The program was established in April 1977 and began accepting clients in July. The evaluation was conducted over a 6-month period from late May through November 1978. YRC was designed to provide at one location a variety of direct services, including counseling, educational, medical, vocational, recreational, outreach, and community services to juveniles and young adults between the ages of 12 and 21. Clients either had direct contact with the police or courts or were considered likely to have such contacts if no preventative actions were taken. Because the primary goal of the YRC is to reduce further involvements of young people in criminal activity, much of the focus of the evaluation was on the program's effectiveness in reducing post-referral arrests, court appearances, and convictions. Arrests were recorded for the 6 months following referral to the program. Numbers and severity of these subsequent arrests and related convictions were compared to comparable figures for the 6 months prior to referral to the program. Analysis revealed that the program demonstrated a moderately positive short-term impact on those clients it served. Clients were arrested and convicted less frequently in the 6 months following referral to the program than in the preceding 6 months, and clients were rearrested and convicted less often than referrals who did not become clients. Reference notes are provided. Forms are appended. (Author summary modified).