Inexperienced GAO auditors did not present an accurate and complete picture of the role of halfway houses in community-based correctional programs. The GAO report ignored evidence that many halfway house residents advance to more lucrative employment after gaining experience in lower paid jobs. Moreover, only the results of 8 of 265 cases reviewed were reported, and not all significant employment and educational factors were analyzed during case review. In addition, the GAO report is criticized for not providing a breakdown by State or facility, public or private, where inadequacies were purportedly found. The report unfairly implied that past Bureau of Prisons contract management in community corrections programs was inadequate. GAO auditors were unfamiliar with private, community-based residential funding procedures. Lastly, a GAO report charge that community facilities do not enable Federal offenders to suficiently discharge family responsibilities is not documented. Thus, in undertaking an investigation, GAO should familiarize itself beforehand with evaluation parameters by talking with professionals in the field, report all investigation findings, cite specific facilities and programs where inadequacies are reported, give specific recommendations for improvement in areas found deficient, and support the findings by documented descriptions of the entire investigation. A historical summary is provided of the major activities of the International Halfway House Association since its establishment in 1964.