Study data came from 296 youthful offenders in the East Bay area of California. The study examined the effects of random discharge from parole supervision as practiced by the California Youth Authority, an agency considered by some to be a leader in the treatment of offenders and to have high standards of parole supervision. The subjects were followed from March 1, 1976, to April 30, 1978. While those retained on parole had similar arrest and conviction rates to those discharged, the parolees were convicted of significantly more serious charges. Parolees were more likely to be charged with violent personal crimes, while the discharges were far more likely to be charged with drug and alcohol-related offenses. Parolees who had spent longer prior time on parole at the starting time of the study performed worse than the discharges. Findings indicate that long-term retention on parole supervision may have adverse consequences and that the influence of parole is specific to certain categories of parolees. Policy and research implications, data tables, notes, appendixes presenting background information on the study procedures, an index, and a bibliography listing 111 references are supplied.