The LEAA experience also strongly suggests that in a program of Federal aid, funds should be limited. How the money is spent is more important than the amount. Secondly, Federal funds should be used as 'seed' money only, with definite limits set on the time over which a program will be federally supported. Once a program has been started and has had a reasonable period to prove itself, the States and localities should be left to decide whether the program should be continued. Thirdly, States and localities should make a significant commitment to assume full program funding when Federal support ends and should be encouraged to do this by sharing the costs of the program from the outset. Finally, any new program should avoid the red tape morass that engulfed LEAA and maximize State and local participation by retaining flexibility and minimizing regulations. The position of the Federal Task Force on Violent Crime is that the Federal role should include researching criminal justice issues, testing and evaluating new approaches and techniques, and providing funds to State and local governments to implement those programs that have been proven effective through rigorous independent evaluation. This promises to be an effective approach. A table shows the selected effective programs spawned by LEAA and in which of the 50 largest U.S. cities they were replicated. Eighty-four footnotes are provided. (Author summary modified)