Work Release / Work Furlough
In the state of California, Section 1208 of the P.C. allows for different communities to have different requirements and descriptions of "work furlough" or "work release".

(Note: In some areas, due to budget constraints, previous work release programs have been downsized or even completely abandoned.)

You might be in a dormitory-style jail setting in the evenings, and going to work at your regular job during the day.

In some jail systems, work release programs allow a prisoner who is sufficiently trusted or can be sufficiently monitored leave jail to continue working at his or her current place of employment, returning to jail when his/her shift is complete.

Some work release programs allow greater freedom for the prisoner, allowing prisoners who follow a Monday-Friday work week to attend work and live at their homes on those days, and serve their sentences two days at a time on weekends.

If you are convicted of a drug-related crime, you might be elgible for a work release program.

Working with your attorney, Sober Champion can support your petition for this kind of sentence.

No one wants to be in jail for even a minute. However, if you must serve some time, why not serve as much of it as possible outside the walls?

If you do qualify for work release, it is imperative that you follow the instructions to the letter. California Penal Code 1208(g) makes it pretty clear: "In the event the prisoner violates the conditions laid down for his or her conduct, custody, job training, education, or employment, the work furlough administrator may order the balance of the prisoner's sentence to be spent in actual confinement."

Simply put, this means there is no "three-strikes" concept in a work release or work furlough situation. You get one shot and that's it.

For this reason, it is smart (and in some cases mandatory) that you be accompanied by a sober companion during your workdays. After spending the evening in jail - even if it's a private jail - the temptation of "just one" can be so overpowering that you might not be able to resist. But with real addicts and alcoholics, one is too many and a thousand, never enough.

So if you are considering asking for this type of relief after your sentence has been determined, make sure you go into the courthouse with all the ammunition you will need.

Make sure the judge and the probabation department understand that you respect their authority; that you take the opportunity seriously; and that you are willing to make every effort to comply with their requirements - up to and including hiring a Sober Companion for those hours when you are out of custody.

If you are interested in pursuing this type of alternative sentencing for yourself, a loved one, or a business associate, please contact Sober Champion and we will do everything in our power to help you prepare for success.

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