Residential Correctional Programs

Residential community corrections facilities are a type of community-based corrections program. Community-based corrections in general, such as probation and parole, were developed to offer a less restrictive alternative to jail or prison for people who have been convicted of an offense. Offenders are required to serve the sanctions imposed by the courts while living in the community. Most community-based corrections programs, whether residential or nonresidential, include some social services for offenders in an effort to fully reintegrate them back into society.

In nonresidential community corrections programs such as probation, parole, and day reporting centers, offenders can live at home while participating in them. However, if ordered by a court to a residential community-based corrections program, an offender or parolee is required to live in the community residential facility (not at home), typically for three to six months and sometimes longer. Residential community corrections programs are varied and include halfway houses, residential drug and alcohol treatment facilities, post-prison re entry programs, specialized residential programs that allow female offenders to live with their children, and group homes for young offenders. Residential community corrections programs also include the more restrictive home confinement (house arrest) and correctional boot camps (primarily for young offenders). The vast majority of residential community corrections facilities are privately owned or run by nonprofit organizations; less than 10 percent are operated by departments of corrections.

Residential community corrections facilities are highly structured programs aimed at behavior modification that offer services such as drug and alcohol treatment, employment education, group counseling, and interpersonal skills classes. They allow residents to hold outside jobs or attend school. They are unique in that, in addition to providing housing and intensive treatment and programming 24 hours per day, many seek to replicate a family atmosphere or family model. Residential community corrections programs are cost-effective and have better reported success rates than do prison, probation, or parole (as measured by lower rates of reoffending upon graduation), largely because they offer more treatment services. They tend to practice closer supervision and surveillance of offenders, in comparison to most nonresidential community corrections programs.