First Step Act Explained In Simple Terms
- thatbopguy
- May 29
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 15
This info is a brief overview. For more details we have a dedicated section with easy to read answers in our Discord
What Does the First Step Act Do?
The First Step Act, enacted in 2018, aims to reform the federal prison system by allowing eligible inmates to earn time off their sentence through participating in work and programs. They can get out of Prison years early. If you're loved one is still fighting a case you might want to read Federal Prison 101 Surviving Day One before reading this.
Who Qualifies for the First Step Act?
Eligibility under the First Step Act varies depending on what a person was charged with... We have a list of them in our Discord.
How To Help A Inmate Get Early Release:
To help your inmate get out early do this one thing if you do nothing else... read the 🏛 First Step Act channel in our Discord and then pass the info on to your loved one.
Why?
In Federal Prison most of the staff don't care about inmates or they are burnt out. They have case loads of hundreds of inmates, so they don't take the time to educate us on what or how to do things. Many times they will say "ask a inmate" because they honestly don't know....
Trust us, when you speak to your incarcerated person in the prison lingo and language written in our Discord they will understand IMMEDIATELY and be grateful because they will be able to pick up on what your saying and understand what to do. Take the time to learn what your up against and start working towards getting out early now.
First Step Act (FSA) is complex but our information comes directly from inmates seeing & experienceling it daily.
ℹ️ READ: 7-Ways To Support Someone In Prison
Do I Really Need To Read Your Discord?
Hmm 🤔, Well let's take a quick test to see how much you actually know.. Can you answer these questions with 100% certainty?
❓️ Which score affects your recidivism level?
❓️ How is the Recidivism Score calculated?
❓️ When Does a inmate Start Earning FSA?
❓️ When is the earliest a inmate can earn 15 days off?
If you can't answer ALL these without second guessing yourself YOU NEED OUR HELP. It's ok because no b.s. help is just one click away.
What Disqualifies You From Getting First Step Act?
Typically crimes commited against the country, Government, or sexual crimes are Disqualified. You can find the full list of disallowed offense here on the official BOP website.
What Programs Are Available Under the First Step Act?
The BOP has released the new Programs Guide. Of course we have it in our Discord server. It's shows ALL programs and the facilities they are located at. The is the ultimate planning tool.
Educational and Vocational Training: Providing inmates with skills for employment post-release.
Substance Abuse Treatment: Addressing addiction issues that may contribute to criminal behavior.
Mental Health Services: Offering support for inmates with mental health needs.
Participation in these programs can earn time credits, potentially leading to earlier transitions to home confinement or supervised release.
How Much Time Does The First Step Act Take Off Your Sentence?
Inmates can get up to 365 days of their sentence. But they can get out of prison even earlier... This question varies big time because there are so many factors. Here are the important facts. FSA allows eligible inmates to earn 10 or 15 days off each month. So some people can expect to do about 55% of their time and the rest on Federal Home Confinement.
How Successful Has the First Step Act Been?
We’ve all heard the promises: “The First Step Act will help people come home sooner, rebuild lives, and reduce mass incarceration.” But now that it’s been in place for a few years — has it really lived up to the hype?
Let’s break down the facts in a way that actually makes sense to us.
The Good News
Lower Recidivism: Out of nearly 30,000 people released under the First Step Act, only 12.4% have ended up back in custody — that’s way better than the national average.
🧾 Source: FAMM.org
Thousands Got Sentence Reductions: Over 4,000 people had their sentences reduced thanks to the law’s retroactive fairness rules.
🧾 Source:https://www.brennancenter.org/
More People in Programs: By early 2024, there had been more than 443,000 completions of approved FSA programs — that’s people taking real steps to change their lives and earn time back.
Time Off Sentences: On average, people who came home in 2023 under the FSA served about 82% of their original sentence, compared to nearly 90% before the law passed. That’s real time back in people’s lives.
What’s Still Not Working?
We’ve seen progress — but let’s keep it real: the First Step Act still isn’t perfect, and a lot of families are frustrated by what’s not working.
Not Everyone Gets Access to Programs: If the prison doesn’t offer enough classes or activities, your loved one can’t earn credits — even if they’re trying.
Credit Calculations Are Messy: The BOP is still inconsistent about when and how they apply earned time credits. That means a lot of people are still stuck waiting.
It Depends on the Facility: Some places follow the law better than others. Some staff are helpful, some… not so much. And that inconsistency can make a big difference in someone’s release timeline.
So... Is the First Step Act Working?
Yeah, it’s working for some. People are coming home early. Families are getting reunited. Lives are being rebuilt.
But it’s also true that we’ve got a long way to go — especially when it comes to fairness, transparency, and making sure everybody has the same shot at these second chances.
Is There a Limit On How Many Credits You Can Earn?
There is no limit. Inmates can earn up to a year off there prison sentence. The rest of the time goes towards pre-release.
Want more First Step Act Info? Get...
Official BOP doc's
Cheat sheets
Step-by-step guides
We have a fool proof way to earn MORE First Step Act time credits sooner that everyone can use starting today!
🤝 Our Promise 🤝
You will NOT find this info anywhere else online. We get our info DIRECT from current inmates. Plan the fastest way back to a normal life with the Fed To Family Network.
