Are you about starting a Halfway House company and need to write a plan? If YES, here is a detailed sample Halfway House business plan template & FREE feasibility report.
If you live in the United States, Canada and in most developed countries of the world, you will quite agree that it is indeed brisk business taking care of people that are recovering from jail.
They usually look for a secured and conducive home to enroll in so that their recovery and perhaps cure from addiction will be smooth and fast hence the need for a halfway house.
Setting up a halfway house requires hard work and serious planning. You are expected to apply and obtain a permit and license to run such facility from the government, and your facility must meet the required health and safety standards before you can be allowed to operate a halfway house.
Aside from trained domestic employees that will be on your payroll, you will also need to hire nurses, care givers, and psychologist et al.
Starting a halfway house business is indeed capital intensive, but at the same time it is lucrative. You are rest assured to make good returns on your investment because there will always be need for your services since families would always want their family members who are just coming out of prison to be rehabilitated.
Running a halfway house facility can gulp quite a lot because of the various involvements. They include renting a facility, paying the workers, furnishing the facility to suit the inmates, providing medications, the feeding, as well as some other very essential things that cannot be neglected.
It is for this reason that you may need to source for funds. If you have a great saving culture and have been able to save up the amount involved, then that is fine.
If not, there may be banks and microfinance banks to turn to for a loan. Also, there are angel investors that may be very interested in supporting your business. Below is a sample halfway house business plan template that will guide you to write yours.
A Sample Halfway House Business Plan Template
1. Industry Overview
The Correctional Facilities industry consists of operators that own or manage correctional facilities and halfway houses. Services provided by industry enterprises include private janitorial, maintenance, trash disposal, guard and security, mail routing reception, laundry and other services that support operations in correctional facilities.
The industry does not include facility support services for other types of establishments, such as military bases and other government facilities.
The law in the united states and in some countries states that before a non-medical home care facility such as halfway house can commence operations, there should be at least six residents and at least one trained caregiver there 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.
So also, a standard correctional facility/halfway house is expected to have a house manager, night manager, weekend activity coordinator, and 2 or more caregivers depending on the size of the facility. The correctional facilities industry is indeed a very large industry and pretty much thriving in developed countries.
Statistics has it that in the United States of America alone, there are about 2,374 licensed and registered correctional facilities and halfway houses responsible for employing about 34,369 employees and the industry rakes in a whooping sum of $6 billion annually with an annual growth rate projected at 2.8 percent between 2014 and 2019.
It is important to state that the companies holding the largest market share in the correctional facilities industry in the US industry include Corecivic Inc., The GEO Group Inc. and Management & Training Corp.
A recent report shows that the correctional facilities industry owns, manages and leases prisons, community correctional facilities and juvenile detention centers on behalf of government agencies. Decreasing crime and incarceration rates, coupled with increased scrutiny in the wake of several high-profile scandals at privately operated facilities, have resulted in marginal growth rates in recent years.
Over the five years to 2019, industry revenue is expected to grow at an annualized rate of 2.8 percent to $5.9 billion, including projected growth of 1.4 percent in 2019 alone. Over the five years to 2019, the crime rate is projected to fall an annualized 3.1 percent, while the incarceration rate is expected to fall an annualized 2.2 percent.
Though the ultimate cause of crime decline is unknown. Over and above, the halfway house business in developed countries are still enjoying good patronage particularly if they are well positioned and if they know how to reach out to their target market and partner with the government.
2. Executive Summary
Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc. is a standard and licensed correctional facility that will be located in the heart of East Rutherford – New Jersey in a neatly renovated and secured spacious housing facility. Our halfway house facility is specifically designed and equipped with the needed accommodation facilities/gadgets to give comfort and security to all our residents irrespective of religious affiliations, race, and health condition.
Despite the fact that we are a halfway house facility, we are going to be health conscious and customer-centric with a service culture that will be deeply rooted in the fabric of our organizational structure. With that, we know that we will be able to consistently achieve our set business goals, increase our profitability and reinforce our positive long-term relationships with our clientele.
Our accommodation facility will be decorated in an exquisite and elegant facade, so much so that it will be a conspicuous edifice in the city where it is located. Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc. will provide a conducive home for our residents; we will engage in services that will help residents in our facility to fully integrate into the society.
Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc. will be equipped with everything that will make life comfortable for all our residents. We will as build a fitness room, library, install free Wi-Fi that will enable our residents and guests surf the internet in their rooms free of charge, and there will be wireless access in all the public areas within the facility.
We will ensure that we enforce our rules, treatment programs, work requirements and curfews. In our halfway house, inmates will not be allowed to use drugs or drink alcohol without permission. An inmate who fails to comply with the rules can be discharged and sent back to prison or jail.
Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc. is a family business that is owned and managed by Mrs. Abigail Washington and her immediate family. Mrs. Abigail Washington is a licensed non – medical home care administrator and social health worker with over 25 years’ experience working for leading brand in the industry. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Health and she is truly passionate when it comes to rehabilitating ex-convicts.
3. Our Products and Services
Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc. is set to operate a standard halfway house facility in East Rutherford – New Jersey. The fact that we want to become a force to reckon with in the Correctional Facilities industry means that we will provide our residents a conducive and highly secured accommodation.
In all that we do, we will ensure that our residents are satisfied and are willing to recommend our facility to their family members and friends. We will engage in housing and rehabilitating former prisoners, psychiatric patients, or others unused to non-institutional life.
4. Our Mission and Vision Statement
- Our vision is to become the number one choice when it comes to halfway house facility in the whole of New Jersey and also to be amongst the top 20 halfway house facilities in the United States of America within the next 10 years.
- Our mission is to build a halfway house facility that will meet and surpass the needs of all the residents of our facility.
- We want to build a business where all our ex inmates will become good citizens in the society.
Our Business Structure
Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc. is a business that will be built on a solid foundation. From the outset, we have decided to recruit only qualified professionals (correctional facility workers administrator, nurse’s aides, medication management counselors, county worker, and rehabilitation counselors) to man various job positions in our organization.
We are quite aware of the rules and regulations governing the correctional facilities industry which is why we decided to recruit only experienced and qualified employees as staff of the organization. We hope to leverage on their expertise to build our business brand to be well accepted in New Jersey.
When hiring, we will look out for applicants that are not just qualified and experienced, but homely, honest, customer centric and are ready to help us build a prosperous business that will benefit all our stake holders.
As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of five years or more. This are the positions that will be available at Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc.;
- Chief Executive Officer
- Facility Administrator (Human Resources and Admin Manager)
- Nurse’s Aides
- Rehabilitation Specialist
- Sales and Marketing Executive
- Accounting Officer
- Security Officer
- Cleaners
5. Job Roles and Responsibilities
Chief Executive Officer:
- Increases management’s effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, coaching, counseling, and disciplining managers; communicating values, strategies, and objectives; assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results.
- Creating, communicating, and implementing the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
- Responsible for fixing prices and signing business deals
- Responsible for providing direction for the business
- Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
- Evaluates the success of the organization
- Reports to the board.
Facility Administrator (Admin and HR Manager)
- Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the organization
- Regularly hold meetings with key stakeholders to review the effectiveness of HR Policies, Procedures and Processes
- Maintains office supplies by checking stocks; placing and expediting orders; evaluating new products.
- Ensures operation of equipment by completing preventive maintenance requirements; calling for repairs.
- Defining job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
- Carrying out induction for new team members
- Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
- Responsible for arranging travel, meetings and appointments
- Oversee the smooth running of the daily home activities.
Rehabilitation Specialist
- Provide individual and group counseling to help clients adjust to their new freedom
- Evaluate clients’ abilities, interests, experience, skills, health, and education
- Develop a treatment plan in consultation with other professionals, such as doctors, therapists, and psychologists
- Create rehabilitation or treatment plans based on clients’ values, strengths, limitations, and goals
- Arrange for clients to obtain services, such as medical care or career training
- Help employers understand the needs and abilities of people who are former prisoners, as well as laws and resources that impact people with disabilities
- Assist clients in creating strategies to develop their strengths and adjust to their limitations
- Monitor clients’ progress and adjust the rehabilitation or treatment plan as necessary
- Advocate for the rights of people who are just coming out of prison to live in the community and work in the job of their choice.
Nurse’s Aides
- Responsible for managing our residents in their various houses
- Handles personal injury case management
- Responsible for offering home medication management services
Marketing and Sales Executive
- Identify, prioritize, and reach out to new clients, and business opportunities et al
- Identifies development opportunities; follows up on development leads and contacts
- Writing winning proposal documents, negotiate fees and rates in line with organizations’ policy
- Responsible for handling business research, market surveys and feasibility studies for clients
- Responsible for supervising implementation, advocate for the customer’s needs, and communicate with clients
- Document all customer contact and information
- Represent Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc. in strategic meetings
- Help increase sales and growth for Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc.
Accountant/Cashier
- Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
- Provides managements with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports
- Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.
- Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting for the organization
- Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
- Responsible for administering payrolls
- Ensuring compliance with taxation legislation
- Handles all financial transactions for Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc.
- Serves as internal auditor for Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc.
Security Officers
- Ensure that the facility is secured at all time
- Control traffic and organize parking
- Patrols around the building on a 24 hours basis
- Submit security reports weekly
- Any other duty as assigned by the facility administrator
Cleaners:
- Responsible for cleaning the facility at all times
- Ensure that toiletries and supplies don’t run out of stock
- Assist our residents when they need to take their bath and carry out other household tasks
- Handle any other duty as assigned by the facility manager
6. SWOT Analysis
Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc. is set to become one of the leading halfway house facilities in New Jersey which is why we are willing to take our time to cross every ‘Ts’ and dot every ‘Is’ as it relates to our business. We want our halfway house facility to be the number one choice in East Rutherford and other cities in New Jersey.
We know that if we are going to achieve the goals that we have set for our business, then we must ensure that we build our business on a solid foundation.
Even though our Chief Executive Officer (owner) has a robust experience in social work, we still went ahead to hire the services of business consultants that are specialized in setting up new businesses to help our organization conduct detailed SWOT analysis. This is the summary of the SWOT analysis that was conducted for Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc.;
- Strength:
Our strength lies in the fact that we have a team of well qualified professionals manning various job positions in our organization. They are some of the best hands in the whole of East Rutherford – New Jersey. Our location, the Business model we will be operating on, well equipped and secured facility and our excellent customer service culture will definitely count as a strong strength for us.
- Weakness:
Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc. is a new business that is owned by an individual (family), and we may not have the financial muscle to sustain the kind of publicity we want to give our business.
- Opportunities:
Private correctional facilities earn all of their revenue from contracts with federal and state governments. Therefore, changes in the level of government consumption and investment affect demand for industry services; the industry can be adversely affected if government agencies do not receive sufficient appropriations to cover their contracts with industry facilities.
Government consumption and investment is expected to increase in 2019, presenting a possible opportunity for the industry.
- Threat:
Increases in criminal activity generally result in more arrests and greater occupancy levels at correctional facilities, supporting demand for industry services. The crime rate is expected to continue its historical downward trend in 2019, posing a potential threat to the industry.
7. MARKET ANALYSIS
- Market Trends
Because of the essential nature of services provided by correctional facilities and halfway houses, the industry was able to grow even in the face of economic stagnation. In addition, the continued growth of the rate at which people are released from prison has stimulated demand for industry services. Despite favorable demographic trends, unsatisfactory government funding has hindered industry growth.
The trend in the industry is that players are now flexible enough to adjust their services and facilities to attract more knowledgeable and educated residents by incorporating more technology and adapting to new markets. The Correctional facilities industry will continue to grow and become more profitable because the aging baby-boomer generation in United States are expected to drive increasing demand for this specialized services and care.
8. Our Target Market
The fact that we are going to open our doors to a wide range of customers does not in any way stop us from abiding by the rules and regulations governing the correctional facilities industry in the United States. Our customers can be categorized into the following;
- Former prisoners
- Psychiatric patients, or others unused to non-institutional life.
Our Competitive Advantage
To be highly competitive in the correctional facilities industry means that you should be able to secure a conducive and secured facility, deliver consistent quality service and should be able to meet the expectations of the children/family members paying for their loved ones in your facility.
Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc. is coming into the market prepared to favorably compete in the industry. Our facility is well positioned and visible, we have good security and the right ambience for people who are coming out of prison or from any form of incarceration.
Our staff are well groomed in all aspects of correctional cum halfway house facility services and all our employees are trained to provide customized customer service to all our residents. Our services will be carried out by highly trained professional nurse’s aides, county correctional workers who know what it takes to give our highly esteemed residents value for their money.
Lastly, all our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category in the industry. It will enable them to be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and objectives.
9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY
- Sources of Income
Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc. will ensure that we do all we can to maximize the business by generating income from every legal means within the scope of our industry. We will generate income by rehabilitating our inmates, providing a conducive home for our residents; we will engage in services that will help our residents completely integrate into our society.
10. Sales Forecast
One thing is certain, there would always be former prisoners and psychiatric patients who would need the services of halfway facilities.
We are well positioned to take on the available market in East Rutherford – New Jersey and we are quite optimistic that we will meet our set target of generating enough income/profits from our first six months of operation and grow our halfway house facility and our residents’ base.
We have been able to examine the halfway house facility market, we have analyzed our chances in the industry and we have been able to come up with the following sales forecast. Below is the sales projection for Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc., it is based on the location of our business and the wide range of related services that we will be offering;
- First Fiscal Year (FY1): $250,000
- Second Fiscal Year (FY2): $500,000
- Third Fiscal Year (FY3): $1.2 million
N.B: This projection was done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown within the period stated above. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.
- Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy
The marketing and sales strategy of Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc. will be based on generating long-term personalized relationships with our residents. In order to achieve that, we will ensure that we offer all – round correctional services at affordable prices compare to what is obtainable in New Jersey and other states in the US.
All our employees will be well trained and equipped to provide excellent services as it relates to our business. We know that if we are consistent with offering high quality service and excellent customer service, we will increase the number of our residents by more than 25 percent in the first year and then more than 40 percent subsequently.
Before choosing a location for Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc., we conducted a thorough market survey and feasibility studies. We have detailed information and data that we were able to utilize to structure our business to attract the number of customers we want to attract per time.
We hired experts who have good understanding of the correctional facilities industry to help us develop marketing strategies that will help us achieve our business goal of winning a larger percentage of the available market in New Jersey.
In summary, Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc. will adopt the following sales and marketing approach to win customers over;
- Introduce our business by sending introductory letters to residents, prisons, psychiatric facilities and other stake holders in and around East Rutherford – New Jersey
- Advertise our business in community based newspapers, local TV and radio stations
- List our business on yellow pages ads (local directories)
- Leverage on the internet to promote our business
- Engage in direct marketing
- Leverage on word of mouth marketing (referrals)
- Enter into business partnership with prisons, government agencies and NGOs that work with former prisoners.
11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy
We are in the halfway house business to become one of the market leaders and also to maximize profits hence we are going to explore all available means to promote Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc.
Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc. has a long term plan of building halfway house facilities in key cities in the United States of America which is why we will deliberately build our brand to be well accepted in East Rutherford – New Jersey before venturing out.
Here are the platforms we intend leveraging on to promote and advertise Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc.;
- Place adverts on both print (community based newspapers and magazines) and electronic media platforms
- Sponsor relevant community programs that appeals to the former prisoners
- Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook, twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote our brand
- Install our Billboards in strategic locations all around East Rutherford – New Jersey
- Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas with high concentration of former prisoners and people prone to crimes
- Ensure that all our workers wear our branded shirts and our facility and all our vehicles are branded with our company’s logo et al.
12. Our Pricing Strategy
Prices vary for staying in halfway houses, but most of the time it costs about the same as it would cost to live in a modest apartment or home. Halfway house residents must pay rent each month. The rent usually amounts to between $450 and $750 per month, depending on where the home is located.
Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc. will work towards ensuring that all our services are offered at highly competitive prices compared to what is obtainable in the United States of America. Be that as it may, we have put plans in place to offer discount services once in a while and also to reward our residents who refer clients to us.
- Payment Options
The payment policy adopted by Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc. is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different people prefer different payment options as it suits them but at the same time, we will ensure that we abide by the financial rules and regulation of the United States of America.
Here are the payment options that Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc. will make available to her clients;
- Payment via bank transfer
- Payment via online bank transfer
- Payment via check
- Payment via Point of Sale Machines (POS Machine)
- Payment via bank draft
- Payment via mobile money
In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will enable our client make payment for rent in our halfway house without any stress on their part.
13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)
If you are looking towards starting a hallway house facility business, then you should be ready to raise enough capital to cover some of the basic expenditure that you are going to incur. The truth is that starting this type of business does not come cheap.
You would need money to secure a standard residential facility big enough to accommodate the number of people you plan accommodating per time, you would need money to acquire supplies, pay your workforce and pay bills for a while until the revenue you generate from the business becomes enough to pay them.
The items listed below are the basics we would need when starting our halfway house facility business in the United States;
- The total fee for registering the business in the United States – $750.
- Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits – $1,500.
- Marketing promotion expenses for the grand opening of Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc. in the amount of $3,500 and as well as flyer printing (2,000 flyers at $0.04 per copy) for the total amount of – $3,580.
- The cost for hiring business consultant – $2,500.
- The cost for the purchase of insurance (general liability, workers’ compensation and property casualty) coverage at a total premium – $3,400.
- The cost for leasing a standard and secured facility in East Rutherford – New Jersey for 2 years – $250,000
- The cost for facility remodeling – $50,000.
- Other start-up expenses including stationery ($500) and phone and utility deposits ($2,500).
- Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – $100,000
- The cost for start-up inventory (stocking with a wide range of products such as toiletries, food stuffs and drugs et al) – $50,000
- Storage hardware (bins, rack, shelves,) – $3,720
- The cost for the purchase of furniture and gadgets (Beds, Computers, Printers, Telephone, TVs, tables and chairs et al): $4,000.
- The cost of Launching a Website: $700
- Miscellaneous: $10,000
We would need an estimate of $750,000 to successfully set up our halfway house facility in East Rutherford – New Jersey.
Generating Funds/Startup Capital for Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc.
Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc. is a family business that is solely owned and financed by Mrs. Abigail Washington and her immediate family members. They do not intend to welcome any external business partners which is why she has decided to restrict the sourcing of the startup capital to 3 major sources.
- Generate part of the startup capital from personal savings
- Source for soft loans from family members and friends
- Apply for loan from the bank
N.B: We have been able to generate about $200,000 (Personal savings $150,000 and soft loan from family members $50,000) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $550,000 from our bank. All the papers and document have been signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited with the amount.
14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy
The future of a business lies in the number of loyal customers that they have, the capacity and competence of their employees, their investment strategy and business structure. If all of these factors are missing from a business, then it won’t be too long before the business closes shop.
One of our major goals of starting Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc. is to build a business that will survive off its own cash flow without injecting finance from external sources once the business is officially running.
We know that one of the ways of gaining approval and winning customers over is to offer our rehabilitation and accommodation services a little bit cheaper than what is obtainable in the market and we are prepared to survive on lower profit margin for a while.
Good Hearts® Halfway House, Inc. will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that our staff welfare are well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and retraining of our workforce is at the top burner.
We know if this is put in place, we will be able to hire and retain the best hands we can get in the industry; they will be more committed to help us build the business of our dreams.
Check List/Milestone
- Business Name Availability Check: Completed
- Business Registration: Completed
- Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
- Securing Point of Sales (POS) Machines: Completed
- Opening Mobile Money Accounts: Completed
- Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
- Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
- Application for business license and permit: Completed
- Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
- Leasing of facility and remodeling the facility: In Progress
- Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
- Generating capital from family members: Completed
- Applications for Loan from the bank: In Progress
- Writing of Business Plan: Completed
- Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
- Drafting of Contract Documents and other relevant Legal Documents: In Progress
- Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
- Printing of Promotional Materials: In Progress
- Recruitment of employees: In Progress
- Purchase of medical equipment and vans et al: In Progress
- Purchase of the needed furniture, racks, shelves, computers, electronic appliances, office appliances and CCTV: In progress
- Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
- Creating Awareness for the business both online and around the community: In Progress
- Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement (License): Secured
- Establishing business relationship with players in the prisons and correctional facilities sector and third party services providers: In Progress