If you or someone you love is coming home soon, you may be asking what is a halfway house. It is a supervised residential reentry center that helps people move from custody back into community life.
This guide is part of our wider look at prison reentry, covering the steps between release and a stable life at home.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Referral recommendation made | About 17-19 months before release |
| Longest prerelease placement | Up to 12 months |
| Job expectation | 40 hours/week within 15 calendar days of arrival |
| Subsistence fee | 25 percent of gross income, capped at the contract per diem |
| Program completion rate (BOP figure) | 91 percent of inmates referred |
The figures come from the Federal Bureau of Prisons and a March 2012 Justice Department audit, which reports the 91 percent figure from the BOP. Figures can change, so check the source before you rely on them.
What a halfway house does
In the federal system, a halfway house is called a residential reentry center, or RRC. The U.S. Courts’ March 2020 reference guide says RRCs are also known as halfway houses or community correctional facilities.
According to the BOP, an RRC offers a safe, structured, supervised environment, plus employment counseling, job placement and financial management help. Residents who are still serving a sentence remain in federal custody while they live there.
The same BOP page lists the main kinds of help an RRC provides:
- Employment: staff help residents find work through local employers, job fairs, and classes in resume writing and interview techniques.
- Housing: the contractor helps residents locate suitable housing to move to after they leave the RRC.
- Substance abuse treatment: drug testing and programs, plus continued treatment for people who completed the Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP) in a BOP institution.
- Health care: access to medical and mental health care, and an initial supply of required medications when a resident transfers in.
Freedom is limited, though. The BOP says in-house counts happen throughout the day at scheduled and random intervals, and residents may leave only through sign-out procedures for approved activities such as work, counseling or visiting. When a resident returns, they may be given a random drug and alcohol test.
Halfway houses have a long history. By the courts’ account, the program grew to include adults after the Federal Prisoner Rehabilitation Act of 1965, and in 1981 the BOP ended staff-run centers and relied solely on contract providers.
Who gets placed in a halfway house?
The courts’ guide says RRCs are used in four ways, and they are run by vendors under contract with probation and pretrial services offices or the BOP.
- As an alternative to pretrial detention.
- For alternative (non-custodial) sentences.
- As a prerelease option from incarceration.
- As an intermediate sanction for noncompliance by persons under supervision.
For most people the route is prerelease custody. Under federal law, the BOP must, to the extent practicable, make sure a prisoner spends a portion of the final months of a term, not to exceed 12 months, under conditions that help with reentry, and those conditions may include an RRC, as the courts’ guide explains.
The BOP describes the process like this:
- About 17-19 months before release, the unit team (unit manager, case manager and counselor) makes an RRC referral recommendation at a program review meeting.
- Each person is considered using the five factors from 18 U.S.C. 3621(b), and the placement could last up to 12 months.
- If the Warden approves, a referral packet goes to a Residential Reentry Management office and then to the RRC contractor.
- The contractor assesses the person’s needs and decides whether to accept or deny the placement.
The five factors the BOP lists are:
- the resources of the facility being contemplated;
- the nature and circumstances of the offense;
- the history and characteristics of the offender;
- any statement by the sentencing court about the purposes of the sentence or a recommended facility;
- any pertinent policy statement from the U.S. Sentencing Commission.
A court can also order placement as part of supervision. The courts’ guide calls an RRC an example of a discretionary condition of probation, so it helps to understand parole vs probation before your release date.
Rules, levels and passes
Rules differ by facility and district, so treat this as an example rather than a universal rulebook. The Northern District of Texas probation office describes six levels of progression that give residents community access gradually:
- Level 1: full restriction, usually used for sanctions of noncompliant behavior.
- Level 2: access to the community for work and treatment only.
- Level 3: the same as Level 2, plus a 4-hour recreation pass on the weekend.
- Level 4: a pass to stay at a residence, if the resident has an approved release plan.
- Level 5: rarely used, usually reserved for electronic monitoring cases.
- Level 6: home confinement, for an extended time at the resident’s residence, again with an approved release plan.
In short, most residents start with tight limits and earn more freedom over time. The same page says an eligible resident can progress to home confinement.
That district page also lists everyday rules that residents often ask about:
- All electronic equipment must be approved by the BOP’s Residential Reentry Administrator’s office.
- Driving can be allowed for work purposes.
- Self-employment is not allowed, because staff must verify work through a third party.
- All visitors must be approved by the facility.
- Residents cannot buy a vehicle or open a line of credit while living there.
Some rules have loosened over time. As of the BOP’s August 2015 update, revised statements of work require public transportation vouchers or transportation assistance for job seeking, allow cell phones within given restrictions, and say residents may apply for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. That update also expanded cognitive-behavioral programming.
Costs, work and programs
Staying in an RRC is not free. The BOP says residents pay a subsistence fee of 25 percent of gross income, not to exceed the per diem rate for that contract.
Missing payments has consequences. The Northern District of Texas page says failure to pay fees could mean a loss of community access or a possible transfer back to the BOP.
Work comes first. Ordinarily, the BOP expects residents to be employed 40 hours/week within 15 calendar days of arriving at the RRC.
Programs are part of the deal too. The Northern District of Texas page, which you can read at this link, requires at least 8 hours of substance abuse education and 12 hours of life skills classes for all residents.
What audits found, and what to plan for
Halfway houses are a large program. A March 2012 Justice Department audit reports that from fiscal years 2008 through 2010 the BOP moved almost 90,000 inmates into RRCs at a cost of about $777.8 million. The Second Chance Act, enacted in April 2008, required the BOP to expand its use of RRCs.
The same audit says 91 percent of inmates referred to RRCs successfully completed the program, according to the BOP. It adds that multiple studies found inmates moved through RRCs are more likely to be gainfully employed and less likely to commit new crimes than those released directly.
The audit also found problems. In the six RRCs it reviewed, 30 percent of inmates in its sample were not given one of the four required monthly drug tests, and the average number of escapes from all RRCs in the period was 3 percent. These are 2012 findings, so ask current facility staff how things work today.
A few questions are worth asking before you arrive:
- How does this facility’s level system work, and what earns more community access?
- What fees will I owe, and when are they due?
- What can I keep, such as a phone, and who must approve it?
- What does my release plan need before I can go to home confinement?
Once you are settled, you can also read about how to expunge a criminal record to see what may be possible later.
Frequently asked questions
Is a halfway house the same as a residential reentry center?
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In the federal system, yes. The courts’ March 2020 guide says residential reentry centers are also known as halfway houses or community correctional facilities.
Can you work while living in a halfway house?
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Yes, and you are expected to. The BOP ordinarily expects 40 hours/week of employment within 15 calendar days of arrival. One district page says self-employment is not allowed because staff must verify work through a third party.
Can you have a cell phone?
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It depends on the rules in place. As of the BOP’s August 2015 update, residents are authorized to have cell phones within given restrictions, and the Northern District of Texas page says electronic equipment must be approved by the BOP’s Residential Reentry Administrator’s office.
Do you have to pay to stay there?
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Yes, if you earn income. The BOP’s reentry centers page describes the charge as 25 percent of your gross pay, capped at the contract’s daily rate, and says it helps defray the cost of confinement.
Can family visit?
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Visitors must be approved by the facility, according to the Northern District of Texas page. Ask staff about visiting rules before you plan a trip.
