• Federal Halfway Houses give parolees a chance for job training and assimilationprison image by Albert Lozano from Fotolia.com
  
  To address the skyrocketing public cost of incarceration, the increase in prison populations and the no-man's-land in which paroled inmates find themselves upon release, advocacy groups, such as Federal Cure, along with various government agencies have recommended and instituted reforms to address these concerns. Although many states already have work release programs, the option of Residential Reentry Centers takes it a step further by providing programs that aid in the inmates' assimilation into "real" life.
  
  

Residential Reentry Centers

• The Federal Bureau of Prisons contracts with private agencies to establish Residential Reentry Centers (RRCs), also known as Halfway Houses, to provide assistance to inmates nearing release from federal prison. The goal is to provide a structured environment to help inmates re-establish their ties to the community while supervising the offenders' activities during the re-adjustment period. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (Bureau), research has found that RRC participants are less likely to be repeat offenders and more likely to be gainfully employed then those inmates released directly into the community.
  
  

Guidelines for Program Entry

• Parole officers and officials of the program screen offenders to determine eligibility. The inmates are required to have jobs awaiting them upon release from prison or reasonable assurance of finding employment. Consideration for participation also hinges on the severity or nature of their crimes, which may exclude them from acceptance into the program. Most RRCs will not accept those convicted of major drug offenses or violent crimes such as sex crimes or crimes committed with deadly weapons. Many RRCs will not accept offenders with major psychiatric problems or a long record of arson or rape. That said, a history of violence does not automatically exclude an inmate from eligibility for the program.
  
  

Accountability

• All RRC inmates remain in Federal custody while completing their sentence. The offenders are monitored 24 hours a day by RRC staff. An inmate must have authorization to leave the RRC, usually through a sign-out procedure and only for approved activities. RRC contractors use random phone contacts and unannounced visitations to monitor inmates, conduct random head counts daily and administer random drug and alcohol tests to inmates returning from approved activities.
  
  

Costs for Participants

• While staying at the halfway house, participants must pay a subsistence charge of 25 percent of their gross income to allay the cost of their confinement, not to go beyond the average daily cost of their placement. Inmates must provide for their own medical expenses while living in a RRC. Contractors maintain a system of social services agencies to aid inmates during transition. In a life-or-death emergency the contractor is responsible for acquiring any essential treatment. To cover the first 30 days of an inmate's stay, the Bureau provides a 30-day supply of medication.