Someone in our community sent a message last month. He believed he was weeks away from home confinement. He had earned First Step Act credits. Completed more than a dozen programs. No disciplinary issues. But when he met with his counselor, he was told he might not leave for another seven months.
There was no misconduct. The problem was his file.
No verified home placement. No employer confirmation. No release plan. Nothing to demonstrate why moving him out of custody was in the interest of the case manager reviewing his name.
If that sounds harsh, it’s not. It’s how the system works. Case managers don’t move people forward based on effort. They move people who make their jobs easier—and safer.
That’s what Tracii Hutsona understood.
After receiving a 51-month sentence—above the guideline range—she didn’t focus on what should’ve happened. She focused on what came next. As she wrote in her Trustpilot review:
“I learned what to expect when I hit the prison, so that I would be able to navigate efficiently and at once start receiving FSA credits… White Collar Advice helped me put together a release plan that I was able to use as an accountability guide throughout my journey. Not only did this release plan go to my family and friends, I posted it on my blog.”
That release plan became the basis for everything that followed.
When Tracii met with her Unit Team, she didn’t walk in empty-handed. She showed her case manager a printed plan. She had already confirmed where she’d live. She knew what she’d do next. And because her documentation showed structure, initiative, and accountability, the staff didn’t just approve of her work—they asked her to share it with others.
So she did. Tracii began teaching classes. She led discussions on journaling, release planning, and productive activity tracking. She wasn’t just participating—she was leading. And she was documenting all of it.
That work paid off. When she filed for a sentence reduction after one year, she didn’t submit a promise. She submitted a record.
Her sentencing judge granted her a reduction. The camp administrator and case manager supported it. And she left with 11 months off, a full year in halfway/home confinement, and continued benefits under both the First Step and Second Chance Acts.
That outcome didn’t happen because of policy. It happened because she made it easy for stakeholders to act on her behalf.
Which brings us back to the new BOP directive.
On May 28, the Bureau of Prisons issued a policy expansion aimed at increasing access to home confinement. The directive instructs staff to prioritize transfers for people who don’t require transitional services in halfway houses. But the burden is on you to prove you meet that criteria.
Without documentation—without a clear plan—the answer will almost always be no. Or worse, nothing at all.
Tracii understood what that meant. She made the decision easier for everyone around her. She framed her plan in terms of what her case manager needed to see—not just what she hoped would happen.
The directive is clear:
- Use First Step and Second Chance Act dates to guide referrals
- Reserve halfway house space for those who require it
- Move people directly to home confinement when justified by the file
That word—justified—matters. A blank file isn’t justification. A vague promise isn’t justification. Proof is.
Ask yourself:
- Have you submitted a written plan with housing and job information?
- Are your certificates, programs, and service work organized and stored in your central file?
- Would your case manager describe your transition as low-risk and well-supported?
If you can’t answer yes to all three, start working now.
What your file says about you will determine when you leave—not what the policy says in general.
Join our next webinar. We’ll walk through what went into Tracii’s release plan, how to build your own, and how to create documentation that helps case managers advocate for you, despite their inevitable cynicism.
Justin Paperny
