Established in 1981, the Alternatives Program at Elgin Community College (ECC) has provided services for displaced homemakers, single parents, welfare recipients, and homeless women, laying the groundwork for the 1988 formation of the Fox Valley Consortium for Job Training and Placement of the Homeless. Using federal funding, the Consortium offers job training and placement services to homeless people over 14 years of age; coordinates the activities of area service providers; and gathers demographic data on the homeless. In addition to ECC, consortium members include the Community Crisis Center, the Public Aid Office, the Salvation Army, and the Hispanic Community Based Organization. Program support services have included emergency food, shelter, clothing, child care, substance abuse counseling, medical care, tuition and books, and support groups/mentors. In addition, the program has provided basic skills training, intensive career and job search seminars, vocational training, English-as-a-Second-Language training, job placement assistance, and housing placement. In a holistic approach to individual case management, each program participant is assigned a "personal advocate" from the Alternatives staff. Program outcomes included the following: (1) of the 569 1988-89 program participants, 288 (50.6%) were placed in jobs, and 127 (44%) of these were still employed after 13 weeks; (2) of the 852 participants between 1989 and 1991, 296 were placed in jobs, and 144 (50.4%) of these were still employed after 13 weeks; (3) in both years, program enrollment, training, job placement and retention outcomes far exceeded the projected goals; and (4) while costs per job placement in similarly funded programs nationwide was $2,600, the Alternatives program spent only $520.83 per placement in the first year, and $1,534.80 in the second year. Detailed data tables, and a series of recommendations are included. (PAA)