Deinstitutionalization has allowed thousands of children to live on the streets, with no skills, no lawful way of supporting themselves, and at the mercy of those who prey upon the powerless. Their lifestyles of drug abuse, prostitution, and promiscuity make them vulnerable to AIDS. Supporters of deinstitutionalization maintain that coerced treatment in secure institutions has not proven beneficial to status offenders and that locking up juveniles for noncriminal behavior violates their liberty interests. Opponents of deinstitutionalization argue that it is not possible to treat someone who is not there. Society will pay a horrific price unless health care and social services providers develop a strategy to contain AIDS within the street-child population and prevent its spread to the overall adolescent population. A network of caring, voluntary services for abused/troubled adolescents and their families in every community is recommended. 50 references. (Author abstract modified)