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Tragedette · Sep 2, 2009, 05:18 AM

OK... this is complicated but I'll do my best to keep it simplified...

Long story short...

My fiancé moved from Ohio to wa state and lived almost a year in wa...
But did not get a new ID showing he was a resident of wa...
Although his mailing address has been there for over a year...

He was arrested a few months ago on a warrant from 2000 in MN... and although he fought extradition (mainly because they held him on this warrant IN 2000 and he was released when the state didn't find it 'cost effective' to come and get him... but they have a contract with wa)

Anyway... he was extradited, as I said and decided to plead guilty in exchange for probation, rather than risk fighting the charges for what could take more than a year and the possibility of having to serve more time...

My question is... or I should say.. questions... plural...

How hard will it be for him to show he was a resident of WA so that he can get his probation transferred and what are the odds that WA will refuse to take him back...

Also... the house he was living in is a home in which the rooms are rented out to different tenants... but it's just a 5 bdrm house and the kitchen and living areas are shared...
If another tenant has moved into the house who is on parole or probation...
Will they allow him to return to the house they arrested him at? And if not... how can I go about finding him housing when I can get an apartment, but they will not allow my fiancé to move in because of being on probation?
How are excons supposed to integrate back into society if they are denied jobs and housing??
And with the job market the way it is.. can they violate him on his probation if he is unable to find work?? It is hard enough to get hired for anything, as is, let alone on probation...
I have been told he cannot move in with me because my roommate's boyfriend is also on probation, so if I get another apartment of my own that is willing to allow him to move in, what are the odds that WA will still refuse to allow him to come back, as the interstate compact states they could very well do?

We are not married yet, but I was told by the WA DOC that it will be fine for me to act as a family member, even though their rules do state that a fiancé or girlfriend is not considered 'family'... would it help matters if we got married?

Is it possible for me to utilize a probation officer to assist in getting him housing and a job... prior to a transfer?

I've been told probation is worse than jail, that it will not only follow him for the term of his probation, but for life... although I'm assuming there is a way to have it expunged once he has served his probation...

... hoping to hear from excon on this one...
Thanks in advance for any advice given on this...

excon · Sep 2, 2009, 06:58 AM

Originally Posted by Tragedette

what are the odds that WA will refuse to take him back....

if another tenant has moved into the house who is on parole or probation...
will they allow him to return to the house they arrested him at?? and if not...

is it possible for me to utilize a probation officer to assist in getting him housing and a job...pr

i've been told probation is worse than jail, that it will not only follow him for the term of his probation, but for life...

Hello T:

Read THIS: https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/crimin...on-115783.html

If you've followed the policy, Washington CAN'T refuse... No, he can't live with another felon. I don't know how you can get him a job and a place to live, but that's what he needs. No, he does NOT have to live with a family member. No, probation officers don't help with employment. No, probation is NOT worse than jail.

excon

twinkiedooter · Sep 2, 2009, 08:35 AM

No matter how you look at it probation is never worse than jail - ever. With probation you are out on the street, sleeping in your own bed, eating the foods you want to eat when you want to eat them. Can this be worse than jail? Never.

Felons cannot reside with other felons when they are on probation. After probation is completed, then it is allowable.

Tragedette · Sep 3, 2009, 04:26 AM

Thank you both very much for your advice, it is very helpful knowing what needs to be done, even if it is easier said than carried out...

You say that WA can't refuse him but I find it ironic they may be able to keep him from returning to the home he had when they arrested him...

I just hope I can find a place that will allow him to move in, as far as a job, his old landlord already said he would vouch for him and would give him a job as a caretaker in which he can work off his rent... unfortunately.. this isn't a paying position, but I am hoping I can swing whatever payments he needs to make to his PO...
The problem is that a person moved into the house, as I said, who is on parole and it's crazy to me that he may not be able to return to the address he had when they arrested him.
I have gotten mixed answers regarding whether probation is better than jail or not... from people who have been in jail...
And although you would think that, of course, it would be preferable to a jail cell, I'm not sure about the tradeoff of having a record and trying to acquire housing and employment and have a constant worry of violation, I mean, at least in jail.. you have a bed and a roof and food (though it may be hard to tell it) and the reality is, if you can't get a job and can't get a place, what kind of future are you really looking at? My point being, I asked this question because my main concern is how I can go about getting housing and a job for someone on probation and while I appreciate the answers that I received, esp the advice regarding contacting the PO here and giving them a heads up, my question of how I can find him a place to live and job in this state remains unanswered.
Not that I'm ungrateful for what advice was given, just trying to figure this out and if I had an idea I thought would work.. I would have asked;)

Maybe I should just make sure the person who moved into his house who is on parole, suddenly has a reason to have to leave... hehe...
Maybe it's evil but my guy was there first... (relax it's just an idea)

Thanks again

excon · Sep 3, 2009, 05:43 AM

Hello again, t:

There are really TWO phases that you need to keep in mind. During the first phase, you need to prove to the probation people that he DOES have a job and a place to live. The second phase, is when he actually GETS there and changes his job and finds a new place to live.

If you can get his landlord to "say" that it's a salaried position, then he HAS a job. YOU could rent an apartment in YOUR name, and BOOM, HE has a place to live.

If you've been listening to people who tell you that INSIDE the slam is better than OUTSIDE the slam, I'd move away from these people as fast as I could.

excon

Tragedette · Sep 3, 2009, 06:26 AM

Thanks excon.. I did try to rent an apt in my name but.. they said I would have to add my fiancé to the lease to move anyone in, and I'm assuming I cannot move him into a place without the landlord being notified in some way with how probation works?

I know I am going to be hard pressed to find a place that I can afford on my own on my current salary and hours... most apts here that I've looked into require a background check or strict deposit and rental policies so most of the options that meet my needs are room shares... and unfortunately... I've lived here 5 months and EVERYONE I have met in this town.. including the people I work with... have done some time in the local jail at one time or another... kind of scary but.. unfortunately I moved to death valley in my opinion... this place is a hellhole I came here to get my guy OUT of... but now I have work here and it's preferable to MN... I know his ex landlord will say he has work, but I still don't know about the living situation because although there are now TWO places here that I would be able to move him into, being his old place and my current place... both places have a person on probation or parole residing in them...
It really makes no sense to me that they would be so strict about people on probation living with someone else on probation considering half the time they end up in halfway houses with nothing BUT offenders... so the whole policy really makes no sense to me... the other thing I find interesting is that... in the interstate compact rules it only states that an investigation must be made into where the person is going to be living if they are a SEX offender... but it really doesn't specify this for anyone else... so I'm not sure what the big hangup is... he doesn't need to show he has a job if he can live with me and I am willing to support him... what I really want.. and what he wants.. is for him to be able to go back to school full time...
Before all this happened we were working on coding a game demo to start an online gaming business...
Had plans to get menial work just long enough to get the money to leave this place and go back east, closer to where my children are living and get married...

That has all been uprooted by this entire process...
And now we're both going to be stuck living in a dead end town...
There's no place to go here but AWAY... eventually... when you're able to escape it...
He was here a YEAR looking for work before I came out here to try to help him get out...
They helped him get out without me and now he has no other options but to come back here... when they release him he will be homeless in MN until he can arrange transfer...
And then we'll probably have to live here for at least a year before he can transfer to someplace more amiable... but...
Getting a job without the benefit of a face to face interview, across state lines, is nearly impossible these days..
Esp with a record...
The job part is really the least of my worries, it's more getting a place that will allow him to move in... that doesn't have a criminal element already living there.. and that is much easier said than done in this place...

But yeah... sorry... I tend to babble when I haven't slept in two days ;)

I know you're an expert but.. not sure if you're familiar with the interstate compact...
These are the rules I am dealing with... as THEY state them...
ICAOS: Directory: States: Washington

Tragedette · Sep 3, 2009, 06:31 AM

Sorry that should have been the pdf link...
Need to get some sleep.. be well...

http://www.interstatecompact.org/Por...CAOS_Rules.pdf