The Community Corrections Act of Colorado regulates the operations of halfway houses.
Halfway houses were created for felons who have been released from prison yet as parolees need more supervision to rehabilitate themselves into society. In 1974, Colorado initiated the Community Corrections Act regulating the residents, administration and activities of halfway houses. The Colorado Department of Corrections, in conjunction with the parole officers working with released prisoners, may recommend offenders to be potential residents in halfway houses.
Diversion Clients
Diversion clients are convicted felons who are sentenced by district judges to serve their sentences in halfway houses. For these felons, halfway houses represent an opportunity to rehabilitate themselves into being productive citizens, without having to go to prison. Judges may directly place offenders with less than two prior felony convictions in a halfway house.
Transition Clients
Transition clients are prison inmates that may be assigned to halfway houses as part of, or prior to, parole. A halfway house offers these offenders the opportunity to re-establish ties to their families, communities and employment contacts within a structured environment and decreases the likelihood of recidivism.
Funding
The state of Colorado provides all funding for halfway houses. This funding is used for programs to help in the treatment of substance and alcohol abuse, mental health issues and other behavioral conditions. Halfway houses may be managed publicly or privately, using the resources and implementing the programs provided by the agencies that deal with criminal offenders.
Responsibilities of Halfway Houses
Halfway houses are responsible for providing programs and activities that encourage felons to commit to changing their behaviors and to lower their risks of re-offending. Halfway houses must ensure their residents pay any court-ordered restitutions, including child support. In Colorado, halfway houses provide around-the-clock, continuous supervision. Managers have the right to search a resident's personal belongings, body and room, to monitor a resident's phone calls and to initiate random drug and alcohol testing.
Responsibilities of Residents
All residents of halfway houses must provide proof of a savings account from a recognized financial institution. They must also maintain full-time employment or be involved in full-time educational or vocational studies. Residents are required to participate in any and all programs proposed by the managing staff of the halfway house, including random drug and alcohol testing and body searches. A resident may be expelled from a halfway house if he fails to comply with any of these requirements. If this occurs, the courts will re-evaluate the resident's commitment to living in a halfway house and the courts may send the resident back to prison.
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