The program's basic goal is to enable eligible inmates and their families to meet in private on the grounds of the correctional facility for extended periods of time. As of February 1980, a total of 540 program participants had been released. Of these 540, only 4 percent (20) had been returned to the department's custody by February 1980 with a new sentence or by the parole board for a rule violation. The number of program participants returned was about 67 percent less than the expected number, based on the overall return rate. This finding indicates that the program is appropriately directed toward an area that appears to reduce criminal recidivism. Tables and an appended explanation of the program's operations are included. (Author summary modified)