My son's father has been incarcerated for the past 5 years and he's up for parole for the second time this month. I allowed him to use my home for the forthcoming release. To my dismay, when the parole agent came to my home last night to conduct the investigation, he advised me that I had to sign away my rights in order for [the man] to be released to my home! I'm a 27 year-old career woman raising 2 chldren on my own. [The parole agent made me feel] as if I was the criminal. I was being reprimanded for allowing him to reside with me. I wish I had done my research prior to agreeing to this investigation. Needless to say, I didn't sign the agreement which will ultimately hold up his parole process. However, I need for it to be understood that I cannot live my life waiting for the agent to knock on my door at night, in the morning or whenever he pleases. I would be stripped of all my rights of privacy. I can't willingly live in that manner! It's not fair to me or my children. If [the parolee] were to violate [his parole], my personal information would be listed in a database and random searches would be conducted. I would not be able to live freely and my children would be subjected to a life that they should have no knowledge of. I also was unaware that, upon release, [the parolee] will not be allowed to collect any type of assistance such as cash benefits, food stamps or medical assistance. How am I supposed to agree to be responsible for a grown man when I have to raise my children on my own child support? The parole officer explained that there is no type of job assistance and [the parolee] will have a hard time finding employment. I couldn't fathom agreeing to such [terms. The parolee] would be solely dependent upon me for all his necessities. I'm now dealing with the fact that I have to tell him of my decision before he finds out from the Harrisburg [parole office]. I've begun writing him a letter begging him to understand my decision. I know that this will be hard for him to understand, but I truly had no other recourse. I hope that by writing this message I can make other people aware that, as law-abiding citizens we lose our rights as Americans to have individual privacy, consumption of liquor and [benefit from] prescription drugs. We will be subjected to random searches and seizures. And, if the parole is violated, even if you are unaware, you will be held responsible and there would be nothing that you can do because you signed away your legal and civil rights. This is such a mess [that] there should be some type of gathering or group for the families of these [former] offenders to learn more about this prior to release. The one thing that truly upset me in the entire ordeal was the fact that I was unable to [have time to] think about the terms [of the waiver]. I had to make my decision right than and there. I found that totally unfair. It was a lot to digest in an hour for something that would effect my life and my childrens' lives until 2006. Thank you for letting me express myself and keep up the good work with this website. It was very informative. [For related information, see also: "Screw Your Civil Rights!" ]