The chapter focuses on the community-release status given any delinquent subject to some legal control by the court but not placed within an institution or otherwise required to be away from home. The chapter reasons that many delinquents are subject to legal controls on their apparent freedom in the community, even diverted juveniles, because they may be subject to additional juvenile-system processing on the basis of past behavior. The chapter examines types of release programs, from diversion through various forms of probation to parole-release status. Estimates of the numbers and types of juveniles placed in these community-release programs are provided, subject to questionable data. Also addressed are the legal rules that govern the official discretion in both the selection to release status and revocation from it. The survey concludes there are relatively few such rules, although their number and restraint are increasing. The chapter's final section examines five recent studies that provide some empirical data on how community-release programs operate. The chapter offers an overview of what is currently known about some hypotheses of recidivism, treatment theories, costs, effects on juveniles, and community role. The chapter concludes that such data leave a wide margin for social theorizing. 1 table. (Author summary modified)