A focus group of experts identified an extensive list of issues they considered important in judging the adequacy of programs for women offenders. In the interest of parity, departments of corrections are opening boot camp prisons to women offenders. Many of the boot camps offer intensive therapeutic programming or opportunities for early release that would not be available to women who serve time in traditional prisons or in other alternative programs. Boot camp programs that combine women and men in one program present serious problems for women offenders. Harsh drill instructors, high levels of physical and emotional stress, few women participants, restricted activities, and sexual behavior problems are some of the difficulties faced by women in these programs. Consequently, they do not offer women an equal opportunity for early release and appropriate programming. The separate or the semi-separate programs for women apparently have fewer problems than the combined programs. The major needs of women are more likely to be addressed in boot camps that separate women from men. Still, the boot camp regime poses problems for women even when a separate program is provided. It may exacerbate the anxieties of previously abused women, and it does not facilitate positive interactions between the women and their children. Further, the pattern of interactions in the boot camps may not take advantage of the type of positive and supportive personal relationships most conducive to positive growth and change. On the other hand, if boot camps provide an opportunity for early release or additional therapeutic programming, it would be a major disadvantage to women if they did not have equal access to these advantages. Any alternative program would have to provide access to these opportunities. 34 references