Lack of adequate planning is one reason for the failure of 1 out of 5 volunteer programs within the first 2 years of operation. Program planning encompasses identifying and defining the needs of the court and community in dealing with the youthful offender and determining goals and objectives. Nature of the offender, staff, community resources, and philosophy of the court should be considered in the development of objectives. Planning also involves articulating alternative strategies to meet program objectives and delineating program components. These components include volunteer identification, volunteer recruiting, court staff orientation, volunteer screening, volunteer training, volunteer/client matching, supervision, program evaluation, and funding. Separate and distinct roles for staff and volunteers should be clearly defined in job descriptions. The most widely used volunteer program is the volunteer probation officer program. Two major management issues arise when volunteers are used in this role: extent of the volunteers' decisionmaking authority and circumstances in which volunteers should defer to the professional supervisor. Careful recruiting, screening, and training of volunteers is essential to program success. Teaching exercises and 34 references are supplied. For other volumes in this series, see NCJ 83347-49, 83351-57, and 62914.