ANNEX - CASE STUDIES ON GOOD PRACTICES task of which is to ensure the continuity of the social rehabilitation of convicts, combining it with their employment activities (work, education, studies), as well as the intensive preparation of their release on parole from a detention institution. It should be noted that Halfway Houses for convicts are not separate institutions of the penal enforcement system and do not have an independent legal status.523 According to the Lithuanian Prison Service, Halfway Houses are for those convicts who are trying to reintegrate back into society, make amends and who do not pose a danger to the community. STATISTICS Since 2016, around 400 prisoners have been transferred to Halfway Houses in Lithuania. Data on persons with intellectual and/or psychosocial disabilities in Halfway Houses is not collected, which is the same as in other fields of the criminal justice system in the country, so it is difficult to say how many people of the target group live in Halfway Houses. However, they are the main focus of the evaluation of the functioning and effectiveness of Halfway Houses in this Case Study. According to representatives of the Lithuanian Prison Service,524 one of the indicators of the effectiveness of Halfway Houses is the re-offending and return of convicts to a semi-closed or closed regime. After spending time in a Halfway House, people are less likely to re-offend and end up back in prison. In addition, between 2016 and 2021 (five years), 43 prisoners were sent back to detention facilities, which accounted for about 11% of the total number of prisoners in Halfway Houses during the period.525 In 2022, 140 convicts were accommodated in all Halfway Houses, with a relatively even distribution between the individual Halfway Houses: - Alytus Halfway House (max. 20, on average 15); - Marijampolė Halfway House (max. 20, on average 18); - Vilniaus Halfway House 128 (max. 60, on average 45); - Panevėžys Halfway House (max. 20, on average eight); - Pravieniškės Halfway House (max. 20, on average 19).526 The practice of Halfway Houses shows that on average about 110-120 prisoners serve their prison sentences in Halfway Houses, which is about 85% of the occupancy rate in Halfway Houses. This is not a large number of inmates. On average, about 4,400 prisoners are serving prison sentences in penitentiaries and remand prisons. Thus, only 3% of the convicts serve their prison sentences in Halfway Houses. According to the Lithuanian Prison Services Strategic Guidelines for 2022-2030, it is planned to establish 20 Halfway Houses (with a maximum capacity of 20 persons each), evenly distributed throughout Lithuania.527 The guidelines stipulate that the work of the Halfway House is coordinated by the prison in the geographically nearest location. In 2021, the Director of the Prisons’ Department under the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania issued an order on the approval of a plan of measures for the development of Halfway Houses in 2022-2024.528 According to the plan, Halfway Houses will be opened in Šiauliai city, Kaunas district and Klaipėda region in the next two years. CRITERIA FOR CONVICTED PERSONS Not all categories of prisoners can be transferred to Halfway Houses. The requirements for transfers are both formal and personal change. For example, persons at high risk of re-offending are not transferred to Halfway Houses. The existing legal framework provides that there are two categories of prisoners who can be transferred to a Halfway House: 1) prisoners who are eligible for parole and apply for transfer themselves (Art 69(2) of the Code for the Execution of Criminal Penalties of the Republic of Lithuania); 2) pris-