These agencies include county-administered probation departments in a major metropolitan area (Cleveland), a medium-sized city (Toledo, Lucas County), and a predominantly rural county (Delaware), as well as the statewide program administered by the Ohio Department of Youth Services for felony offenders when they are released from institutions and placed on parole. The agencies all established ISP's due to the need to expand the continuum of services, resource constraints that required reallocating existing resources, and the goal of reducing the rate of incarceration. The programs were also implemented in a prevailing national atmosphere of getting tough. However, perhaps the most striking similarity among the programs is that none has eliminated a basic philosophical predisposition toward rehabilitation. Nevertheless, the programs also vary in many respects. These include client selection criteria, the proportion served intensively, and the nature of the ISP services. Findings suggest the need to consider national models as a frame of reference and to adapt them to the local context. Tables and 9 references