IT DESCRIBES THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF HALFWAY HOUSES, THEIR CURRENT OPERATIONS AND PROVIDES A FRAMEWORK FOR RECONCILING THEORY AND OPERATIONS. THE STUDY MAINTAINS THAT FEW METHODOLOGICALLY SOUND EVALUATIONS OF HALFWAY HOUSES HAVE BEEN COMPLETED BECAUSE OF THE USE OF INSENSITIVE OUTCOME MEASURES AND VAGUE PROGRAM GOALS AND OBJECTIVES. A REVIEW OF EXISTING EVALUATIONS SUGGESTS SOME CONCLUSIONS ABOUT HALFWAY HOUSES WHICH INCLUDE: HOUSES ARE AS EFFECTIVE IN PREVENTING CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR IN THE COMMUNITY AS ALTERNATIVES WHICH INVOLVE COMMUNITY RELEASE; THE PLACEMENT OF A HALFWAY HOUSE IN A COMMUNITY NEITHER INCREASES CRIME NOR DECREASES PROPERTY VALUES; HOUSES ASSIST THEIR CLIENTS IN LOCATING EMPLOYMENT BUT NOT NECESSARILY MAINTAINING IT; HOUSES ARE ABLE TO PROVIDE FOR THE BASIC NEEDS OF THEIR CLIENTS AS WELL AS OTHER FORMS OF RELEASE; AS FULL CAPACITY, HOUSES COST NO MORE, AND PROBABLY LESS, THAN INCARCERATION, ALTHOUGH THEY COST MORE THAN PAROLE AND OUTRIGHT RELEASE: THE AVAILABLE CAPACITY OF HALFWAY HOUSES IS ONLY PARTIALLY UTILIZED AT PRESENT, THUS DRIVING UP ACTUAL PER DIEM COSTS; AND EVALUATIONS OF HALFWAY HOUSES TEND NOT TO PRODUCE CHANGES IN ACTUAL HOUSE OPERATIONS. APPENDED MATERIALS INCLUDE A CLIENT FLOW NARRATIVE; DATA ON THE EVALUATIONS SURVEYED BY HOUSE AFFILIATION, DESIGN TYPE, AND EVALUATING AGENCY; AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE EVALUATIONS SURVEYED. FOR OTHER RELATED PHASE ONE REPORTS, SEE NCJ-36380-82 AND 84. THIS REPORT IS A SUMMARY OF NJC-36379. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)