The prerelease programs described have focused on helping ex-inmates find a job, reconnect with family, stay drug-free and healthy, treat mental health needs, and modify the passive behavior patterns learned in prison and jail but which are a liability in the family and on the job. The concluding section of the article offers suggestions for designing a prerelease program. It advises that the first step is to define the program goals. Part of defining a goal involves deciding whom to serve. Some goals, such as linking mentally ill inmates with treatment in the community, clearly define whom to enroll. Other goals, such as providing basic information about transition, apply equally to everyone who will be released. One strategy is to focus resources on those ex-inmates most likely to reoffend. The next step is to decide how to deliver services. This involves determining whether to standardize prerelease services across facilities as well as deciding whether or not to deliver services from a dedicated space or facility. Other steps in planning prerelease programs are to collaborate with other agencies and to link custody-based programs with services in the community. 14 references