THE NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF JUVENILE CORRECTIONS WAS FUNDED BY THE LAW ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE ADMINISTRATION, THROUGH BOTH THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND THE JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION OPERATIONS TASK GROUP. THIS REPORT FIRST PROVIDES AN OVERVIEW OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE JUVENILE COURT FROM AN HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCE PERSPECTIVE, AND IDENTIFIES KEY POLICY ISSUES THAT PROVIDED A BASIS FOR THE RESEARCH. THE RESEARCH DESIGN AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS DESIGN ARE THEN EXAMINED. THE SAMPLES INCLUDED A RANDOM SAMPLING OF JUVENILE COURTS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES, A SUPPLEMENTAL SAMPLE OF JUVENILE COURTS, SEVEN JUVENILE COURTS SELECTED FOR IN-DEPTH FIELD STUDY, AND A SAMPLE OF STATE PROBATION AND DETENTION SERVICES. THE SURVEY INSTRUMENTS INCLUDED QUESTIONNAIRES FOR COURT-RELATED STAFF, COHORT INTERVIEWS, DIRECT OBSERVATIONS, INTERVIEWS WITH COURT EXECUTIVES, AND A COMMUNITY QUESTIONNAIRE. THE RESULTS OF THIS SURVEY WERE TABULATED AND ANALYZED, AND APPEAR IN THIS VOLUME. SUBJECTS OF ANALYSIS INCLUDE STAFF PERCEPTIONS OF GOALS; INTAKE PATTERNS OF JUVENILE COURTS; ORGANIZATION-ENVIRONMENT RELATIONSHIPS; STRUCTURAL AND STAFF CHARACTERISTICS OF JUVENILE COURTS; CASE PROCESSING PATTERNS; DUE PROCESS; AND SERVICE TECHNOLOGIES SUCH AS DIVERSION, PROBATION, AND DETENTION.