Booker Releases Policy Brief Highlighting Success of CARES Act Home Confinement Program

Booker Chairs Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Criminal Justice and Counterterrorism

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Chair of the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice and Counterterrorism, today released a policy brief detailing the success of the CARES Act home confinement program three years after its inception.

In March 2020, Congress passed the CARES Act, which included provisions that permitted the Department of Justice to expand home confinement during the “covered emergency period” to mitigate COVID-19 risks in federal prisons. The Bureau of Prisons transferred 13,204 individuals to serve their sentences on home confinement. 3,627 still remained in the program as of May 27, 2023. In accordance with the CARES Act, the program officially ended on June 11, 2013, 30 days after the conclusion of the COVID-19 public health emergency.

The policy brief finds that the CARES Act home confinement program “has alleviated a strain on federal prison staff, saved taxpayers millions, reunified families, and successfully integrated thousands of formerly incarcerated individuals back into society– all without compromising public safety.”

In Fiscal Year 2020, the cost to incarcerate a person in a Federal facility was $120.59 per day. In contrast, according to the brief, “an inmate in home confinement costs an average of $55.25 per day—less than half the cost.”

The CARES Act home confinement program has also “enabled the reunion of thousands of families, empowered formerly incarcerated individuals to actively pursue employment and education, and facilitated their meaningful contributions to our economy and community.”

Moreover, of the 13,204 individuals assigned to the home confinement program under the CARES Act, only 22 – less than 1% – have been charged with a new criminal offense. “The evidence is clear: the CARES Act home confinement program has been a resounding success in safely reintegrating individuals into the community without compromising public safety,” concludes the brief.

Moving forward, “Congress should closely examine the success of the CARES Act home confinement program and consider it as a potential guiding framework for future initiatives that prioritize public safety and effectively promote rehabilitation.”

The policy brief can be viewed in full HERE.