Primary data sources included a comparison of 305 preadjudicated youths served by the ISOS crisis component between July 1976 and January 1977 and 222 youths placed in secure detention between July 1975 and January 1976. A comparison of 68 adjudicated Minors in Need of Supervision was also made with a matched group handled by the Department of Children and Family Services and the juvenile court a year earlier. The report examines ISOS efforts to develop community-based services through contracts with local community organizations, foster parents, and advocates. An assessment of three different service approaches -- crisis intervention, longer counseling, and residential treatment -- revealed that cultural, organizational, and random factors determined the services pattern rather than individual needs. For example, females were more likely to be placed outside the home than males, and blacks were more often assigned to foster care than whites. Moreover, placement of a status offender in detention or an alternative program did not affect subsequent police contacts. The effectiveness of individual service approaches and the degree of their community ties were also evaluated. While the ISOS reduced detention for status offenders, it also contributed to an expansion of justice system processing for status offenses. Because fewer status offenders were handled on an informal basis and more now had court records, the rate of deinstitutionalization actually slowed. Recommendations to eliminate the status offense category and provide services through other channels are presented. Footnotes, tables, and 25 references are included.