Home Sweet Home

Home confinement comes in two different varieties – one is far more common than the other.

If you’re an inmate in federal prison and headed to home confinement due to the Second Chance Act (SCA), First Step Act (FSA), or a combination of both, you should be aware of the kinds of home confinement the BOP uses.

Most inmates eligible for home confinement will begin home confinement administered by the halfway house. This is the most common scenario for home confinement, since the halfway house placement was granted through the First Step Act, the CARES Act, or the Second Chance Act.

However, approximately 10% of inmates are on home confinement via Federal Location Monitoring (FLM), which is administered through the probation office. This can only be initiated by your case manager, and then the RRM in federal prison.

In both scenarios, you’re considered to be in Bureau of Prisons custody until your final day.

We recently had a client told they would be going to the halfway house, even though they were previously told they were going directly to home confinement. Both are technically true. You must check in at the halfway house first, and then home confinement will begin shortly after – sometimes on the same day, otherwise within the next few days or weeks.

Most FLM inmates still have a traditional ankle monitor, which requires a home phone line to be installed in the residence. However, some halfway house partners now offer a GPS-based monitoring system, which can look like an ankle monitor, or a wristband that looks similar to an Apple Watch.

If you need our help navigating these questions as they arise, or have other post-conviction needs, give us a call during our business hours: 407-434-0175, or reach out on our website.