As the need for increasingly punitive community-based sanctions grew, the demand for a greater variety of programs and services became evident, as did the importance of a more fluid from total incapacity to total incapacity, freedom of reintegration into the society of prisoners. Over the years, several methods of community correction have been developed, one of which is the establishment of halfway houses. To adequately understand residential community corrections, it is necessary to consider the origins, components, and effectiveness of halfway houses. Halfway houses in the United States were initially operated by non-profit organizations as a means for recently released prisoners to regain their footing upon reentry. Between 1816 and 1930, the function of the halfway house was to provide temporary food and shelter while the offender sought work and became financially stable enough to support himself. Participation was strictly voluntary as there was a lack of state support, mainly due to the strong belief that ex-prisoners should minimize contact with each other. (Alarid and Del Carmen 182) A transition to penitentiary treatment and supervision via halfway house in the 1950s garnered great support as concerns about parole revocation and crime increased. Within a few years, halfway houses began receiving government assistance and financial support. Funding sources were increased dramatically through the Safe Streets Act of 1968, and a focus on community corrections prevailed. By the time funding began to decline in the 1980s, halfway houses had found their place in correctional facilities as an alternative to incarceration and as a safe place for offenders to leave prison, reducing potential problems due to overcrowding. (A...... middle of the paper ...... do V. Del Carmen. Community-based corrections. Eighth. Belmont: Wadsworth, 2011. 179-206. Print. Klein-Saffran, Jody. "Electronic Monitoring vs. Recovery Homes: A Study of Federal Offenders. "Alternatives to Incarceration. Fall 1995: 24-28. Web. March 29, 2012. .Lagos, David. NC Courts. NC Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission. Compendium of Community Corrections Programs in North Carolina. Raleigh: , 2010. Web..Shilton, Mary KUS Department of Justice for Increasing Public Safety through Halfway Homes 2003. Web.content/3-halfway- houses-pub-safety.pdf>.