CORRECTIONAL SYSTEMS TODAY ARE MUCH CRITICIZED FOR THEIR FAILURE TO REHABILITATE OFFENDERS AND PREVENT THEIR RETURN TO CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS. THERE ARE, HOWEVER, CORRECTIONAL APPROACHES WHICH DO HAVE POSITIVE RESULTS, PROVIDE FOR PUBLIC SAFETY, AND ARE LESS EXPENSIVE THAN TRADITIONAL METHODS. IN THESE THE COMMUNITY BECOMES AN INTEGRAL FACTOR IN THEIR SUCCESS. EACH OF THE 16 SELECTIONS IN THIS BOOK PROVIDES THE RATIONALE AND BACKGROUND OF A PARTICULAR COMMUNITY PROGRAM, DESCRIBING ACTUAL CONDITIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS. EACH CHAPTER BEGINS WITH AN OVERVIEW OF THE THEORY AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ITS TOPIC, THEN INTEGRATES THAT CHAPTER'S DISCUSSIONS WITH OTHERS IN THE BOOK. AN EXTENSIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY, ORGANIZED INTO SUBJECTS, IS FOUND AT THE END OF EACH CHAPTER. THOSE FACTORS THAT DIFFERENTIATE THE MANAGEMENT OF INNOVATIVE, COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS FROM TRADITIONAL, INSTITUTION-ORIENTED SYSTEMS ARE FIRST DISCUSSED. THEN PROBATION AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO INCARCERATION IS EXAMINED. NEXT, AFTER AN EXAMINATION OF THE FAMILIAR ROLE OF PROBATION OFFICERS, THEIR EFFICIENCY AND USEFULNESS ARE QUESTIONED IN THE LIGHT OF CONTEMPORARY NEEDS. COMMUNITY VERSUS INSTITUTIONAL TREATMENT FOR JUVENILES IS ALSO DISCUSSED, WITH PARTICULAR EMPHASIS BEING PLACED ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MASSACHUSETTS EXPERIMENT IN COMMUNITY-BASED CORRECTIONS FOR JUVENILES. ALSO TREATED ARE THE VARIOUS COMPONENTS OF THE NARCOTICS PROBLEM AND COMMUNITY-ORIENTED INSTITUTIONAL PROGRAMS THAT RE-INTEGRATE OFFENDERS INTO THE COMMUNITY THROUGH WORK RELEASE AND FURLOUGH PROGRAMS. BOTH THE RATIONALE UNDERLYING THE HALFWAY HOUSE MOVEMENT AND ITS ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK ARE THOROUGHLY EXPLORED. THE BOOK CONCLUDES WITH A LIST OF THE STANDARD REFERENCE WORKS ON COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)...ELW