This guide explains how to establish a program of supported work that can be used to enable hard-to-employ individuals (including disabled persons, ex-offenders, and rehabilitated drug and alcohol abusers) to obtain and retain jobs. The program described is based on the following five concepts: real job assignments, graduated stress, sympathetic yet firm supervision, regular evaluation and feedback, and opportunities for peer support. The guide is divided into sections addressing the following topics: the main elements of the program, needs assessment, advisory committees (establishing a network of colleagues), program funding, outreach and intake (introducing the program to referral agencies and interviewing applicants), program staffing considerations, job development (finding training sites and arranging for competetive employment), supervisor orientation (acquainting supervisors with the program and ascertaining their needs), methods of counseling trainees, disciplinary procedures (handling serious work-related problems that have resisted counseling), ancillary services (providing referrals for trainees with additional needs), follow-up (offering gradually reduced supports to former trainees), and the importance of staying on top of a program. (MN)