Don’t Fall Prey to Inaccurate Release Date Calculations – Use Our Free, Reliable FSA Time Credit Calculator
South Jordan, Utah (D.A.S.) – As almost all federal inmates know by now, the 2018 First Step Act (FSA) time credit program (FTC) allows eligible federal inmates to earn credits toward early release and additional pre-release custody time in a halfway house or home confinement.
The law and Bureau of Prisons (BOP) policy both require that these FTC awards be given in addition to normal Second Chance Act consideration, which requires the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to consider all federal inmates for up to 12 months of pre-release custody.
Based on this new framework, calculating release dates and eligibility for placement in a halfway house or on home confinement has become complex. Unfortunately, the BOP has struggled to get it right, causing many inmates to not receive the full time credit benefits they’ve earned.
Some Key BOP Problems:
– BOP staff are undertrained on the FSA time credit rules and sometimes incorrectly treat the credits as discretionary like the Second Chance Act
– The BOP computer system doesn’t automatically calculate the important dates factoring in both FSA credits and Second Chance Act eligibility time
– A key provision of the law under the FSA is being disregarded – that FSA credits cannot be applied until an inmate has earned credits equal to the number of days remaining on their sentence. Many projected release dates and calculations for eligibility for pre-release custody placement wrongly assume credits are applied prematurely, or fail to project full credit amounts.
The result is that inmates aren’t being reviewed for pre-release custody at the proper, earlier dates, based on when their earned FSA credits will equal their remaining sentence and 12 months of Second Chance Act eligibility before that date.
Recently, several law firms and newly formed organizations have begun promoting their own private calculators to determine FSA/Second Chance Act release dates. Many of them are charging fees, or are using the effort to solicit legal work. Unfortunately, our analysis has found that these calculators are frequently inaccurate and unreliable. While we support all organizations aiming to help inmates – and while we openly work with all good-faith efforts to serve the inmate population, we have to unfortunately warn inmates to be careful. Inaccurate calculators can result in you unnecessarily running up against new problems getting your FTCs and Second Chance Act awards resolved in a timely manner.
Our Free FSA Time-Credit Report
The good news is that we’ve actively collaborated with elected officials and various interested stakeholders, including, to some extent, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) itself. Through these partnerships, we’ve created a highly accurate date calculator. This tool accurately applies the First Step Act (FSA) and Second Chance Act rules to determine:
– Your FSA time credit eligibility date (when credits earned will equal your remaining sentence)
– When you should be considered for up to 12 months of Second Chance Act pre-release custody
– The date you should be processed for pre-release custody
– How to effectively advocate with your Case Manager and use the administrative remedy process if needed
We’ve used this calculator with inmates at dozens of Bureau of Prisons (BOP) locations and have found it to be exceptionally accurate.
Best of all, our service is completely free of charge. For your personalized report with a detailed release date calculation and guidance, anyone can contact us.
Our calculator depends on you providing us with the some basic data. All you have to do is request our assistance and we will respond with simple instructions.
Don’t spend money on inaccurate release date projections. You are welcome to request a report from our calculator, at no cost.
If it becomes necessary to use the administrative remedy process, or to file in court, we are also willing to help where we can. It is import that you get the full time credit benefits you’ve earned under the First Step Act and full consideration of time under Second Chance Act.