UNDERLYING PROBLEMS THAT GROUP HOMES ARE DESIGNED TO CORRECT INCLUDE COMMUNITY AND FAMILY VALUES AND THE EMOTIONAL STATE OF CHILDREN IN COMMUNICATING WITH THE FAMILY AND THE COMMUNITY. THE STUDY WAS LIMITED TO GROUP HOMES FUNDED BY THE LEAA THROUGH JUNE 30, 1976. THE GROUP HOME CONCEPT ORIGINATED FROM THE NEED FOR A MORE HUMANE AND SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT PROGRAM FOR JUVENILES. STATISTICS WERE OBTAINED ON EIGHT GROUP HOMES THROUGH RESPONSES TO A QUESTIONNAIRE. GROUP HOMES MET THEIR OBJECTIVE OF ACCEPTING CHILDREN AFTER A PETITION HAD BEEN FILED WITH THE COURT AS A REFERRAL SOURCE. THE HOMES WERE UNBIASED IN ACCEPTING CHILDREN BASED ON THEIR COMMITTED OFFENSES. STAFF EDUCATION PLAYED A STRONG ROLE IN ALL HOMES. GROUP HOMES CENTERED THEIR TREATMENT PROGRAMS ON WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND PARENTS THROUGH THE UTILIZATION OF COMMUNITY RESOURCES. VARIOUS TREATMENT MODALITIES WERE EMPLOYED BY THE HOMES, AND PROBLEMS WERE ENCOUNTERED THAT RELATED PRIMARILY TO THE NEWNESS OF THE GROUP HOME CONCEPT. TRAINING SCHOOLS COST $2.18 LESS PER CHILD THAN GROUP HOMES, ALTHOUGH GROUP HOMES FUNDED BY THE LEAA WERE $12.65 LESS THAN OTHER RESIDENTIAL HOMES. APPROXIMATELY 80 PERCENT OF THE CHILDREN COMPLETED THEIR THERAPY AT GROUP HOMES. THE RUNAWAY TERMINATION RATE WAS 2.5 PERCENT. RECIDIVISM RATES FOR GROUP HOME PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS RANGED FROM 11 TO 30 PERCENT. FOUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR GROUP HOMES ARE OFFERED: (1) HOMES SHOULD THOROUGHLY ANALYZE THEIR DATA ON A CONTINUAL BASIS ABOUT INDIVIDUAL CASES AND THEIR OVERALL PROGRAM, (2) HOMES AND THE COMMUNITY SHOULD STRIKE FOR BETTER COMMUNICATION IN ORDER TO BENEFIT JUVENILES TO THE FULLEST EXTENT, (3) TRAINING SESSIONS SHOULD BE OFFERED TO KEEP RESIDENTIAL STAFF KNOWLEDGEABLE OF TREATMENT PROCEDURES, AND (4) GROUP HOME GRANTS SHOULD BECOME AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM. APPENDIXES CONTAIN A DESCRIPTION OF THE EVALUATION OF YOUTH CARE GROUP HOME TREATMENT PROGRAM FOR DELINQUENTS AND A LIST OF ALL RESPONDING GROUP HOMES. SUPPORTING DATA ARE TABULATED.