IN VIEW OF THE HIGH RATES OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND RECIDIVISM AND THE INCREASING DEMAND FOR ACCOUNTABILITY, AN ALTERNATIVE MODEL TO TRADITIONAL CASE PROCESSING SEEMS INDICATED. TRADITIONAL CASE PROCESSING INVOLVES A DIAGNOSIS OF THE REASONS FOR A JUVENILE'S DELINQUENCY AND THE RECOMMENDATION OF REMEDIAL ACTIONS. YET CLEAR GUIDELINES FOR THESE CRUCIAL DECISIONS ARE OFTEN LACKING, AND JUSTICE FREQUENTLY DEPENDS UPON THE IMPRESSIONS AND INTUITIONS OF THE PROBATION OFFICER. IN 1974, THE DELINQUENCY AND LONG-TERM ASSESSMENT PROJECT OF THE SPOKANE, WASHINGTON, JUVENILE COURT EVALUATED OVER 50 DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS, TESTS, AND INSTRUMENTS FOR USE IN JUVENILE JUSTICE DECISIONMAKING. RESEARCH EMPHASIS WAS PLACED ON PREDICTIVE/DIAGNOSTIC VALIDITY, COST-EFFECTIVENESS, AND TIME-EFFICIENCY. OF THE MODELS STUDIED, JENKINS' AND PASCAL'S BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT SYSTEM BEST MET PROJECT CRITERIA. THE ENVIRONMENTAL DEPRIVATION SCALE (EDS) WAS OF PARTICULAR INTEREST BECAUSE IT PREDICTED RECIDIVISM POTENTIAL, IDENTIFIED PROBLEM AREAS FOR TREATMENT AND INTERVENTION, AND OFFERED A MEANS FOR UTILIZING COMMUNITY RESOURCES THROUGH APPROPRIATE DIVERSION AND REFERRAL. THE EDS, HOWEVER, HAD NOT BEEN VALIDATED WITH JUVENILE POPULATIONS, CONSEQUENTLY INITIAL USE BY THE COURT WAS AIMED AT EXAMINING ITS APPLICABILITY TO THE JUVENILE OFFENDER POPULATION SERVED. THE EDS IS BASICALLY AN INTERVIEW GUIDE WHICH STRUCTURES INFORMATION GATHERING FOR A NUMBER OF PERSONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLES. SCORING INDICATES PARTICULAR VARIABLES CONTRIBUTING TO SOCIALLY DEVIANT BEHAVIORS, AND A COMPOSITE SCORE INDICATES THE PROBABILITY OF RECIDIVISM. OVER A 9-MONTH FOLLOW-UP PERIOD, THE EDS PREDICTIONS HAVE PROVEN VALID IN 85 PERCENT OF THE CASES. FOLLOWING THIS INITIAL VALIDATION, PROBATION OFFICERS BEGAN USING THE EDS IN THEIR INTAKE AND REFERRAL DECISIONMAKING, AND CRITERIA WERE DRAWN UP FOR APPROPRIATE ACTION FOR JUVENILES IDENTIFIED AT HIGH RISK FOR RECIDIVISM. TRAINING IN THE USE OF THE INSTRUMENT IS REQUIRED, AND ASSESSMENT REQUIRES APPROXIMATELY ONE HOUR. WHILE A BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT APPROACH CAN NOT BE A PANACEA FOR ALL THE ILLS OF THE JUVENILE COURTS, IT DOES PROVIDE A MEANS FOR MAKING MORE APPROPRIATE DECISIONS FOR YOUTH AND IDENTIFIES THE RESOURCES WHICH WILL BE NECESSARY TO CURB DELINQUENCY. (JAP)