BECAUSE OF THE DIFFERENCES IN THE EXPERIENCES OF THE ATTENDEES TO THE 1977 NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PRETRAL RELEASE AND DIVERSION, DIFFERENCES IN PRETRIAL PROGRAM DESIGN, DEGREE OF PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT, AND REGIONAL AND JURISDICTIONAL DIFFERENCES AMONG THE PRETRIAL PROGRAMS REPRESENTED, THE GOALS OF THE CONFERENCE WERE BROAD. THEY CONCERNED THE FOLLOWING: ORIENTATION TO THE PRETRIAL FIELD, CURRENT ISSUES IN THE FIELD, STAFF DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING, PROGRAM CONCEPTS AND MODELS, AND CHANGES IN PRETRIAL LAWS. THE CONFERENCE FORMAT INCLUDED BOTH LARGE AND SMALL FORMAL SESSIONS AND LESS FORMAL SOCIAL ACTIVITIES DESIGNED TO MAXIMIZE INFORMATION SHARING. IN PLENARY SESSIONS, AN EFFORT WAS MADE TO INCREASE AWARENESS ABOUT AND SENSITIVITY TO THE JUVENILE PRETRIAL SERVICE AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE JUVENILE AND ADULT SYSTEMS. THE NEED FOR STANDARDS AND GOALS IN THE PRETRIAL FIELD, ISSUES CONCERNING THE PRETRIAL ACCUSED, AND THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF PRETRIAL SERVICES WERE DISCUSSED ALSO. SIX PANELS, FOCUSING SEPARATELY ON RELEASE AND DIVERSION PROGRAMS, WERE DEVELOPED TO FOLLOW AND COMPLEMENT THE PLENARY SESSIONS. A SERIES OF OPEN FORUMS WERE HELD ON PRETRIAL SERVICES AND SPECIAL POPULATIONS: WOMEN, JUVENILES, AND THIRD WORLD PEOPLE. OTHER ACTIVITIES INCLUDED AN ORIENTATION, WORKSHOPS, AND THE COMPILATION OF A RESOURCE NOTEBOOK INCLUDING ARTICLES ON PRETRIAL SERVICE AGENCIES AND THEIR COMMUNITIES AND THE PROPOSED PERFORMANCE STANDARDS AND GOALS FOR PRETRIAL RELEASE AND DIVERSION. AN OVERVIEW OF THE APPROACH TAKEN IN THE PLANNING AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE CONFERENCE AND A PROFILE OF CONFERENCE ATTENDEES ARE PROVIDED. RECOMMENDATIONS, BASED ON PARTICIPANTS' EVALUATION OF THE CONFERENCE, ARE MADE FOR CONDUCTING FUTURE PRETRIAL SERVICES CONFERENCES. CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS ARE NOT INCLUDED. APPENDIXES INCLUDE CONFERENCE PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS, AN OVERVIEW OF THE PROGRAM FORMAT, TEXTS FROM MAJOR ADDRESSES, SUMMARIES OF PLENARY SESSIONS AND WORKSHOPS, ORIENTATION MATERIALS, A LISTING OF MATERIALS INCLUDED IN THE RESOURCE NOTEBOOK, AND A MAILING LIST OF CONFERENCE ATTENDEES. (MGB)