Financial problems facing States and the enormous agendas facing legislatures are two factors that influence the degree and responsiveness of policymakers. Other factors include deeply held values about the family, individual integrity, and the role and limits of State intervention. Religious and other values also may be influential, as are the prevailing public mood and the attention directed at a specific issues by the media. Major design shifts, the basic inertia of all systems, and fiscal restraints are additional factors. An analysis of juvenile justice trends is appended. 2 tables, 1 figure, and 20 notes.