Glossary

The vocabulary of a sentence computation

Every term a case manager, computation sheet, or court filing will throw at you — defined in plain language, with the statute it comes from.

BP-9Administrative Remedy Request (form BP-229): The formal written grievance to the warden — step two of BOP's administrative remedy chain (BP-8 informal resolution, BP-9 warden, BP-10 region, BP-11 central office) under 28 C.F.R. part 542. It must be filed within 20 calendar days of the event; the warden has 20 days to answer.
Detainer: A hold another agency (ICE, a state court, another jurisdiction) lodges against a person in BOP custody, asking to take custody at release. Active detainers generally block halfway-house and home-confinement placement, and a final order of removal — but not a mere ICE detainer — blocks applying FSA credits.
DSCCDesignation and Sentence Computation Center: The centralized BOP office in Grand Prairie, Texas that computes every federal sentence and designates the initial facility. Institution staff can't change a computation themselves — corrections go through the DSCC, which is why written, documented requests matter.
EBRREvidence-Based Recidivism Reduction program: A BOP program (RDAP, anger management, cognitive skills, and dozens more) approved as reducing recidivism under 18 U.S.C. § 3632. Successful participation in EBRR programs or productive activities is what earns FSA time credits. The approved list is published in BOP's FSA program guide.
ETC / FTCEarned Time Credits (FSA Time Credits): Credits earned under the First Step Act at 10 days per 30 days of successful programming — 15 days per 30 after two consecutive minimum/low PATTERN assessments. They apply toward early transfer to supervised release (capped at 365 days) or extra halfway-house/home-confinement time under 18 U.S.C. § 3624(g).
FSAFirst Step Act of 2018: The 2018 federal law that created earned time credits for program participation (18 U.S.C. § 3632(d)(4)), fixed the Good Conduct Time calculation at a true 54 days per sentence-year, and expanded prerelease custody. In sentence-computation contexts, "FSA credits" means the earned time credits.
Full-term dateFull-term (expiration) date: The date the sentence would end with zero credits of any kind — custody start plus the full term imposed. Every credit mechanism (GCT, FSA, RDAP) subtracts from this anchor, so it's the first number to verify on a computation sheet.
GCTGood Conduct Time: Sentence credit of up to 54 days per year of the sentence imposed, earned for compliance with prison rules under 18 U.S.C. § 3624(b). With full GCT a person serves about 85% of the sentence. It applies only to sentences longer than one year and can be reduced through the disciplinary process.
Home confinementHome confinement (home detention): Serving the end of a sentence at a residence with monitoring. The Second Chance Act caps it at the shorter of 6 months or 10% of the term (18 U.S.C. § 3624(c)(2)); FSA credits can fund longer periods for eligible people. It counts as prerelease custody, not supervised release.
Jail creditPrior custody credit: Credit under 18 U.S.C. § 3585(b) for time spent in official detention before the federal sentence started — as long as it wasn't credited against another sentence. Missing or miscounted jail credit is one of the most common computation errors, and only BOP (not the judge) awards it.
PAProductive Activities: The second category of FSA-credit-earning activity: structured pursuits like work assignments and classes that occupy time productively, as distinct from formal EBRR programs. For credit-earning purposes, participation counts the same way — in 30-day increments.
PATTERNPrisoner Assessment Tool Targeting Estimated Risk and Needs: BOP's recidivism risk instrument, required by 18 U.S.C. § 3632(a). It assigns minimum, low, medium, or high risk from items like age, disciplinary record, and programming, and is rescored at each program review. The level controls how fast FSA credits accrue and whether they can be applied.
Program reviewProgram review (team meeting): The recurring Unit Team meeting — every 180 days, then every 90 within roughly 18 months of release — where PATTERN is rescored, FSA credits and program plans are reviewed, and RRC recommendations are made. It's the natural venue to raise computation discrepancies, in writing, before filing remedies.
Projected release dateProjected / conditional release date: The date BOP currently expects a person to leave custody, reflecting Good Conduct Time already earned plus projections and any applied FSA credits. It moves — with discipline, program participation, and credit application — unlike the full-term date, which is fixed by the judgment.
RDAPResidential Drug Abuse Program: BOP's ~9-month, ~500-hour residential substance-abuse treatment program. Completing it can bring early release of up to 12 months for nonviolent offenders under 18 U.S.C. § 3621(e), and it earns FSA credits as an EBRR program. Admission requires a documented substance problem in the year before arrest.
RRCResidential Reentry Center (halfway house): A contracted community facility where people finish federal sentences — employment, treatment, and accountability under curfew. Placement comes from the Second Chance Act window (up to 12 months, 18 U.S.C. § 3624(c)) or from applied FSA credits (18 U.S.C. § 3624(g)); bed space sets the actual date.
SCASecond Chance Act of 2007: The law that expanded prerelease custody, raising the halfway-house maximum to 12 months and authorizing home confinement for the shorter of 6 months or 10% of the term (18 U.S.C. § 3624(c)). The 12 months is a ceiling BOP applies in its discretion — not an entitlement.
Sentence computationBOP sentence computation (SENTRY record): The official BOP calculation of a sentence: start date, jail credit, Good Conduct Time, and the ladder of projected dates. Computed under 18 U.S.C. § 3585 and Program Statement 5880.28 by the Designation and Sentence Computation Center (DSCC) in Grand Prairie, Texas. The printout is what every dispute is measured against.
Supervised release: The court-imposed supervision term that follows nearly every federal prison sentence (18 U.S.C. § 3583), run by U.S. Probation — not parole, which no longer exists federally. Up to 365 days of FSA credits can transfer a person from prison onto supervised release early.
Unit TeamUnit Team (case manager, counselor, unit manager): The institution staff who manage a person's case: program reviews every 180 days (90 near release), RRC referrals, FSA assessments, and release planning. Most release-date advocacy starts — and much of it ends — with a specific written request to the Unit Team.