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Work release: a guide for families

What it is, who usually qualifies, how it starts, what happens to wages, and how families can help. With each state's official rules where they are published.

Important: eligibility and rules are decided by the agency (the DOC, the board or the court) and differ by state and by case. This guide is not an official determination or legal advice. Confirm everything with the case manager.

Coverage of this guide

Verified against official sources: 13 states (Idaho, Colorado, Nevada, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, South Carolina, Washington, West Virginia) and federal BOP.

Last source check: 2026-10-21

What's missing: 38 states without verified official information (listed below). Arkansas lists work release centers, but its site blocked our automated check.

Human-reviewed: not yet

What it is

  • Work release: the person is still serving the sentence and in custody, lives at a center, and leaves for work on an approved schedule.
  • Parole: the person has left prison and lives in the community under supervision.
  • Halfway house: supervised housing; depending on the state it can be used for work release, for parole, or as an alternative to prison.
  • Furlough: a short, temporary leave (for example, a funeral or an interview), not a work program.
  • Federal: the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) uses residential reentry centers (RRCs, "halfway houses") and home confinement near the end of a sentence. BOP: Residential Reentry Management Centers (opens in new tab).

Who usually qualifies

Each state sets its own rules. Agencies generally look at:

  • How close the person is to release or to the parole eligibility date.
  • Custody level (usually minimum) and conduct in prison.
  • The offense: many programs exclude violent or sex offenses.
  • Open detainers and the housing plan.

We don't give time frames or percentages the agency doesn't publish. See what each state publishes below.

How it starts

  • In most states the person doesn't "apply" alone: the case manager makes a referral, or the agency decides.
  • Ask the case manager whether the person is on the list, what's missing, and when it's reviewed.
  • Completing programs, staying out of trouble and having ID documents ready usually helps.

Wages, fees and savings

The person earns a wage, but many agencies take deductions by law or regulation: room and board, restitution, court fines and fees, child support, and sometimes a required savings account for release. Amounts and percentages vary by state; ask the center for its written policy. We don't give numbers the agency hasn't published.

Rules and violations

  • Strict times to leave and return, and checks on where the person is.
  • Drug and alcohol tests; no phones or other items without permission.
  • Coming back late, going somewhere not approved, or losing the job can lead to a sanction, lost credits, or a return to prison.
  • Ask the center for the resident handbook.

What families can do

  • Visits: each center has its own visiting rules and application, different from the prison's.
  • Transport: ask whether you can drive them to work and what approval is needed.
  • Work clothes and shoes: ask what you can drop off and how.
  • ID documents: a birth certificate, Social Security card and ID make it easier to get hired. See resources by state.

What each state publishes (official sources)

Idaho

  • Idaho runs Community Reentry Centers (CRCs): residential facilities operated by the Idaho Department of Correction (IDOC) for people nearing release or parole. Residents typically take part in work release, community service and cognitive-behavioral programs.
  • The CRCs are in Boise (East Boise, for women), Kuna (Treasure Valley), Idaho Falls, Nampa, Pocatello and Twin Falls. Each has its own visiting rules and application on the IDOC site.
  • After release, IDOC can pay for up to 30 days in an approved transitional home for people who qualify, if the parole officer gets funding approval first.

Official source: IDOC: Community Reentry Centers (opens in new tab) · IDOC: Transition and Treatment Funding Program (PDF) (opens in new tab)

Colorado

  • In Colorado, work release mostly happens through community corrections ("halfway houses"), supervised by the Division of Criminal Justice. People from the Department of Corrections (CDOC) can go as "transition" inmates, or later as a condition of parole.
  • Under CDOC Administrative Regulation 550-01, the case manager refers people unless they waive it. People with a violent offense are referred 9 months before the estimated parole eligibility date (PED), and placement may happen 6 months before. Others are referred 19 months before the PED, with placement possible 16 months before.
  • The local community corrections board must approve the person before placement. Referrals usually go to the county where they want to live or the county of conviction.
  • Someone returned to prison from community corrections ("regressed") must spend 3 months in a CDOC facility before a new referral, or 1 year after a Class I disciplinary conviction.

Official source: CDOC: Community Corrections (opens in new tab)

Nevada

  • Nevada's Department of Corrections (NDOC) runs two transitional housing centers where residents are still in NDOC custody and can work in the community before release: Casa Grande Transitional Housing (Las Vegas) and Northern Nevada Transitional Housing (Reno, men only).
  • NDOC says Casa Grande was built for non-violent, non-sex-offense residents within 18 months of their parole eligibility date, so they can seek work and secure housing before release. Northern Nevada Transitional Housing began as a restitution center for non-violent, non-sex-offense inmates within one year of term expiration or parole eligibility, to work and address court-ordered fees, fines and restitution.
  • NDOC Administrative Regulation 543 (Transition Centers) governs these centers.

Official source: NDOC: Casa Grande Transitional Housing (opens in new tab) · NDOC: Northern Nevada Transitional Housing (opens in new tab) · NDOC AR 543: Transition Centers (PDF) (opens in new tab)

Connecticut

  • Connecticut DOC's Division of Parole and Community Services contracts with community programs for halfway houses, work release and supportive housing.

Official source: CT DOC: Parole and Community Services (opens in new tab)

Delaware

  • Delaware DOC's Level IV work release programs (Plummer Community Corrections Center and Sussex Work Release Center) are an alternative sentence or a transition from a secure facility, with paid and unpaid work and treatment programs.

Official source: Delaware DOC: Community Corrections (opens in new tab)

Illinois

  • Illinois DOC's adult transition centers are work-release facilities for people still in IDOC custody near the end of their sentence.

Official source: IDOC: Adult Transition Centers (opens in new tab)

Indiana

  • Indiana DOC lists work release centers, where some people serve the end of a sentence while working.

Official source: IDOC: Parole Districts (opens in new tab)

Iowa

  • Iowa's eight judicial district departments of correctional services run residential facilities (halfway houses and work release centers) for people on probation, parole or work release. The court, the Board of Parole or the district decides placement.

Official source: Iowa DOC: district pages (opens in new tab)

Kansas

  • Kansas DOC runs the Wichita Work Release Facility.

Official source: KDOC: Wichita Work Release Facility (opens in new tab)

Nebraska

  • Nebraska's two Community Corrections Centers (Lincoln and Omaha) are state facilities for people still in NDCS custody, often on work release, before parole.

Official source: NDCS: Facilities (opens in new tab)

South Carolina

  • South Carolina DOC lists the Manning Reentry/Work Release Center among its institutions.

Official source: SCDC: Institutions (opens in new tab)

Washington

  • Washington DOC runs reentry centers (formerly called work release) where people finishing a prison sentence live while they work and prepare for release. DOC decides placement; people don't apply directly.

Official source: WA DOC: Reentry Centers (opens in new tab)

West Virginia

  • West Virginia's Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation runs minimum-security community corrections centers with work release units.

Official source: WV DCR: Adult Facilities (opens in new tab)

Federal (BOP)

The BOP contracts with residential reentry centers (RRCs), also known as halfway houses, to help people nearing release with employment counseling, job placement and financial management. Home confinement is another form of prerelease custody. The case team at the federal prison makes the referral.

Official source: BOP: Residential Reentry Management Centers (opens in new tab) · BOP: Custody and Care (opens in new tab) · BOP Program Statement 7310.04: Community Corrections Center Utilization (PDF) (opens in new tab)

Other states

No verified official information yet for these states. Ask the Department of Corrections:

General information, not legal advice. Checked 2026-10-21.

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Sources: How we source and verify · Last verified: · Corrections

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