Juvenile dispositional decisions are affected by numerous characteristics of the offender, the decision makers and the offenses. While understandable, it has led to considerable inconsistencies in the use of secure placements within and across jurisdictions. Some jurisdictions have attempted to make more explicit the factors that decision makers intend to use when making dispositional decisions, to determine whether there are relatively objective criteria that link dispositional decisions more closely to intended policy, especially regarding use of secure correctional placements. In New Hampshire, probation officers and judges participated in an exercise that simultaneously expressed their policy intentions regarding use of the State's training school and illustrated the desirability of employing guidelines. This article describes the exercise and its results. Tables, references