Community Corrections Centers

History

Halfway houses for released prisoners were first established during the 1800s in Boston and New York to aid former offenders in their readjustment to the community. While other cities and states gradually introduced similar establishments, it was not until 1975 that all states in addition to the federal government had approved legislation approving the use of halfway houses. The passage by Congress of the Prisoner Rehabilitation Act of 1965 made it possible for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to delegate the care, custody, and control of inmates to a community treatment center or contract facility. Contract facilities are nonprofit, or private, facilities owned and operated by a nongovernment entity for the same purpose and operated much the same as a government-operated community residential center. Shortly after passage of the Prisoner Rehabilitation Act of 1965, many states followed suit and began to use community residential centers to help integrate probationers and inmates into the community as part of the service of their sentence or as a condition of probation.

The Purpose of a Community Corrections Center

Community corrections facilities serve two roles: halfway in prison and halfway out. That is, for offenders who are on probation or appearing for sentencing for the first time, a halfway house offers an alternative to the judge who believes that the offender, at the time of sentencing, will not be well served by going straight to prison. However, in his or her opinion the offender needs a period of time to benefit from stronger controls, regular employment, counseling, and perhaps other programs such as drug treatment. The sentencing judge may then place the offender on probation with the condition that he or she may serve the first 90–120 days in a halfway house. While in the program offenders are required to find employment (if they are unemployed), participate in required programs such as drug treatment or education. In addition, they must follow rules and regulations that restrict their activities. They will also usually meet once or twice with the probation officer assigned to his or her case to discuss rules and concerns. Once offenders have completed their stay in the program without incident and are ready to leave, they are usually entitled to live at home under the supervision of a probation officer.

Halfway out of prison refers to the inmate's release from prison prior to the expiration of sentence in order to secure employment, have time to become reintegrated with his or her family, and experience a period of decompression after serving perhaps years in the regimented environment of prison. When an inmate is transferred to a work release facility or halfway house, he or she is usually placed on furlough for a period of time to travel by public transportation to the designated facility. Once there, she or he will undergo a period of classification and in-house assignments in order for the staff to properly classify the inmates and determine whether there are issues that indicate the inmate should be returned to custody. This usually does not [Page 148]happen because the inmate must meet the criteria of (1) being within 90–120 days of release from custody, (2) no history of violence or organized crime or sexual offenses, and (3) good adjustment in prison. Thus, before inmates are accepted into a residential facility, they must be screened by the institutional staff and the halfway house staff. Providing a residential service for those who are halfway out of prison addresses the issue of prisonization and inmates' needs for a period of adjustment to the community before being allowed to go on parole. If someone has regular employment, has a place in his or her family, and/or a place to live, the parolee stands a much better chance to complete the demands of parole or succeed upon mandatory release.

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