Ready4Work is based in the view that there is a narrow window of opportunity for redirecting in a positive way the life of an individual who has just returned to a community after release from prison. It attempts to prepare inmates for their reentry to the community prior to their leaving prison and then links the newly released individual with services and supports immediately or within 90 days of his/her release. Key program components are employment, mentoring, and case management. The program stemmed from a partnership between the U.S. Department of Labor's Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (CFCBI) and Public/Private Ventures (P/PV), a national nonprofit organization committed to improving the effectiveness of social policies and programs. As a first step in implementing the program, P/PV formed an advisory council of experts in the fields of criminology, prison administration, justice, social services, and faith. This group has met twice annually in person and twice annually via conference calls to discuss current research and knowledge about reentry, to define the knowledge gaps in the field, and to develop strategies to address them. Eleven adult sites and 7 juvenile sites were selected for the demonstration project. Although it will require a formal impact evaluation of the program's results to determine whether the model fulfills its promise, initial trends are positive, with high participation statistics and few reported instances of recidivism. 33 notes and appended descriptions of each site's activities