Data from a non-profit community corrections agency in the Midwest was used in a study that examined 22 different programs for offenders. Information was collected on the larger programs, such as community-based correctional facilities, halfway houses, work release, day reporting, and home incarceration. The agency's recidivism reports included three measures: rearrest, conviction, and imprisonment. Recidivism rates were calculated one year after a program ended, then again at two and five years. The study categorized client groups as those who successfully completed the program requirements without committing further crimes and those who did not. Recidivism rates for rearrests, convictions and imprisonments for those who completed the programs were compared with traditional correctional institutions in the same state. However, the state's Department of Corrections only conducts a two-year follow-up for released inmates and only considers re-imprisonment as recidivism. Thus, the comparison was only made for re-imprisonment. The study analyzed each program, and the results indicated that offenders who completed the community-based correctional facility and halfway house programs were re-imprisoned at about the same rate as those released from traditional correctional facilities (approximately 30 percent). However, those who completed the work release, day reporting, and home incarceration programs had lower rates of re-imprisonment than offenders released from prisons. The study concludes that community-based programs provide equal protection for the community at a reduced cost while mitigating overcrowding in custodial facilities, particularly jails, although they generally do not produce a significant reduction in recidivism compared to jails and prisons.