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halfway house

 
Dictionary: halfway house
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n.
  1. A rehabilitation center where people who have left an institution, such as a hospital or prison, are helped to readjust to the outside world.
  2. A stopping place, such as an inn, that marks the midpoint of a journey.

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Law Dictionary: Halfway House
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A residence established to assist persons who have left highly structured institutions to adjust to and reenter society and live within its accepted norms. Mental patients and prisoners may be released to facilities of this kind located within the community and usually with no security other than supervised regimen of sign-in, sign-out, and curfew rules. Release to halfway houses is sometimes a first step in a parole program. Modern statutes permit courts to sentence defendants directly to such facilities, known as residential community treatment centers as a condition of probation.

A work-release program may utilize a halfway house instead of a more secure institution for nighttime confinement and weekend supervision. The halfway house provides a "supervised and restricted environment in which to ascertain the convict's ability to form a productive life in society [while simultaneously fulfilling] the functions of a penal institution in its concern for security and rehabilitation." 400 F. Supp. 1046, 1048.

Although states are not required to utilize such modern correctional concepts as halfway houses, if they choose to do so, the procedures for assigning inmates to such facilities must meet standards of procedural due process and equal protection of the laws. 617 F. 2d 996.

Medical Dictionary: half·way house
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(hăf'wā')
n.

A rehabilitation facility for individuals, such as mental patients or substance abusers, who no longer require the complete facilities of a hospital or other institution but who are not yet prepared to return to their communities.

Wikipedia: Halfway house
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For other uses, see Halfway house (disambiguation).

The purpose of a halfway house, also called a recovery house or sober house, is generally to allow people to begin the process of reintegration with society, while still providing monitoring and support; this is generally believed to reduce the risk of recidivism or relapse when compared to a release directly into society. Some halfway houses are meant solely for reintegration of persons who have been recently released from prison or jail, others are meant for people with chronic mental health disorders, and most others are for people with substance abuse issues. These sober halfway houses are many times voluntary places of residence and many of the residents may have no criminal record whatsoever. There is often opposition from neighborhoods where halfway houses attempt to locate.

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United States

Most programs in the United States make a distinction between a halfway house and a sober/recovery house. A halfway house has an active rehabilitation treatment program run throughout the day, where the residents receive intensive individual and group counseling for their substance abuse while they establish a sober support network, secure new employment, and find new housing. Residents stay for one to six months. Their stay is usually financed by their behavioral health insurance. Whereas at places labeled as recovery houses or sober houses for those with substance abuse problems, residents are only asked to remain sober and comply with a minimal recovery program. Residents pay for their own stay.

In the State of Pennsylvania, a halfway House is much different than a Recovery House or Sober House. A Drug and Alcohol Halfway House in this region is licensed by the Department of Health and has staff coverage 24 hours a day. This staff includes a clinical treatment team.

In the United States, a halfway house may also refer to a place where one stops midway through a journey.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, halfway house usually refers to a place where people with mental disorders, victims of child abuse, orphans or teenage runaways can stay. The latter are often run by charities, including the Church of England and other churches, and community groups. Residential places for offenders on bail are known as bail hostels.[1] However, a halfway house more usually refers to something combining features of two other things, for example a solution to a problem based on two ideas.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Reid orders bail hostels review". BBC News. 7 November 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6123534.stm. Retrieved on 2006-11-07. 

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Law Dictionary. Law Dictionary. Copyright © 2003 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Medical Dictionary. The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Halfway house".  Read more