THE NILECJ MANDATE IS THE RESEARCH AND DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION. THROUGH PROPER APPLICATION OF ACCURATE RESEARCH FINDINGS, PROGRAMS AND STRATEGIES ARE DESIGNED FOR THE PURPOSE OF DEFINING NEEDS, DEVISING RESPONSES, BUILDING ON STRENGTHS, CORRECTING WEAKNESSES, AND IDENTIFYING GAPS IN EXISTING PROGRAMS. THE RESULTING INSIGHTS ARE INVALUABLE TO A MULTIPLICITY OF AUDIENCES, HAVE A WIDE RANGE OF USES, AND ARE ESSENTIAL IN EVALUATING PROGRAM EFFECTIVENESS. BUILDING A RESEARCH KNOWLEDGE BASE TAKES MANY YEARS. WHEN NILECJ WAS ESTABLISHED, ITS DISSEMINATION RESPONSIBILITIES BEGAN CONCURRENTLY WITH ITS RESEARCH PROGRAM. MUCH OF THE FIRST STAGE DISSEMINATION, THEREFORE, FOCUSED ON SPREADING INFORMATION ON THE BEST OF EXISTING PRACTICE. ONE OF THE FIRST NILECJ EFFORTS WAS THE POLK COUNTY (DES MOINES) COURT SERVICES PROJECT OF 1970, ONE OF THE EXEMPLARY PROJECTS PROGRAMS. NILECJ STRATEGIES DURING THIS STAGE I PROJECT INCLUDED USE OF THE MEDIA, DOCUMENT PUBLICATION, TRAINING, DEMONSTRATIONS, AND ENCOURAGING OTHER ORGANIZATIONS TO USE NILECJ MATERIALS. STAGE II OF THE NILECJ EFFORTS INVOLVED EXPANDING THE EXISTING SYSTEM AND TRANSLATING RESEARCH FINDINGS INTO PROGRAMS. EXAMPLES OF STAGE II ACCOMPLISHMENTS INCLUDE THE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION PROCESS AND THE FELONY INVESTIGATION DECISION MODEL. STRATEGIES HERE INCLUDE DISSEMINATION OF FINDINGS, PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT, FIELD TESTS, AND TRAINING. THE ACTION PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, STAGE III, INVOLVES SEVERAL STEPS: POLICY PLANNING, PROBLEM DEFINITION, SELECTION OF RESPONSE STRATEGY, PROGRAM DESIGN, TESTING, DEMONSTRATION, MARKETING, AND POLICY PLANNING. NICLEJ'S EFFORTS REGARDING PRE-RELEASE CENTERS ARE AN EXAMPLE OF THIS CULMINATING STAGE. (LWM)