YOUTH SERVICE BUREAUS EXIST ON THE PERIPHERY OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM AND DEPEND ON LOCAL POLICE AND JUVENILE PROBATION DEPARTMENTS FOR MOST OF THEIR REFERRALS. IN STUDYING 10 BUREAUS IN TEXAS, THE PURPOSE WAS TO DETERMINE IF THERE WERE PATTERNS IN ADMINISTRATION TO INDICATE DIRECTIONS IN WHICH BUREAUS WERE CHANGING. VISITS WERE MADE TO 9 OF THE 10 BUREAUS AND INDEPTH INTERVIEWS WERE CONDUCTED. ONE BUREAU WAS CONTACTED BY TELEPHONE. SOCIAL CHANGE THEORY WAS APPLIED TO ANALYZE DATA ON TRENDS INDICATIVE OF BUREAU SURVIVAL OR EXTINCTION. THE ANALYSIS COVERED THE 1973-1974 PERIOD AND WAS DESCRIPTIVE IN NATURE RATHER THAN EVALUATIVE OF BUREAU EFFECTIVENESS IN ACHIEVING SERVICE GOALS FOR YOUTH AND THE COMMUNITY. EACH BUREAU WAS SHAPED BY FEATURES UNIQUE TO THE COMMUNITY IT SERVED, BY THE LEADERSHIP PROVIDED, AND BY ORGANIZATIONAL SIZE. BUREAUS REPRESENTED SEVERAL DIFFERENT LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT AND WERE DEPENDENT ON VARIED SOURCES OF FUNDS, THE TEXAS CRIMINAL JUSTICE COUNCIL, HOWEVER, WAS A PRIMARY SOURCE OF FUNDING FOR ALL BUREAUS. EIGHT BUREAUS HAD A DYNAMIC PATTERN OF ADMINISTRATION. THE REMAINING TWO BUREAUS HAD HIGHLY DEPENDENT EXCHANGE RELATIONS, AND THEY WERE THE ONLY BUREAUS EXHIBITING PROSPECTS FOR SURVIVAL. FOLLOWUP INFORMATION ON BUREAU PATTERNS AND DIRECTIONS OBTAINED IN TWO TELEPHONE SURVEYS, 4 MONTHS AND 12 MONTHS AFTER THE STUDY, SHOWED THAT THE TWO BUREAUS WERE STILL THE ONLY ONES SHOWING A POTENTIAL FOR SURVIVAL. THE LONG-RANGE FUTURE OF BUREAUS AS A GROUP APPEARED TO BE UNCERTAIN. STUDY DATA SUGGESTED THAT SURVIVING BUREAUS WOULD CONTINUE TO SURVIVE AS ORGANIZATIONS BY MOVING AWAY FROM THE YOUTH SERVICE BUREAU CONCEPT. SOCIAL CHANGE THEORY SEEMED TO FAVOR SMALLER ORGANIZATIONS AS BEING MORE DYNAMIC. CHANCE OF SURVIVAL WAS CONNECTED CLOSELY WITH ADMINISTRATION PATTERNS, AT LEAST ON A SHORT-TERM BASIS. SERVICES PROVIDED BY DYNAMIC BUREAUS REFLECTED CLIENT NEEDS, BUT THESE SERVICES HAD LITTLE RELATION TO FUNDING SOURCES. THE KEY TO SURVIVAL WAS BUREAU RESPONSIVENESS TO ESTABLISHED AGENCIES, PARTICULARLY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, AND NEEDS OF SUCH AGENCIES WERE STABLE. FIFTY-EIGHT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BUREAU IMPROVEMENT ARE OFFERED. AN APPENDIX CONTAINS EXCERPTS FROM THE 1967 PRESIDENT'S CRIME COMMISSION REPORT. TABLES AND FIGURES ARE INCLUDED. (DEP)