Throughout its history, the juvenile justice system in the United States has been characterized by two approaches -- the first emphasizing restraint, regimentation, and retribution; the other characterized by a focus on individualization, self-actualization, and rehabilitation. Deinstitutionalization relies on fewer traditional constraints and on more open-door techniques. It envisions detention centers without locks, secure facilities without cells, halfway houses without guards, and, ultimately, communities without fear. In Massachusetts and Utah, about four-fifths of all children who end up in State custody manage to stay out of large institutions. Instead they are consigned to the care of a family, not always their own, and/or to one or more programs among a variety of deinstitutional offerings. Most of these programs are administered by private, nonprofit organizations on State contracts. Much deinstitutional care occurs in small group residences and neighborhood youth centers and through programs such as shelter care, outreach, tracking, proctor care, and youth services. In these States, even secure facilities bear marks of diversification and offer counseling, educational, and recreational services. While offering mixed results, studies of deinstitutional and community-based alternatives dispute assumptions of traditional penal approaches and indicate that deinstitutionalization can be an effective and humane alternative to reformatories and detention centers.