Case managers helped participants by arranging for necessary assessments, developing individual employment plans, and identifying and arranging for rehabilitation and employment services that the participants needed to achieve the goals in their plans. Participants received financial incentives, in the form of waivers, once their earnings reached $200 or self-employment exceeded a total of 40 hours. The provisions of the waiver were in effect for 12 months.

Through this program, people who were incarcerated were released early, transferred to a residential facility, and required to find employment. If participants had difficulty finding work, the program referred them to community resources that helped develop job-search skills. The average participant took part in work release for slightly more than four months. This program served people who were incarcerated and who were assessed for low recidivism risk, had served at least half of their prison sentence, and were within eight months of their release date.

Before release, participants who were incarcerated received 16 hours of job search training and additional job search assistance from job training and job development specialists. In the week before release, participants were assigned a retention specialist and received a portfolio with a resume, an EMPLOY program certification, job leads, and additional supports such as bus fare and clothing for interviews. Retention specialists conducted 4 follow-up meetings with participants over the 12-month period after their release.

REM combined short-term occupational training, job placement services, case management, and supportive services such as child care to help participants find jobs. The program offered a financial incentive of $100 in cash or gift cards for each week participants attended all training sessions, and an additional $50 if they were hired and reported their employment to their training provider. Training lasted up to six weeks and was provided in areas such as construction, truck driving, clerical work, or nursing.

AF was a small-group, one-week program in which participants (veterans with felony histories) described their work aspirations, drafted resumes, and discussed employment challenges. After AF, participants moved into IPS, a program founded on a set of core principles—including small caseloads and rapid job searches—with the intention of helping people find and keep jobs. During IPS, supported employment specialists (SESs) provided individual job search services and worked with local employers to find positions for participants.

I-BEST offered occupational training courses in a variety of areas, including allied health, welding, and clerical fields. I-BEST integrated basic skills and occupational training through the use of a team teaching model whereby a basic skills and occupational instructor team taught (for at least 50 percent of class time) an occupational training course.