Where a United States Attorney's Office does not prosecute, BOP imposes administrative sanctions. See, e.g., NACDL - News Release ~ 08/19/2021 edition of the Federal Register. available at https://www.bop.gov/coronavirus/docs/bop_memo_home_confinement.pdf on 603(a), 132 Stat. 25 Points on Home Confinement - Prison Professors Download The Bureau's ability to control populations in BOP-operated institutions as well as, where appropriate, in the community, allows the Bureau flexibility to respond to circumstances as varied as increased prosecutions or responses to local or national emergencies or natural disasters. See In the alternative, written comments may be mailed to the Rules Unit, Office of General Counsel, Bureau of Prisons, 320 First Street NW, Washington, DC 20534. See Start Printed Page 36794 Despite public requests to rescind the memo, the . The Department expects these numbers will continue to fluctuate as inmates continue to serve their sentences and the Bureau continues to conduct individualized assessments to make home confinement placements under the CARES Act for the duration of the covered emergency period. It uses the term covered emergency period twice, at the beginning and the end of the section. 5238. the current document as it appeared on Public Inspection on Finally, this interpretation permits the Bureau to take into account whether returning CARES Act inmates to secure custody, thereby increasing populations in BOP facilities, risks new, potentially serious COVID-19 outbreaks in prisons even after the broader national emergency has passed. (last visited Apr. On April 3, 2020, the Attorney General issued a second memorandum for the Director, finding that emergency conditions were materially affecting the functioning of the Bureau, and acknowledging that the Bureau was experiencing significant levels of infection at several of our facilities.[18] average of $55 per dayless than half of the cost of an inmate in secure custody in FY 2020. et al., 516. Jan. 13, 2022. regulations.gov include documents scheduled for later issues, at the request In what appears to be one of the most successful re-entry programs in federal prison history , of the 11,000+ low-risk federal inmates transferred to home confinement under this new provision, only 17 committed a . "CARES Act home confinement is, frankly, a black box," Guernsey, of the University of Iowa, said. 03/03/2023, 207 In addition, implementation of this interpretation is operationally sound and provides flexibility in managing BOP-operated institutions as well as cost savings for the Bureau. available at https://doi.org/10.17226/25945 Inmates in home confinement must submit to drug and alcohol testing, and counseling requirements. The CARES Act allowed for the compassionate release of prisoners who had risk factors for the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and who pose a lower risk of flight. documents in the last year, 1411 PDF History of the Baker Act 03/03/2023, 160 Start Printed Page 36796 Early studies demonstrated that around 64 percent of persons incarcerated in BOP institutions who were offered COVID-19 vaccinations accepted them. Confidential business information identified and located as set forth above will not be placed in the public docket file, nor will it be posted online. available at https://www.bop.gov/coronavirus/docs/bop_memo_home_confinement.pdf. DATES: Comments are due on or before July 21, 2022. New law seeks to create path around state's constitutional health care provision adopted in 2012. on The percentage of inmates placed in home confinement under the CARES Act that have had to be returned to secure custody for any violation of the rules of home confinement is very low; the number of inmates who were returned as a result of new criminal activity is a fraction of that. 26, 2022). See id. Statement for the Record HJC BOP Oversight Hearing corresponding official PDF file on govinfo.gov. 43. Accordingly, it is appropriate for the Department to consider whether the reintroduction into prison populations of individuals placed in home confinement, in part, upon consideration of their vulnerability to COVID-19[67] Continuation of the National Emergency Concerning the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic, 86 FR 11599 (Feb. 26, 2021); Continuation of the National Emergency Concerning the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic, 87 FR 10289 (Feb. 23, 2022). (GC 2022-D015) . website. available at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/how-covid-spreads.html See, e.g., documents in the last year, by the Energy Department See on offers a preview of documents scheduled to appear in the next day's 23. The . Proclamation 9994, Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak, 85 FR 15337 (Mar. By Tena-Lesly Reid. COVID-19 pandemic presents unique challenges for correctional facilities, such as those the Bureau manages. This undercuts the rationale that Congress included the 30-day grace period for any particular reason other than administrative convenience. The age and vulnerability of the inmate to COVID-19; The security level of the facility housing the inmate, with priority given to inmates residing in low and minimum security facilities; Whether the inmate had a reentry plan that would prevent recidivism and maximize public safety; and, Authority delegations (Government agencies), Organization and functions (Government agencies). Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA, Lead Federal Prison Consultant CARES Act sec. A 2019 study found that Black women comprise 42 percent of women in solitary detention yet only 21.5 percent of all female prisoners. In April 2020, then-Attorney General William Barr directed the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) under the CARES Act to reduce the number of people in federal prisons. Congress has explicitly provided the Bureau responsibility for maintaining custody of Federal inmates[52] Decarcerating Correctional Facilities during COVID-19: Advancing Health, Equity, and Safety [13], Prior to the passage of the CARES Act, Congress had enacted three main sources of statutory authority to allow the Bureau to place inmates in home confinement as part of reentry programming. 503 U.S. 329, 335 (1992); On December 21, 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that DOJ would be rescinding the January 2021 Office of Legal Counsel memo that determined that thousands of people who are currently serving sentences on home confinement through a provision of the CARES Act would need to return to federal custody after the termination of the . According to the Bureau, as of March 4, 2022, a small . id. Most of the 17 offenses were drug-related. (last visited Jan. 11, 2022). You can also include a description of the CARES Act home confinement circumstances, and why these circumstances may present an "extraordinary and compelling" reason to reduce your sentence. 06/17/2022 at 8:45 am. This proposed rule will not result in the expenditure by State, local, and Tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $100 million or more (adjusted annually for inflation) in any one year, and it will not significantly or uniquely affect small governments. Use the PDF linked in the document sidebar for the official electronic format. The Act's name is the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. Chevron, The updated memo is here, and also included below in additional resources. codified at . Thus, in 18 U.S.C. available at https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/7320_001_CN-2.pdf. available at https://www.justice.gov/olc/file/1457926/download documents in the last year, by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Language and Structure of the CARES Act, PART 0ORGANIZATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2022-13217, MODS: Government Publishing Office metadata, https://www.bop.gov/coronavirus/docs/bop_memo_home_confinement_april3.pdf, https://www.justice.gov/olc/file/1457926/download, part 0 of title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/about-covid-19/basics-covid-19.html, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/how-covid-spreads.html, https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/community/correction-detention/COVID-Corrections-considerations-for-loosening-restrictions-Webinar.pdf, https://www.durbin.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Letter.%20to%20DOJ%20and%20BOP%20on%20COVID-19%20and%20FSA%20provisions%20-%20final%20bipartisan%20text%20with%20signature%20blocks.pdf, https://www.bop.gov/coronavirus/docs/bop_memo_home_confinement.pdf, https://www.bop.gov/inmates/fsa/pattern.jsp, http://www.bop.gov/foia/docs/Home%20Confinemet%20memo_2021_04_13.pdf, https://www.bop.gov/foia/docs/Updated_Home_Confinement_Guidance_20201116.pdf, https://www.bop.gov/foia/docs/Home%20Confinement%20memo_2021_04_13.pdf, https://www.bop.gov/coronavirus/faq.jsp, https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/7320_001_CN-2.pdf, https://www.justice.gov/olc/file/1355886/download, https://www.congress.gov/bill/110th-congress/house-bill/1593/actions?r=5&s=5, https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/756/actions?r=6&s=9, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/living-prisons-jails.html, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/effectiveness/why-measure-effectiveness/breakthrough-cases.html. Pullen, Case No 3:22-CV-00339, 2022 US Dist LEXIS 141271 (D.Conn, August 9, 2022) USA Today, They were released from prison because of COVID-19. Congress has demonstrated through the passage of the SCA and the FSA an increasing interest in appropriately preparing inmates for reintegration into society, and an ongoing reevaluation of the societal benefits of incarceration versus non-custodial rehabilitative programs. Chevron documents in the last year, 36 [19] L. 115-391, sec. The Administration will start the clemency process with a review of non-violent drug offenders on CARES Act home confinement with four years or less to serve," Bates added. Overview of the Federal Home Confinement Program 1988-1996, . 62. 3621(a) (A person who has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment . More information and documentation can be found in our By April 2021, the Bureau clarified that the criminal history check covered both an inmate's crime of conviction and her broader criminal history. That law also limits the duration of home confinement "to the lesser of ten percent of a prisoner's sentence or six months," a term the CARES Act expandedbut only until "the covered emergency period" ends. The bill focuses on development and support of programs that provide alternatives to incarceration, expand the availability of substance abuse treatment, strengthen families, and expand comprehensive re-entry services. The economic impact of this proposed rule is limited to a specific subset of inmates who were placed in home confinement pursuant to the CARES Act and are not otherwise eligible for home confinement at the end of the covered emergency period. According to the Bureau, 4,902 of these inmates were placed in home confinement pursuant to the CARES Act. Clemency for CARES Act Home Confinement - R Street Institute 37. So the law increased the term of home confinement available to those held by BOP under 18 U.S.C. 26. Email. has no substantive legal effect. As DOJ notes, the CARES Act is silent "as to whether the Director has discretion to determine whether specific individuals placed in home confinement under the CARES Act may remain there" after the COVID-19 emergency ends. The Attorney General directed that the determination of whether to place an inmate in home confinement should be made on an individualized basis, taking into account the totality of the inmate's circumstances, the statutory requirements, and the following non-exhaustive discretionary factors: The inmate's risk score under the Prisoner Assessment Tool Targeting Estimated Risk and Needs (PATTERN);[11], The inmate's crime of conviction and the danger the inmate would pose to the community. [28] See Last week, Families Against Mandatory Minimums ("FAMM") issued a statement praising a memo issued by DOJ that expanded the number of inmates who are eligible for release to home confinement under the CARES Act. 34. H.R. CARES ACT | Home Confinement | COVID- 19 & the BOP dropping the ballMany individuals were scheduled to be released directly to home confinement due to COVID-. First, that section empowers the Attorney General to make a finding, during the pandemic emergency, that the pandemic has materially affected the functioning of the Bureau.