The demands for changes from the rehabilitative dispositions supported by the juvenile justice philosophy to a retributive system that deters and incapacitates offenders appear to result from the view that rehabilitative interventions are ineffective. However, recent empirical evidence has challenged this view. Evaluations of community corrections programs for serious and violent offenders suggest new directions for effective treatment and reintegration, as shown by the Violent Juvenile Offender Program, a study involving four urban juvenile courts. In addition, analysis of transfers of juveniles to adult courts has shown the need for explicit policy and criteria expressing the intent of the transfer statutes. The youths processed in adult courts receive harsher punishments than comparable youths processed in juvenile courts, and the informal criteria and statutory language that seem to guide the transfer decision are currently so subjective that they invite disparity and capriciousness by prosecutors and judges. Figures, tables, notes, and 104 references.