THIS STUDY EXAMINES THE ACTUAL PRACTICE OF SUPERVISION TO DISCOVER THE EXTENT OF EVALUATION POLICY IMPLEMENTATION, AND TO REEVALUATE THE CONTENT, PURPOSE, AND VALUE OF SUPERVISION AS VIEWED BY ITS PARTICIPANTS. DATA WAS COLLECTED THROUGH A POSTAL QUESTIONNAIRE SENT TO 100 RANDOMLY SELECTED FULL-TIME, MAIN-GRADE PROBATION OFFICERS IN WEST YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND; 62 OFFICERS RESPONDED. INFORMATION WAS GATHERED ON THE FOLLOWING ITEMS: THE NUMBER, PURPOSE, VALUE, AND DURATION OF SUPERVISORY SESSIONS; PRIORITY OF SUPERVISION; AND OFFICERS' DEFINITIONS OF SUPERVISION. THE FOLLOWING CONCLUSIONS ARE BASED ON THE ANALYSIS OF THE RESPONSES TO THE QUESTIONNAIRES: (1) SUPERVISION OF OFFICERS PERMITS EFFECTIVE SUPERVISION OF CLIENTS; (2) MORALE AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NEEDS MAY BE MET THROUGH THE SUPERVISORY RELATIONSHIP; (3) SOME ORGANIZATION NEEDS SUCH AS CONTROL OVER STANDARDS AND PRACTICE MAY BE MET THROUGH SUPERVISION; (4) EFFORTS TO DEVELOP SUPPORTIVE POLICIES EMPHASIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF SUPERVISION ARE NECESSARY; AND (5) A DETERMINATION OF SUPERVISORY NEEDS IS NECESSARY. THE MAJORITY OF MAIN-GRADE OFFICERS BELIEVE THEIR PRIMARY TASK TO BE CLIENT SUPERVISION. IT IS THE OPINION OF MOST OFFICERS THAT OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE EXERCISE OF MANAGEMENT CONTROL WITHIN SUPERVISION ARE RARE BUT THAT MANAGEMENT'S TENDENCY MAY BE IN THE DIRECTION OF STANDARD PRACTICES AND POLICIES TO SECURE THESE OPPORTUNITIES. THE DEGREE OF NONCOMPLIANCE WITH SUCH POLICIES SUGGESTS A NEED FOR REDEFINITION. TABULAR DATA AND REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED.