This is a critical issue for the County as the juvenile institutional population has steadily increased from average daily population of 511 in 1984 to 588 in 1987. Despite having alternative programs available, the need for institutional beds continues to grow. More alarming has been the serious overcrowding problem at the Juvenile Hall facility. Data were collected on a number of demographic, client profile, and system process variables as well as length of stay. The current capacity of the Orange County institutional system is now set at 625 beds. Results indicate that this will increase to 685 by 1991 and remain at that level through 1997. Based upon the projections, the county will need to add an additional 115 beds over the next 10 years if current policies remain constant. The data reaffirm the need to conduct a detailed and comprehensive security/classification study that would provide the necessary data to make an accurate projection disaggregated by security level. 14 tables, appendix.