Dr. Marc Blatstein Blog, Preparation, Sentence Mitigation, White-Collar

BOP Update: PHONE, FSA And SCA Expedites HC /HH.

Policies for Phone, ETC, And FSA – SCA Now Work To Expedite HC and HH Release Dates. A Work In Progress…

October 4, 2024

SUMMARY

I) Phone Call Policies

  • Effective January 1, 2025, AICs who:
    Choosing not to participate in programming will pay for phone and video minutes.
  • As an incentive for programming, all those participants (or on wait lists) in First Step Act (FSA) Evidence-Based Recidivism Reduction (EBRR) programs, regardless of their FSA-earned time credit eligibility, will receive 300 free phone minutes each month.
  • Note: There is no mention of Productive Activities (PA).
  • Charges: $0.06 per minute for all audio communications and $0.16 per minute for video communications.

II) Time Credits, Community Placement

  • Currently, FSA AICs earn time credits, which can reduce the time before they are placed in community settings such as Residential Reentry Centers (RRCs) or home confinement.

III) Three, New Date Categories

  1. FTC Conditional Placement Date:
    The date when an AIC may be eligible for pre-release placement based on earned FSA Time Credits.
  2. Second Chance Act (SCA) Conditional Placement Date:
    The date when an AIC may be eligible for release under the SCA. SCA eligibility requires an individualized assessment and is not guaranteed.
  3. Conditional Transition to Community Date. The earliest possible release date is based on a ‘combination’ of FTCs and SCA eligibility.

BOP employees can begin this process 17-19 months before the Conditional Transition to Community Date. This could include recommendations for Direct Home Confinement for eligible individuals, bypassing RRC placement where appropriate.

My Comment.

It’s a positive step in the right direction that requires coordination among Grand Prairie, Texas, and case managers nationwide to collaborate.

“Perhaps we can provide an incentive to the case manager who devises the most efficient process, ensuring that every entitled AIC is included while adhering to the intent of the FSA. Otherwise, this will be another task for them to complete” for those already short-staffed.

Dr. Blatstein (Marc)
240.888.7778
PPRSUS.com
Physician Presentence Report Service