Furlough Programs

The prison population in the United States has grown precipitously since the 1980s. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the number of incarcerated Americans approached 2 million at the midpoint of the year 2000. Nearly 40 percent of former prison inmates are reimprisoned within three years of release. A wide range of correctional programs have been implemented to alleviate prison overcrowding and lower recidivism rates. Some were established as alternatives to incarceration. Intensive probation supervision and electronic monitoring, for example, are two popular community-based sentences that are imposed in lieu of incarceration for offenders who can be managed safely under strict conditions of supervision. Other programs were developed as early release mechanisms that involve community corrections facilities, such as halfway houses and prerelease centers, in which inmates can receive treatment and social services outside of prisons.

One major reason for the high rate of reincarcerations in the United States is the paucity of job training and employment opportunities available to former prison inmates. Work release or furlough programs, also known as work furlough, day parole, or work parole programs, are a form of partial incarceration designed to relieve prison overcrowding by permitting offenders to reside in community-based work release facilities. More important, these programs give selected inmates chances to learn and test new job skills, earn legitimate incomes, pay taxes, support their families, elevate their self-esteem, and improve their self-concepts. In short, furlough programs provide inmates with experiences and proficiencies that can facilitate their reintegration and readjustment into the community.