THE CALIFORNIA YOUTH AUTHORITY INITIATED AN LEAA-FUNDED EVALUATION OF 15 DIVERSION PROGRAMS AND ADDRESSED THREE ISSUES: RECIDIVISM AND DIVERSION; EXTENT OF JUVENILE PRETRIAL DIVERSION; AND COST SAVINGS FROM DIVERSION. THE TYPICAL CLIENT STUDIED WAS 15 YEARS AT POINT OF DIVERSION OR PROJECT ENTRY AND THE TYPICAL DIVERSION PROGRAM STUDIED LASTED 6 WEEKS. RECIDIVISM WAS STUDIED BY MEANS OF QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS AND INDIVIDUAL RECORD SEARCHES ON 1,345 CLIENTS AND 1,192 MATCHED COMPARISONS. FINDINGS SHOWED THAT THE PROJECT CLIENTS SHOWED A 17 PERCENT REDUCTION IN RECIDIVISM OVER CONTROLS, ALTHOUGH NO SINGLE PROJECT SEEMED TO CAUSE SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION. THE GROUP WITH ONLY ONE PRIOR ARREST APPEARED TO BE HELPED MORE POSITIVELY THAN YOUTHS WHO HAD TWO PRIOR ARRESTS OR NO PRIORS. IT WAS FOUND THAT OF ALL CLIENTS SERVED BY THE PROJECTS, 51 PERCENT WERE DIVERTED FROM PROCESSING WITHIN THE TRADITIONAL JUSTICE SYSTEM. FINDINGS ALSO SHOWED THAT DIVERSION DID SAVE THE JUSTICE SYSTEM MONEY BECAUSE OF REDUCED RECIDIVISM AND THE RESULTING LOWER COSTS OF JUSTICE SYSTEM PROCESSING. THUS RESULTS SUGGEST THAT, IF NO VIOLENT OFFENSES HAVE BEEN INVOLVED, INITIAL INTERVENTION MIGHT OPTIMALLY TAKE PLACE ON THE OCCASION OF YOUTHS' SECOND OFFENSE. ALSO SOME YOUTHS AND SOME OBJECTIVES WOULD BE BEST SERVED BY SHORT-TERM, VOLUNTARY, NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THE JUSTICE SYSTEM. OTHERS WOULD BE BEST SERVED BY LONGER-TERM, NONVOLUNTARY JUSTICE SYSTEM PROGRAMS. IF YOUTHS WERE MATCHED WITH OPTIONS PARTICULARLY RELEVANT TO SPECIFIED GOALS, MANY POTENTIAL PITFALLS COULD BE AVOIDED. NOTES AND A TABLE ARE INCLUDED. (MJW)