BOP Has a Halfway House Problem
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has faced challenges in implementing the First Step Act (FSA) since it was signed into law in December 2018 by then-President Donald J. Trump (R). Aimed at reducing prisoner population and associated costs, the law provided sentence credits earned with good behavior, enabling earlier release to halfway houses or home confinement. But by the end of 2023, the primary issue remaining was lack of halfway-house room for those who have earned enough credits to begin the release process. As a result, many release-eligible prisoners remain locked up.
BOP is struggling to meet demand for space at halfway houses, which play a crucial role in prepping prisoners for transition back into society, as it has exploded under FSA. That has left thousands of prisoners in their cells longer than intended. It took five years after FSA was enacted before BOP said it had finally solved seemingly intractable delays in the law’s implementation—first with an inability to calculate earned credits and then with changing rules on credit acquisition—only to run face-first into a crushing lack of halfway house space.
One potential solution: the Federal Location Monitoring (FLM) program, which allows minimum-security prisoners to be monitored on home confinement by U.S. Probation rather than in halfway houses. The program is underutilized, however, with only a small percentage of eligible prisoners participating.
BOP’s challenges with halfway houses extend beyond capacity issues, involving zoning difficulties, too. Attempts to open a halfway house in Hawaii have been unsuccessful, and delays persist in opening a new facility in Washington, D.C. Dana DiGiacomo, Administrator of BOP’s Residential Reentry Management Branch, said the lack of room has led to a “90-day projection of 99% utilization” of available space.
The situation is unfair to prisoners and taxpayers, too, who are stuck with the financial burden of keeping prisoners celled. With expiration of the Elderly Offender Pilot Program in 2023, older prisoners with specific needs now also stay locked up longer than necessary. Expanding FLM could offer a viable and cost-effective alternative, but cooperation from federal courts is needed in order for it to succeed.
Source: Forbes