Community-based corrections offer a viable alternative to centralized incarceration in a way which is designed to afford no greater risk to the community. Two distinct categories of modern community-based corrections are community correctional centers which provide an initial alternative to centralized incarceration and those which provide an alternative to continued incarceration by returning the offender to the community prior to the expiration of his prison sentence (e.g., halfway houses, work release centers). Some principal reasons for the move towards community-based corrections are that (1) treatment holds more promise when those who are significant in a clients life, such as family members, are more accessible; (2) the prison system offers an artificial environment, whereas the community is the normal habitat of the individual; and (3) community-based corrections offer the least expensive form of corrections. Also, through such treatment and related employment programs, the offender is able to accumulate savings, make court ordered restitution payments, develop self-respect, demonstrate ability and trustworthiness, and gain community acceptance. Foreign nations, especially England and Sweden, have been diligent in designing and implementing community-based programs. Implications for the future are that with the concerted efforts of correctional administrators, criminological scholars, governmental officials, and the local communities, such programs can be the new wave of the future in corrections. Approximately 40 references are provided.