The lead paper discusses trends and critical issues in community supervision, and reviews the other papers in the text. The second paper traces the implication of two models for corrections and argues for a risk control model with certain characteristics. Based on a decade of work in field agencies, means for implementing the model in community supervision agencies are suggested. A third paper compares case study to actuarial decisionmaking in deciding who gets parole. The paper concludes that actuarial tables classify offenders into future risk categories more accurately than do case study prognoses. The fourth paper summarizes the major findings of a recent Rand Corporation study designed to discover whether felony probation presents unacceptable risks for public safety and, if so, what the system could do to overcome such risks. A progress report on the first-year operation of New Jersey's Intensive Supervision Program constitutes the fifth paper, and the sixth argues that the crisis of increased felony commitments can be corrected by using intensive probation and parole supervision. In reviewing current probation and parole classification practices, the seventh paper concludes that the potential benefits of classification have not been achieved in many agencies because they have misunderstood the classification process. The author reasons that obtaining the maximum benefits from the classification process requires managers to tailor it to their particular agency needs. The final paper describes the National Institute of Corrections Model Probation Client Classification and Case Management System and its implementation in Orange County, Calif., noting the achievements of the system as well as the the problems encountered and resolved. Chapter notes and references are listed. For individual papers, see NCJ 98618-25.