The program involves a minimum of 3 months of aftercare through a day/evening reporting program. The requirement to participate in the program is specified in court orders at the time of commitment and again at release. Reporting to the center of the Community Intensive Supervision Program (CISP) means being there 6 hours a day, including weekends. Other than at the center, participants in the aftercare program are allowed to be at home, at school, or at work (if they have earned the privilege). Activities at the center include homework, organized recreation, listening to speakers, community service work, one-on-one and group counseling sessions, and other guided group meetings of various types. Participants are transported home in the evenings in a program van. Juveniles with special needs, such as drug addiction histories and sexual offending, receive special supervision and services after release. The transition back into school is particularly innovative. There are four Regional Educational Support Centers that operate as short-term, stand-alone mini-schools designed to help ease juvenile offenders back into school after release. The courses taught include math, science, social studies, English, and life skills. Students receive the State-mandated 15 hours of instruction a week. They receive academic assessment, psychological screening, and career counseling in a small, sheltered setting. During this period, any bureaucratic and practical obstacles to returning to a public school are addressed. The county spends from $6,000 to $7,000 on a typical returning youth; this is cost-effective compared with a repetitive cycle of residential placements that ignore the need for intensive aftercare. 6 notes