PREVIOUS RESEARCH ON DISPOSITION DECISIONMAKING PRACTICES HAS BEEN MORE CONCERNED WITH TESTING THEORETICAL PROPOSITIONS THAN WITH ADDRESSING THE PROGRAM NEEDS OF JUVENILE JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION. RESEARCHERS HAVE LIMITED ANALYSIS TO THE POLICE LEVEL AND HAVE NOT DISTINGUISHED BETWEEN STATUS AND NONSTATUS OFFENDERS. TO DISCOVER WHETHER DIFFERENT CRITERIA ARE USED TO DISPOSE OF CASES FOR STATUS AND NONSTATUS OFFENSES, EIGHT INDEPENDENT VARIABLES WERE SELECTED: AGE, SEX, RACE, FAMILY STRUCTURE, SOCIAL CLASS, NUMBER OF PRIOR COURT REFERRALS, NUMBER OF PREVIOUS POLICE CONTRACTS, AND NUMBER OF PETITIONS FILED. THE DEPENDENT VARIABLE--DISPOSITION--WAS ANALYZED AT THREE DECISION LEVELS: INTAKE DISPOSITION, RECOMMENDED DISPOSITION, AND JUDICIAL DISPOSITION. OF THE CASES SAMPLED, 104 (29.7 PERCENT) WERE HANDLED UNOFFICIALLY; THE REMAINDER WERE SUBJECT TO DISPOSITIONAL REVIEW BY INDIVIDUAL CASEWORKERS, RECOMMENDED DISPOSITION, AND A FINAL JUDICIAL DISPOSITION. A TOTAL OF 350 JUVENILE OFFENDERS, OF WHICH 43 PERCENT WERE STATUS OFFENDERS, WERE RANDOMLY SELECTED FROM JUVENILE COURT RECORDS. FINDINGS INDICATE THAT AT ALL DISPOSITION LEVELS, THE NUMBER OF PREVIOUS COURT REFERRALS AND MULTIPLE PETITIONS INCREASED THE LIKELIHOOD OF A MORE SEVERE DISPOSITION FOR BOTH NONSTATUS AND STATUS OFFENDERS. SOCIAL CLASS BIAS WAS STRONGER FOR STATUS OFFENDERS AND BECAME MORE EVIDENT AT SUCCESSIVE DISPOSITION LEVELS. NEW DELINQUENCY PROGRAMS MUST BUILD ON THE FOUNDATION OF JUST SANCTIONS PRIOR TO THE RIGHT TO TREAT OFFENDERS. TABULAR DATA, NOTES, AND REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (WJR)