HARTFORD, Conn. -- The governor's temporary ban on parole has been expanded to further regulate halfway house residents.

The state Department of Correction imposed on Saturday new restrictions on residents in halfway houses in response to Gov. Jodi Rell's order to ban parole for violent offenders in Connecticut.

Eyewitness News spoke with the director of eight halfway houses in Connecticut, who said the state's decision to change the rules at halfway houses makes things difficult, but is certainly workable.

The 1,200 residents at the state's halfway houses can now leave the premises only for work, treatment or religious services. The DOC's decision came one day following the governor's announcement that resulted from a series of serious crimes by Connecticut parolees over the past two months.

On Friday, the DOC ordered halfway house residents to leave their jobs and return to the residences as the department began reassessing how these people were placed in the programs.

There's no word on how long these new restrictions on halfway houses will last.

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