Recidivism Prevention

• Halfway houses are designed to help inmates acclimate back into the community after imprisonment. Supervisors and staff offer counseling, employment help and even assistance in getting future housing. Inmates are given structured, supervised activities and schedules, which helps them readjust to residential life and become important members of society. The most important purpose of residents of halfway houses are also given assistance in finance management skills. The goal of halfway houses is to prevent recidivism, according to the to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website.
  
  

RCC Referral

• The Federal Bureau of Prisons website states that five factors are considered when referring a prisoner to a halfway house. These components, which are listed in Title 18 of the United States Code, include the house's current resources; the circumstances of the prisoner's offense; the prisoner's characteristics and personal history; the statements made during the prisoner's court hearing; and any information released by the U.S. Sentencing Commission. If the five factors indicate that a prisoner should be placed in a halfway house, his unit team, which may contain his case manager, counselor and unit manager, meet to discuss the length of time the prisoner will spend there.
  
  

Drug Rehabilitation

• Halfway houses play an important role in transitional drug abuse treatment. Inmates participate and complete residential drug abuse programs while housed in a halfway house, which helps prevent drug- or alcohol-related recidivism.
  
  

Monitoring

• Inmates are monitored every hour of the day and night, but they may sign out for visitations with family, work, counseling or recreation. Drug and alcohol tests are regularly performed, and staff and supervisors stay in close contact with the inmate's family and employer.
  
  

Employment

• Inmates are responsible for working 40 hours a week and paying 25 percent of their gross income to the facility to cover their housing costs. Medical and mental health costs are not covered except for in emergency cases, and only on a case-by-case basis.
  
  

Population

• As of June 2010, there were 8,866 inmates in halfway houses in the United States, compared with 2,024 prisoners serving their sentences at home.