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CJC1162 Parole and Probation
Chapter 8
Residential Community Supervision Programs
Introduction

Intermediate Sanctions are sentencing options between prison and probation that
provide punishment that fits the circumstances of the crime and the offender.
o At times, the U.S. has been too lenient with probationers who need tighter
controls, and too severe with prisoners who do not present a serious threat to
public safety if under supervision
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Intermediate Sanctions provide more freedom than prison but less freedom than
traditional probation
There are both residential & nonresidential intermediate sanctions
Residential options include:
o Halfway houses/community corrections centers
o Work release programs
o Shock incarceration/boot camps
Widening the net occurs when prosecutors or judges choose offenders for intermediate
sanctions who should have received probation.
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Residential Community
Corrections Facilities
 RCCFs are a popular intermediate sanction because they:
o Provide more intensive supervision than probation and parole
o Allow offenders to remain in the community where they have access to more
treatment services than prison
o Cost less than jail or prison
o Allow offenders to contribute to their families as well as pay victim back
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Residential Community Corrections Facilities, Con’t.
 While there is no “average” residential facility, they do share these features:
o Residents live in the facility (not at home).
o Residents must be employed
o Residents can leave the facility for work at a verified job.
o Residents must be preapproved to leave for any other reason, with appropriate
limits.
o There are restrictions on leaving for other than work, school, rehabilitation, or
medical needs, & approval depends on good behavior
Halfway Houses
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
Halfway houses, also known as Community Corrections Centers or RCCFs, are staffed 24
hours a day, 7 days a week, and provide residential services for offenders who are
either:
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Halfway Houses cont’d
 “Halfway-in” (intermediate sanction)
o high risk/high need probationers
o graduated sanctions for probation & parole violator
OR
 “Halfway-out” (release from prison to the community)
o preparole/prerelease prisoners
o parolees who need assistance transitioning from prison to the community
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History of Halfway Houses
 Halfway houses date back to the early 1800s in England and Ireland, and originated in
the U.S. in 1816.
 State & public support for halfway houses was lacking in U.S., so private, nonprofit
corporations opened them
 After only partial previous success, halfway houses received government assistance for
the first time in the 1960s.
 Today private halfway houses have a permanent niche as alternatives to prison
 Some jurisdictions rely on them more than others
 Private halfway houses choose their clients, contract with the government for a
specific amount per day per offender, & offenders are expected to assist financially
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Level Systems: Behavior Modification
 Increased freedom must be earned, based on:
o good behavior
o the amount of time in the program
o client’s financial situation
 The bottom level is most restrictive
 As offenders move up levels, they earn passes to leave the facility for longer periods of
time & for more reasons, curfews are later in the evening, weekend passes become
available, & some offenders are allowed to own their own vehicle
 Clients released from the residential phase are assigned to supervising officer & some
may return to the facility for aftercare treatment
Worker Perspectives & Role Orientation
 Two different type of staff work at halfway houses:
Those involved in security activities: population counts, searches, signing residents in &
out, dispensing medications, conducting breathalyzers & urine screens
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Case managers & counselors involved in treatment & rehabilitation: assessing needs &
risks, counseling, teaching classes, preparing prerelease plans
The different roles often result in role conflict, as the goals of punishment & treatment
clash
RCCFs for Women Offenders
 Many women offenders are good candidates for RCCFs, as nonviolent offenders
 Most women are nonviolent property or drug offenders, and do not pose a threat to the
community.
o Therefore, most women felons do not require prison sentences Female offenders
respond to strategies that incorporate their problems
 Supervision should be relational
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RCCFs for Women Offenders cont’d
• RCCFs that address gender-specific issues have grown, especially the issue of
dependent children
• Children of incarcerated parents are at risk
• Many programs exist for women to live in with their children while serving sanction.
• John Craine House in Indiana is an example of an RCCF that allows women offenders to
reside with their children
 It is more expensive than incarceration but provides prevention programs for
the children & recidivism rates are low
Evaluation of RCCFs
• Evaluations of RCCFs typically examine program success or failure rates by comparing
recidivism of residents with a matched sample of probationers or parolees.
• Evaluations conclude:
 Successful programs use cognitive behavioral treatment with trained staff
 RCCF clients most likely to fail: younger, use drugs/alcohol, lack job skills, have
few community ties, & more extensive criminal histories
 RCCF clients are more successful than high risk parolees,
 Low risk parolees have lower recidivism rates than RCCF clients
Shock Incarceration
 Shock incarceration is a brief period of imprisonment that precedes a term of
supervised probation and is variously referred to as:
o Shock probation
o Shock parole
o Intermittent incarceration
o Split sentence
o Boot camp
 The hope is the period of incarceration will convince the offender to avoid criminal
behavior
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Correctional Boot Camps
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

After beginning in Georgia in 1983, boot camps were the most common form of shock
incarceration from 1983-late 1990s.
They adopt the military concept of discipline, intense physical training, hard labor, drill
& ceremony, and rigid structure
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Correctional Boot Camps cont’d
 Eligible offenders generally:
o Are first-time felony offenders
o Have been convicted of a nonviolent offense
o Fall within a certain age group
o Meet certain physical requirements
o Volunteer to participate
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Types of Boot Camps
Prison Boot Camps
 Correctional administrators choose participants
 Offender volunteer
 With prison facility, but separate from general population
 Participants paroled upon graduation
 Time served is significantly less than regular prison sentence
 Types of Boot Camps
Probation/Jail Boot Camps
 Participants chosen at time of sentencing by judges or jail authorities
 Criticized for widening the net (would have otherwise received probation)
 Located in community
 Supervised by county sheriff departments, probation departments or combination
 Graduates go to ISP or regular probation
Types of Boot Camps
 Programs are typically 90-180 days before graduation to probation or parole
supervision
 Successful boot camps also provide therapeutic & educational program
 Counseling is especially important for juvenile boot camps
Louis Theroux Miami Mega Jail E2 P4:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVW8fjf25yQ
Criticisms
 Criticisms of boot camps are:
o They widen the net
o The confrontational style may have potentially negative consequences
o Problems with staff retention
Evaluations
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
Evaluations of boot camp effectiveness:
o Show boot camps have a positive impact in the short term, but do not reduce
recidivism in the long term
o Most successful programs have a significant treatment component, voluntary
participation, selection from prison-bound offenders, longer program duration,
& aftercare
o Interest in boot camps has diminished since 2000, & many of them have closed
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Work Release
 Work release is both a type of institutional corrections and a community corrections
program.
 Offenders are only released to go to work or attend school
 Jail-based work release may allow weekender programs & some pretrial programs,
along with traditional work release
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Work Release
• Traditional work release is much more restrictive than the halfway house environment
because offenders are not allowed to leave the facility for any other reason except work
and school.
• Traditional work release includes:
 Unsupervised release where offenders leave the jail every day to go to work on
their own
 Supervised release where a group of offenders are transported under
supervision & security to the same work site
Work Release
 Research is scant about the effectiveness of work release programs to reduce
recidivism
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Restitution Centers
• Restitution centers are a type of residential community correctional facility for workcapable offenders who owe victim restitution or community service.
• Focus is on gainful employment & payment of child support, restitution, court-ordered
fees, & rent/food.
• A restitution center is a halfway house that is less restrictive than a work release center
in that it permits residents to visit family, attend church, and go to the store or
treatment.
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Work Ethic Camp
• An alternative prison program based on a cognitive-behavioral treatment approach.
• Usually last for 120 days.
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Provide assistance in developing job readiness skills, decision-making, and life skills
such as money management.
CREST is a program that combines the therapeutic community concept with work
release
Rapper Released from Halfway House
 Rapper T.I. (Clifford Harris) was released in September 2011, from an Atlanta halfway
house. He had spent 10 months in federal prison on a probation violation.
 He was arrested in 2010 on drug charges & sentenced to 11 months for violating
probation he had received after he was convicted of federal firearms charges.
 He was sent to the halfway house after being released from prison.
Standards for RCCFs
http://www.doc.ks.gov/communitycorrections/resources/Community%20Corrections%20Residential%20Center%20Standar
ds.pdf
Check out the link above to review an example of the standards that adult residential
community corrections facilities must meet in order to operate in Kansas. Similar
standards apply in every state
END OF CHAPTER 8
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