In 1979 there were 4,458 juvenile court referrals reported. Of these 79.8 percent were handled with petitition. Referrals for major offense categories accounted for 2,862 of the total. There were 1,045 minor offense and 551 neglect-dependency cases. Offenses against persons including murder, assaults, sexual assaults, and robbery accounted for 5.4 percent of the referrals. Minor offense referrals increased by 8.6 percent from the previous year, and neglect-dependency referrals remained fairly constant. Law enforcement agencies made most referrals for major (70.4 percent), minor (44.2 percent), and total referrals (56.3 percent). The most frequently reported disposition of a major offense was formal probation, constituting 42.7 percent of all major offense dispositions. The next most frequently reported disposition was dismissal of the complaint. Similarly, formal probation was also most frequently reported for minor offense disposition. Males accounted for 84 percent of the major offense referrals; minor offense referrals were more evenly distributed between the sexes. Females were more likley to receive a disposition resulting in a transfer of legal custody than males. Whites accounted for 84.7 percent of the yearly total, Native Americans 2.3 percent, Hispanics 2.8 percent, and other groups 2.4 percent. Tabular data, figures, and appendixes containing data are provided in the report.