ALTHOUGH ONLY 194 USABLE QUESTIONNAIRES WERE RETURNED FROM A SAMPLE OF 1,837 YOUTHS WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF JUVENILE CORRECTIONS, THE QUESTION OF BIAS IN THIS SAMPLE IS DISPELLED BY THE STRIKING SIMILARITY BETWEEN THE FOLLOWUP SUBGROUP WHICH RETURNED QUESTIONNAIRES AND THE LARGER GROUP OF ORIGINAL RESPONDENTS. THE RESULTS OF THE SURVEY SHOWED THAT OVER 50 PERCENT OF THE RESPONDENTS LIVED WITH EITHER THEIR PARENTS OR WITH RELATIVES, AND ONLY 13 PERCENT REMAINED IN CORRECTIONAL PROGRAMS. WHILE MOST OF THOSE SURVEYED WERE IN SCHOOL (28 PERCENT) OR EMPLOYED (40 PERCENT), 38 PERCENT WERE CONSIDERED 'UNOCCUPIED.' MANY OF THOSE IN SCHOOL REPORTED CONTINUING DIFFICULTIES SUCH AS TRUANCY, BUT THESE YOUTHS APPEARED MORE FORTUNATE THAN THE UNOCCUPIED GROUP. NEARLY HALF OF THE NONWHITE RESPONDENTS AND ONE-THIRD OF THE WHITE RESPONDENTS WERE UNOCCUPIED. THOSE YOUTHS RELEASED FROM INSTITUTIONS WERE MORE LIKELY TO BE UNOCCUPIED THAN THOSE FROM GROUP HOMES OR TREATMENT PROGRAMS. THE SURVEY RESULTS CORROBORATE PRIOR INDICATIONS THAT, AS THE FREQUENCY OF CONTACT WITH THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM INCREASES, LIKELIHOOD OF SUCCESSFUL SOCIAL INTEGRATION DECREASES. CONTACT WITH THE POLICE WAS COMMON AMONG BOTH THE OCCUPIED AND UNOCCUPIED GROUPS, BUT THE LATTER GROUP WAS MORE LIKELY TO HAVE BEEN ARRESTED AND CONVICTED. BOTH GROUPS REPORTED THAT THEY HAD BEEN HELPED BY THE CORRECTIONAL PROGRAMS IN WHICH THEY PARTICIPATED, AND THEY SUSTAINED THE OPTIMISM WHICH THEY HAD SHOWN AT THE TIME OF THEIR RELEASE. (TWK).