Opening a halfway house entails: 1) hiring then retraining/orienting counselors who are to play a large role in addressing the needs of former offenders who are going to be in the halfway house; 2) hiring experts in “educational/vocational training”; 3) administration of drug and alcohol treatment; and 4) seminar-workshops on “anger management”, as well as, “conflict resolution” (Claggion, n.d. , n. p. ).
Establishing a halfway house is a little difficult because there are so many people needed to be able to institute one (Claggion, n. d. , n. p. ). In addition to that, it is not very easy to establish “community based programs that are structured with key components that target such factors” (Claggion, n. d. , n. p. ). Difficulties in Maintaining a Halfway House
With regards to maintaining a halfway house, the following are encountered: 1) programs may not be administered to all, for instance, there is a different program for certain types of offenders, for instance, if criminal behavior is related with drug addiction then such program is the one that’s applicable to the person; 2) it is also difficult because not only the type of program is different, the quantity of treatment is also different depending on the order provided for by the “court or parole board”; and 3) it is very challenging for the head of a halfway house to guarantee that “upon completion of the program, former offenders should be able to really change for the better” otherwise halfway houses would not live up to its objectives (Association of Halfway House Alcoholism Programs of North America, Inc. , n. d. , n. p. ). Simply put, it is difficult to maintain halfway houses because it has to produce positive outcomes to help decrease crimes (Association of Halfway House Alcoholism Programs of North America, Inc. , n. d. , n. p. ). Differences between the Corrections’ Alternatives
The alternatives of corrections and its differences with the latter include: 1) “young offender’s institutes”, which are intended only for juveniles; 2) “military prisons”, which are used to house “prisoners of war, unlawful combatants, military persons guilty of a crime, etc; 3) “psychiatric prisons” which are intended for those criminals who are highly dangerous and are said to be psychological in nature (Federal Bureau of Prisons, n. d. , n. d. ).
References
Association of Halfway House Alcoholism Programs of North America, Inc. (2004). About Us. Retrieved February 28, 2008 from http://www. ahhap. org/ Claggion, J. S. (n. d. ). Community Corrections. Retrieved February 28, 2008 from http://members. aol. com/nu3psi96q/Jamaal/index1. html Federal Bureau of Prisons. (n. d. ). Prison Types and General Information. Retrieved February 28, 2008 from http://www. bop. gov/locations/institutions/index. jsp