This report attempts to assist corrections agencies (including jail administrators and staff) and their community partners in developing and improving their release planning procedures. Eight fundamental needs confronting exiting prisoners, as well as the administrative challenges and opportunities facing corrections agencies in meeting these needs, are identified: transportation, clothing and food, financial resources, identification and important documents, housing, employment and education, health care, and support systems. The report begins by defining what constitutes release planning, identifying it within the broader and more long term process of reentry planning. Drawing from published studies and reports, the various components of exemplary release policies are identified. In order to provide a real-world context for the findings, they are compared to the results of an Urban Institute survey of 43 State departments of correction on their current release policies and procedures. At the end of each topical area, text boxes highlight recommendations for what correctional agencies should be doing at the bare minimum to prepare exiting prisoners for release. Since most best practices cannot be accomplished exclusively by correctional agencies, there is a section which describes how corrections can engage both internal and external partners to support effective release planning, including: gaining institutional compliance with release procedures, encouraging the releases to follow through on their release plans, engaging community and other agency partners, and influencing revisions to statutory and regulatory barriers to effective release planning. A final discussion of the future of effective release procedures and a summary of key recommendations is included. Figures, references, and appendices