THIS STUDY FOCUSES ON THE STRUCTURES AND PROCESSES OF AN ORGANIZATION, SUCH AS THE YOUTH SERVICE BUREAU, WHICH PURPORTS TO PUT DIVERSION PRINCIPLES INTO PRACTICE WITHIN A SOCIAL SERVICE FRAMEWORK. HISTORICAL AND THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES UNDERLYING AND GIVING RISE TO THE YOUTH SERVICE BUREAU ARE EXAMINED. GOALS, RATIONALE, AND METHODOLOGY, AS WELL AS THE IDEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE BUREAU, ARE PRESENTED. ATTENTION IS ESPECIALLY FOCUSED ON THE CONCEPTUALIZATION OF DEVIANCE AS THE FOUNDATION FOR DIVERSION. CONFLICT AND LABELING THEORY PERSPECTIVES; THE CONCEPT OF DIVERSION (IN TERMS OF WHAT A PERSON IS DIVERTED FROM); THE YOUTH SERVICE BUREAU AS A MECHANISM FOR DIVERSION; AND THE PREMISES UPON WHICH THE YOUTH SERVICE BUREAU WAS FOUNDED--THESE ARE ANALYZED IN DETAIL. SUCH PREMISES INCLUDE THE THEORY THAT NEGATIVE LABELING EFFECTS MIGHT LEAD TO NEGATIVE PERSONAL PERCEPTIONS AND THEREBY PROVIDE A HIGHER PROBABILITY THAT CRIME OR DEVIANCE WILL CONTINUE. ARGUMENTS FOR JUVENILE COURT DIVERSION ARE PRESENTED, BASED ON A REVIEW OF THE CURRENT LITERATURE AND KNOWLEDGE IN THE FIELD. JUVENILE COURT DIVERSION AS A PENAL PHILOSOPHY IS GAINING INCREASINGLY WIDER ACCEPTANCE IN MANY STATES AND BEING EXTENDED, IN ADDITION TO STATUS OFFENDERS, TO PERPETRATORS OF JUVENILE DESIGNATED FELONIES. IN CONCLUDING ITS SCRUTINY OF TWO EXISTING YOUTH SERVICE BUREAUS, THIS STUDY EXPRESSES CONFIDENCE THAT SUCH ORGANIZATIONS COULD BE EFFECTIVE AS JUVENILE DIVERSION IMPLEMENTATION INSTRUMENTS IF CERTAIN SPECIFIC GUIDELINES WERE FOLLOWED (E.G., THE PROVISION OF SOCIAL SERVICES ALONG REFERRAL LINES, CONCENTRATING THEIR EFFORTS ON LINKING YOUTHS TO SERVICES MOST NECESSARY TO THEIR NEEDS). FLOW-CHARTS AND INTRAORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND PROCESS CHARTS ARE PROVIDED IN THE TEXT, AND 122 REFERENCES ARE APPENDED.