What’s Confusing: “These Transfers Must be Completed Per Program Statement 5100.08 CN-3… OK?
It’s some “outside-the-box” thinking that hasn’t been a BOP brand before…
Despite sweeping leadership changes under Director Bill Marshall, the Bureau of Prisons continues to struggle to implement the First Step Act (FSA) and the Second Chance Act (SCA). While wardens, regional directors, and other senior officials have been replaced as part of a broader modernization effort, the unit responsible for calculating and applying FSA and SCA credits has remained largely unchanged.
A 2026 Government Accountability Office report found that more than 21,000 incarcerated individuals had earned time credits that were not applied as required by law. Marshall has directed that FSA and SCA authorities be applied cumulatively to maximize pre-release custody, including home confinement, and has made clear that shortages of halfway house beds should not prevent eligible individuals from receiving home confinement placements.
Despite these reforms, failures to properly calculate and apply earned-time credits remain a significant barrier to the law’s full implementation.