ABSTRACT
Community residential correctional facilities, also known as halfway houses, are transitional residences for criminal offenders that include both private and public programs, ranging from facilities providing a bed and three meals per day to programs designed to meet all of an offender’s treatment needs. The halfway house concept began in England and Ireland in the early 1800s, spread to the United States in 1817, and was implemented widely until parole was introduced in the early 1900s and the Great Depression of the 1930s weakened financial support for privately-operated homes. The halfway house movement was reborn in the 1950s due, in part, to a growing awareness of the ineffectiveness of institutional corrections, and it culminated in 1964 with development of the International Halfway House Association. Today, halfway houses serving high-risk clients have produced evidence of lower recidivism and cost-effectiveness. This chapter discusses the history, operations, practices, effectiveness, cost, and future of halfway houses.
