One group had prior involvement in the formal juvenile justice system and the other had not. Data were obtained on over 700 cases of minors who were ordered into out-of-home placement and on regular probation juveniles. Information was collected on prior record, age, race, gender, and 20 social history variables. Of 693 cases for which complete data were available, 160 had no prior criminal history, had not received diversion, and had not been previously tried on informal or formal probation. Juvenile characteristics that appeared to be related to placement outside the home included family dysfunction and emotional instability. Demographic variables associated with out-of-home placement decisions included race, age, and gender. While California introduced legislation to remove status offenders from secure detention and to deal with them more informally, the juvenile justice system continued to deal with a significant number of minors in traditional ways. Appendixes list items on the survey social history instrument and contain the client needs assessment instrument. 23 references and 3 tables