The rate of commitment of juveniles to either a State institution or to a local youth authority varies considerably from court to court. Some courts commit up to 32 percent of all cases, while others commit less than 1 percent. The average overall commitment rate is about 5 percent. Only three courts commit more than 20 percent of the cases referred to them, and two of these courts hear fewer than 200 cases yearly. The average rate of formal commitment is about 13.5 percent, and fifty percent of the courts commit less than 11 percent of all cases handled formally. The rate of cases handled informally ranges from zero to 96 percent of all cases; about 50 percent of the courts handle 40 percent of their cases informally, and about 66 percent of them handle about 60 percent of their cases informally. As a rule, judges commit a consistent percentage of the juveniles appearing before them. The rate of informal handling is largely determined by the methods which contiguous courts use in handling their cases. For example, if the juvenile court is attached to a small civil court which is likely to handle cases informally too. In courts with low commitment rates, judges spend about 59 percent of their time on juvenile matters, while in courts with high commitment rates and judges spend 23 percent of their time on juvenile matters. Elaborate mechanisms for altering commitment rates might not prove useful, since juvenile court judges utilize discretionary commitment strategies. Twenty-four references, three notes, and two figures are included.