With their beginnings rooted in efforts to provide transition services to released offenders, halfway houses now provide a range of specialized programs for a variety of residents including probationers and other prereleases. In recent years, halfway houses have been touted as one solution to prison overcrowding. Over the past decade, halfway houses have become more sophisticated and concerned with resident supervision instead of treatment, viewing themselves as an extension of the prison system. Halfway houses often provide a less expensive alternative than incarceration; despite claims of success in terms of completion and lower recidivism rates, there is little data to substantiate them. The recent development of electronic monitoring of offenders could reduce the number of halfway house beds. In order to survive, the halfway house movement needs to sell itself as a reintegration system rather than as an inexpensive alternative to prison.