The RDAP admission process may start by:

• REFERRAL 

- (i.e., judicial recommendation on sentencing order, unit team, or drug treatment staff); or

• APPLICATION 

- Interested incarcerated individuals may request to be considered for RDAP once at the facility, but there are administrative requests and hurdles that need to be navigated.

Candidly though, the RDAP discussion should start well-before the scheduled interview for the PSR (presentence investigation report) and prior to sentencing memorandums even being submitted, but it is never too late to start the conversation.

Despite what many wish to hear, when facing a federal indictment, Federal Sentencing Guidelines do not favor probationary or even light sentences. As such, much of the federal defense practice is centered on limiting exposure to harsher penalties and sentences, not preparing those for what lies ahead post-sentencing.

And, while legal representation is a must, adding Patronus to your team offers you, your family, and your defense attorneys a resource with institutional knowledge and a uniquely personal perspective about the federal correctional system.  

Educating and informing clients about substance abuse treatment programs available like RDAP, if eligible, that have the potential for sentence reduction benefits, should be discussed earnestly and throughly before the sentence is even handed down.  And, Patronus is committed to helping clients prepare for and maximize all possible administrative and legal avenues to minimize and lessen the minefields that lie ahead. 

The extent of a reduction varies based on the length of the sentence imposed, with a 12-month maximum sentence reduction allowable by law.

Sentence Length 

30 months or less 

                                         Sentence Reduction

                                         No More than 6 months

Sentence Length

31-36 months

                                        Sentence Reduction

                                        No more than 9 months

Sentence Length

37 months or more

                                        Sentence Reduction

                                        No more than 12 months

Various offenders are NOT eligible for RDAP including: sex offenders, deportable aliens, and offenders “who pose a significant threat to the community”.
Prisoners that meet any of the following criteria cannot receive the sentence reduction, even if they complete the RDAP:

• ICE detainees 

• Pretrial inmates 

• State or military prisoners

• D.C. offenders who committed their crimes before August 5, 2000 

• Federal prisoners who committed their crimes before November 1, 1987

• Prisoners with prior felonies or misdemeanors for homicide, forcible rape, robbery, arson, kidnapping, aggravated assault, or child sexual abuse offenses

• Prisoners who aren’t eligible for placement in a halfway house or on home confinement

• Prisoners currently serving time for a felony crime that involved: 

The actual, attempted, or threatened use of physical force 

or 

Serious potential risk of physical force 

or 

The carrying, possession, or use of a firearm or other dangerous weapon or explosives (including any explosive material or explosive device) 

or 

Sexual abuse committed upon children 

or 

An attempt or conspiracy to commit any of these types of offenses 

or 

to commit homicide, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, arson, kidnapping, or child sexual abuse

• Prisoners who already received the RDAP sentence reduction for completing RDAP while serving a previous prison term (i.e., if a person was in federal prison before, completed RDAP, and got the RDAP sentence reduction, then was released, reoffended, and returned to federal prison, the prisoner will not get the RDAP sentence reduction for completing RDAP during their second prison term).

• D.C. Code offenders sentenced for a “crime of violence” under D.C. Code § 23-1331(4).

Yes to ALL three.

Expulsion and/or Removal – RDAP participants may be removed from the program for disruptive behavior, unsatisfactory progress, OR committing prohibited acts.

Withdrawal – Individuals can also voluntarily withdraw from the program. 

However, all of these carry the risk and potential loss of First Step Act credits, not to mention facing an institutional disciplinary process involving the issuance of incident reports, sanctions, diminution of good time credits, restrictive privileges, and being moved to the disciplinary segregation special housing units “SHU”. 

At Patronus Prison Consulting, we aim to guide clients through these administrative challenges, including those facing disciplinary sanctions and hearings, as "anything that can go wrong, will go wrong".  

Individuals at correctional institutions that do not have RDAP can transfer to another institution that has the program.  Individuals classified at a higher security level than the RDAP prison allows must first  have their security level reduced. If the BOP approves a higher-security prisoner’s application into the RDAP, prison staff will change the prisoner’s security level so the prisoner can participate at the facility that has the RDAP. 

As of December 2024, due to budget constraints, staffing shortages & dilapidated infrastructure, the Federal Bureau of Prisons announced that it was permanently closing 7 locations to include (6) minimum-security prison camps. All of which have also shuttered their RDAP programs at these locations.

At Patronus Prison Consulting, providing our clients with up-to-date administrative changes to the Bureau of Prisons policies and operations, including but not limited to facility closures, is just one of the many informational benefits to having an outside advocate help clients prepare for and better navigate their journey through the federal correctional system.

Click below to access the:

Updated 2025 RDAP Locations Map