Reports and analyses over the past 3 decades reveal that the San Francisco juvenile justice system provides little in the way of meaningful services or interventions. Instead, the system relies on a revolving-door policy in which most youths are simply detained for short periods of time and then cycled back into the community with no follow-up or support. Making the system effective requires a new organizational structure and direction in which secure detention is just one element of a full continuum of services capable of providing comprehensive individualized interventions. In this system the probation department would work in collaboration with local communities and redirect resources toward a range of services delivered primarily through community-based programs. The limited resources of the juvenile justice system would be directed toward repeat offenders. Reforms would be implemented swiftly and efficiently. The juvenile hall population would be reduced at the time the new programs are put in place. The proposed strategy also includes waiting until after the changes are in place to develop a broad-based consensus and establishing a leadership team with a vision of reform and extensive experience in the development, implementation, and maintenance of community-based services. Tables