JUVENILE COURTS BEGAN USING DATA SYSTEMS IN 1973 WITH MOST OF THE FUNDING COMING FROM LEAA. IN ORDER FOR INFORMATION SYSTEMS TO BE USED AS RESEARCH TOOLS, AN EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IS NECESSARY. AMONG THE APPLICATIONS OF THESE SYSTEMS ARE NAME INDEXING, CASE FOLLOWING, DOCKETING, AND RESEARCH, ALTHOUGH THE TWO LATTER APPLICATIONS HAVE NOT BEEN USED VERY OFTEN. THE ADDITION OF THESE SYSTEMS DID NOT REDUCE STAFF ANYWHERE, BUT THE POTENTIAL EXISTS TO REDUCE FUTURE HIRING RATES. THERE ARE AS MANY BATCH AS ON-LINE SYSTEMS, AND THE ON-LINES ARE SEVEN TIMES MORE EXPENSIVE AND TAKE THREE TIMES LONGER TO DEVELOP. NO COURT HAS ITS OWN COMPUTER; COUNTY OR STATE CENTERS OR MULTICOURT SYSTEMS ARE USED. MOST SYSTEMS HAVE PAID LITTLE ATTENTION TO CONFIDENTIALITY, AND THERE HAVE BEEN NO COMPREHENSIVE INFORMATION POLICIES OR RECORDS CONTROLS BECAUSE OF INFORMAL AND FRIENDLY RELATIONS BETWEEN JUDGES AND DATA PROCESSING DIRECTORS. WAYS TO ENSURE CONFIDENTIALITY INCLUDE SOFTWARE SAFEGUARDS, AUDIT TRAILS, LOGS, AND CRYPTOGRAPHY. JUVENILES SHOULD HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE SYSTEM'S USE, AND THE SYSTEM SHOULD BE DESIGNED AROUND INDIVIDUAL CASES, RATHER THAN AGGREGATION. TO ENSURE PROTECTION, A SYSTEM SHOULD BE WELL-PLANNED BEFORE IT GOES INTO OPERATION; DUPLICATES OF TAPES AND PROGRAMS SHOULD BE STORED SEPARATELY. A SUCCESSFUL SYSTEM MUST HAVE A COMMITMENT FROM TOP LEVEL MANAGEMENT, ENOUGH MONEY, AND A COMPETENT STAFF.