The goal of a halfway house is to assist offenders with a smooth transition from a penal facility back into the community (Latessa & Smith, 2011). This transitional period is vital for the offenders to be successful upon release allowing them to have an opportunity to obtain employment, treatment, as well as providing them a place to call home until they are able to find suitable housing. There are two types of halfway houses noted in the text, the first is supportive and the second is interventive. The question requests to know my opinion of having one within my community. As a member of the community as well as the criminal justice system, my opinion would be supportive of the venture. The halfway houses have rules requiring offenders obtain employment, seek counseling for substance abuse as well as other conditions, and perform community service (Young et. al., 2002). The residential structure of the halfway houses is designed to provide a supportive environment for the offenders. This allows them an opportunity to obtain proper standing within the community prior to being fully released on their own. The supportive type of halfway house is not as monitored as the interventive halfway house (Latessa & Smith, 2011). …show more content…
In my opinion, I would advocate for the interventive halfway house due to the continued monitoring, counseling, and treatment options it affords the offenders (Latessa & Smith, 2011).
This would ensure the offenders have an increased opportunity to be successful within the community. In 2004, President George W. Bush approved funding to assist with reentry of offenders in acknowledgment of the need for this types of assistance (United States Department of Justice, n.d.). The offenders often leave the penal facilities with no resources, assets, or support system. The function of halfway houses is to allow the offender the opportunity to build a productive lifestyle within the parameters of the
law. References Latessa, E. J. & Smith, P. (2011). Corrections in the community (5th ed.). Cincinnati Ohio: Anderson Publ. Co. United States Department of Justice. (n.d.). Prisoners and prisoner reentry. Retrieved from https://www.justice.gov/archive/fbci/progmenu_reentry.html. Young, D., Taxman, F.S., Byrne, J.M. (2002). Engaging the community in offender reentry. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/196492.pdf.
Jail diversion programs such as community residential treatment centers can be short-term or long-term and are designed with 12-step programs that address the offender’s issues with drug and alcohol abuse in a real-world setting (Hanser,
Throughout his novel, Texas Tough: The Rise of America’s Prison Empire, author and professor Robert Perkinson outlines the three current dominant purposes of prison. The first, punishment, is the act of disciplining offenders in an effort to prevent them from recommitting a particular crime. Harsh punishment encourages prisoners to behave because many will not want to face the consequences of further incarceration. While the purpose of punishment is often denounced, many do agree that prison should continue to be used as a means of protecting law-abiding citizens from violent offenders. The isolation of inmates, prison’s second purpose, exists to protect the public. Rehabilitation is currently the third purpose of prison. Rehabilitation is considered successful when a prisoner does n...
Typically work-release program we utilize a halfway house instead of a high secure institution or facility for nighttime confinement and weekend supervision.
In America millions of offenders including men and women leave imprisonment in hope to return to their family and friends. On an article Prisoners and Reentry: Facts and Figures by The Annie E. Casey Foundation, in the year 2001 1.5 million children were reunited with their parents as they were released from prison. Also in 2005 the number of that passed prison gates were 698,499 and the number of prisoners that were released was approximated at about 9 million. Parole and Prison reentry has been a topic that really interests not only a lot of the communities around the world but is a topic that interest me. Recidivism is not only the topic that interests people but the offenders that get off on parole and how they cope with society after they
In-prison and post-release vocational training and work programs evaluations have shown that they are considered to be most effective, as they greatly reduce the rate of recidivism. Steady employment and educational services are some of the main factors in delaying or preventing an individual from re-offending in the first three years following release. More reentry programs are using the comprehensive strategy in response to what research and evaluations have found. Comprehensive strategies are applied in the state and local levels of government, mainly relying on community-based groups to coordinate and provide services for those re-entering society. These programs usually start before a prisoners release and provide assistance in receiving employment, housing, substance abuse, and mental health
What exactly is the importance behind having prisoner reentry programs put in place for those that are released from prison? Two-thirds of released prisoners are rearrested within three years of release. One and a half million children have a parent in prison. Four million citizens have lost their right to vote. Men and women enter U.S. prisons with limited marketable work experience, low levels of educational or vocational skills, and many health-related issues, ranging from mental health needs to substance abuse histories and high rates of communicable diseases. When they leave prison, these challenges remain and affect neighborhoods, families, and society at large (Solomon). Prisoner reentry is defined as “All activities and programming
One of those many changes was the separation of conventional rehabilitative methods to accepting new intermediate sanctions. “The rationale for intermediate punishments was based, in part, on the assumption that a wider range of sentencing options would allow judges to better match the punishments they issued to the seriousness of the offences committed” (Petersen and Palumbo, 1997). Intermediate sanctions are alternate punishments which fall between regular probation and incarceration. This can include community based treatment programs, in-patient drug treatment programs, house arrest, electronic monitoring, boot camps, and intense supervision. Some of the offenders may be required to attend therapy sessions whether that be family therapy, drug and alcohol therapy, or cognitive behavioral therapy. Other recommendations/ likely requirements would be parenting classes, mentoring programs, and interpersonal skill
Prisons and correctional facilities in the United States have changed from rehabilitating people to housing inmates and creating breeding grounds for more violence. Many local, state, and federal prisons and correctional facilities are becoming more and more overcrowded each year. If the Department of Corrections (DOC) wants to stop having repeat offenders and decrease the volume of inmates entering the criminal justice system, current regulations and programs need to undergo alteration. Actions pushed by attorneys and judges, in conjunction current prison life (including solitary confinement), have intertwined to result in mass incarceration. However, prisoner reentry programs haven’t fully impacted positively to help the inmate assimilate back into society. These alterations can help save the Department of Corrections (DOC) money, decrease the inmate population, and most of all, help rehabilitate them. After inmates are charged with a crime, they go through the judicial system (Due Process) and meet with the prosecutor to discuss sentencing.
Intermediate sanctions are a new punishment option developed to fill the gap between traditional probation and traditional jail or prison sentences and to better match the severity of punishment to the seriousness of the crime. Intermediate sanctions served in the community now account for 15 percent of adjudicated juvenile cases (Puzzanchera, Adams, and Sickmund, 2011). All intermediate sanctions are enforced by the United States Criminal Justice System. The main purposes of intermediate sanctions: (1) better match the severity of punishment to the seriousness of the crime, (2) reduce institutional crowding, (3) control correctional costs. Primarily, this is a needed method of punishment to make offenders accountable for the extent of crime and if so let offenders live in their communities to fulfil punishment if not too extensive.
Reentry programs have been developed nationwide to address offender needs and smooth the transition from prison into the community. Reentry programs are initiatives taken to ensure that ex-offenders successfully transition into law-abiding members of their communities. Studies have revealed that ex-offender reentry is a process that all individuals transitioning from prison to the community experience. Ex-offender reentry program is a precursor to successful community reintegration, hoewever, there are few interventions that have demonstrated success to meet the overwhelming needs of individuals leaving correctional facilities during their
In recent discussions of prison reform, a controversial issue has been whether diversion programs are more beneficial than not. On the one hand, some argue that diversion programs give convicted criminals a chance to hopefully better themselves and get back into society. On the other hand, however, others argue that these programs are allowing dangerous criminals back into the streets with no guarantee of them changing their behaviors. In sum, then, the issue is whether society and the government should allow these unguaranteed hopes to continue. While some believe that diversion programs may be a good substitute for prison, diversion programs are not an efficient substitute because they release potentially dangerous criminals and felons out onto the streets.
Half-way houses subsidize and contribute a lot to society. They help ex-criminals reintegrate back into functioning members of society. Half-way houses take this responsibility and take care of these ex-convicts by giving them help and attention. They also help drug addicts obtain support to get over their addiction, as well as alcoholics. They have to follow certain actions that necessitate for them to stay in the halfway house. I do agree on how halfway houses should only be for prisoners with minor offenses, however. There should be certain protocols in order for an ex-con or even a drug addict that want to be in a halfway house, such as wanting to get cleaned.
They may find it more difficult to get housing, obtain employment, and may have higher re-occurring substance abuse issues. Although, offenders without mental illness may face the same challenges, it is assumed that the mental disorder only adds to the increased chances of recidivism when unable to obtain necessities to be successful while living independently. Inadequacies in the very systems that are designed to assist in reintegration may actually exacerbate barriers faced by mentally ill offenders. An example of this is that many community-based advocacy and treatment programs are ill-prepared to meet the unique need of mentally disordered offenders. There also is issues with overloaded case managers and the lack of funding to increase staff positions. Specialized treatment programs are needed for mentally ill offenders. (Torgersen, 2013).One study conducted in a small New York State prison found that 64 percent of mentally ill offenders who were returned to the community were re-arrested and returned to prison within 18 months of release compared to 60 percent of offenders without a mental illness diagnoses (Hall, Miraglia, Lee,Chard-Wierschem, & Sawyer, 2012). While not a major difference in percentage rates the study does prove that prisoners with mental health diagnoses appear to be more prone to re-entry if they are unable to link with proper resources in the community. (Torgerson,
This model of corrections main purpose was to reintroducing the offenders in to the community. This Program was invented to help offenders in the transition from jail to the community, aid in the processes of finding jobs and stay connected to their families and the community. The needs of these individuals are difficult: the frequency of substance abuse, mental illness, unemployment, and homelessness is elevated among the jail population.
...enders get on the right path and reduces the possibility of being a repeat offender. Elizabeth has proved that rehabilitation is effective if programs are available. Studies have shown the decline in recidivism with rehabilitation. Offenders are less likely to renter jail when they have somewhere to live, job, and a positive relationships. I agree with Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, “To put people behind walls and bars and do little or nothing to change them is to win a war but lose a battle. It is wrong. It is expensive. It is stupid” (Schmalleger, 2009). I believe rehabilitation can serve as a new beginning to what the offenders and even society considered an ending.