The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 authorized the National Institute of Juvenile Justice and Prevention (NIJJDP) to serve as an information bank and to disseminate pertinent data and study findings regarding the juvenile justice system and juvenile delinquency. To fulfill this mandate, NIJJDP established four assessment centers to deal with the subjects of prevention and delinquent behavior, the juvenile justice system, alternatives to system processing, and coordination of all center activities. This survey sought to obtain 'grapevine' information, i.e., information which is informally imparted, usually by telephone. The grapevine survey contained three components. First, experts and researchers were asked to expand the key contact network for crucial and current data in the delinquency area and to respond to important research areas. Second, State juvenile justice planners were asked to expand the data gathering network and to respond to issues as they related to decisionmakers. Third, 30 prominent national figures clarified the facts on delinquency by responding to several categories of questions. Emerging from both the diversity of contacts and of opinions was a meshing of several common themes. Overall, there was the overriding desire to create successful policies or programs to reduce delinquency. There was also the general agreement that the trend towards limiting the juvenile court was an appropriate one. Finally, there was emphasis on focusing on the institutional character of delinquency for the solution of the problem. Extensive appendixes are provided. (Author summary modified)