THE PHASE I STAFF CONDUCTED COMPREHENSIVE, STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS WITH THE DIRECTORS OF 109 PRETRIAL RELEASE PROGRAMS ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO GATHER DATA CONCERNING THE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND OPERATING PROCEDURES OF THE PROGRAMS. THE MAJOR FINDINGS OF THE STUDY INDICATE THAT THE SIGNIFICANT EXPANSION OF PRETRIAL RELEASE PROGRAMS NATIONALLY OVER THE PAST 15 YEARS IS DUE TO THE SUCCESS OF RELEASE ON RECOGNIZANCE AND OTHER NON-FINANCIAL RELEASES. THE STUDY TEAM WAS HAMPERED IN ITS EFFORTS TO ASSESS PROGRAM IMPACT ON FAILURE TO APPEAR AND PRETRIAL CRIME RATES BY A LACK OF CROSS-JURISDICTIONAL RESEARCH ON THESE ISSUES. AN IDEAL PRETRIAL RELEASE PROGRAM WAS NOT DEFINED AS IT WAS FELT THAT EVERY JURISDICTION HAS ITS OWN NEEDS, BUT AN OPTIMAL PROGRAM STRATEGY WAS OUTLINED. KNOWLEDGE GAPS AND RESEARCH PRIORITIES WERE ALSO SPECIFIED....EB