An employment program for ex-offenders must hold to the principle of providing quality job placements and not succumb to the tendency to measure success by the placement rate. The quality of placement is paramount if a program is to establish credibility within the employer community. Training in job-search techniques, proper completion of employment applications, and interviewing will assist the client and provide more self-confidence; however, they are effective only when a person's motivation, skill level, mental and physical limitations, and propensity for criminal behavior have been considered and job readiness determined. Establishment of relations with community-based organizations and private industry groups are recommended, since knowledge of community and employer activity is essential for proper placement. A quality placement will depend upon a realistic assessment of a client's job skills and satisfactions, because only when a client performs well on a job and draws fulfillment from it, will there be mutual satisfaction in the interaction of client and employer. It is better to wait for the right job than to place a client in any job. Failure will only make the next placement more difficult. The establishment of trust based upon integrity in performance is crucial in the interaction between employment officer, client, and employer. If any one of the parties violates or fails to nurture trust in the other, the placement will most likely not succeed. By focusing on quality placements, the employment service associated with the U.S. Courts System for the Northern District of California succeeded in making 34 placements at an average starting salary of $6.22 per hour in 1980, with a better than 50 percent job retention rate. Employers within the court's jurisdiction consider a 40 to 60 percent job retention rate to be the general average.