Data from a national assessment of institutional and community-based juvenile programs are presented to highlight similarities and differences in offenders' characteristics, program patterns, and outcomes. In addition to this data, findings from numerous evaluations establish that there are more negative consequences for youth committed to institutional rather than community-based programs. Interstate and intrastate variations in rates of incarceration defy rational explanation, because they are correlated with race, socioeconomic status, gender, and political ideologies rather than crime rate. The majority of those incarcerated are not persons charged with serious crimes against persons, but rather with property and moral crimes. The correctional system in the United States continues to expand despite a decline in youth and young adult populations and an uneven crime rate. The U.S. incarceration rate far exceeds the rate in all but a few western societies, but there are few actions or proposals that indicate promise for reducing the incarceration rate. Ideologies associated with incarceration, punishment, and deterrence have become so predominant that community-based intervention has been overshadowed. Studies indicate that the development of community-based programs may result in an overall expansion of social control, unless care is taken to ensure that those admitted to such programs would have been incarcerated without the program. Tabular data and about 60 references are provided. (Author summary modified)