The program uses the community's talent and resources. It includes a full-time chaplain, an outdoor recreation area, a permanent library and law library, classroom areas for teaching, a closed circuit radio and television system, and computer-assisted instruction. In 1978, the American Correctional Association selected BCDC and the Positive Alternatives program as one of four model sites in the country for a job development and employment training program called Coordinated Community Offender Employment Program (CCOEP). The program concentrated on jobs and everyday life skills for residents soon to be returning to the community. The article concludes with a commentary on the political influences which impeded the continuation of certain aspects of the Positive Alternatives program following a decrease in funding levels. Eight references and some tables are included.