linens. As the newcomer, I got the top bunk. That lasted one night, as the person below me told me she was fearful the bunk would break under my weight. (I'm a large girl). I kept to myself, didn't really talk beside small-talk and followed the rules.

Within a week I got a job at a Casino downtown, a 5 minute walk from the house. After I had a job, my time went a lot easier. I read a bit when I got home from work, then went to bed only to get up again to go to work. On my days off, my parents would visit and bring food from Jack in the Box. After two weeks of working, I was allowed to go home on my days off for six hours. I got a routine going, I viewed the house as just a place I slept between working and visiting home.

After three months, my job laid me off and I had to look for another job in the middle of summer. It was brutal, but thankfully I found another job. I happen to still work there too. :)

The last three months went by fast, it really helped that I could go home on my days off. Before I knew it, the six months were up and I could go home. Luckily, my probation has been completely uneventful and I believe I have been labelled 'boring' by my PO. In fact, my PO has changed three times to my current PO who really isn't even a PO, she's an administrative assistant. :)

Every week I had to pay 25% from the GROSS of my paycheck, and follow really odd rules, but I survived. The positives are definately the feeling of psuedo-freedom from spying eyes when you're at work where you can be a normal person again and the ability to visit with family in the privacy of your home.

I await the time my husband can go to halfway house, despite the odd rules and whatnot. Six hours of privacy??? Who would give that up??

I hope this has helped. :)

Late, but here......
No way would I opt for a CCC again. WOrse than prison. Bigger morons at the doors, so to speak; bigger bugs and rats; better food, but not enough to make me re-up