The Virginia Department of Youth and Family Services reviewed the State's juvenile probation with a view toward developing a balanced approach to its use in the juvenile justice system. A survey asked the State's 35 court service unit (CSU) directors for information concerning their probation objectives and how they were addressed, level of achievement and factors that affected the success or failure of the objectives. Survey findings disclosed that, among other things: (1) community protection, accountability and competency development were the most reported objectives; (2) most assessments of these objectives were not conducted in a systematic fashion, with little measurable evidence of achievement; and (3) development and contents of service plans were consistent among the 35 CSUs. Based on these findings, the Department recommended development of statewide guidelines for probation irrespective of the balanced approach as well as implementation of a statewide data system in the court service and suggested several options for implementation of the balanced approach. Tables, references, appendixes