White youth accounted for 84 percent of Missouri's population under 18 years but only 67 percent of the juvenile court population. Black youth accounted for only 13.6 percent of the State's juvenile population but represented 30 percent of juvenile court youth. Referrals were broken down into four broad categories: law violations, abuse/neglect/custody, status offenses, and administrative. Law violations constituted the largest category of referrals in 1991, representing 50 percent of all referrals. Most law violation referrals came from law enforcement, while a large proportion of abuse/neglect referrals were initiated by Missouri's Division of Family Services. Most law offenders were 15 years of age or older. The youngest offenders were most likely referred for property damage or stealing. About 53 percent of referrals in the abuse/neglect/custody category were for various types of neglect. More children were referred as victims of improper care or supervision than for any other allegation. Status offenses represented 20 percent of all referrals and involved truancy, beyond parental control, habitually absent from home, injurious behavior, or other status offenses. Most referrals (76.3 percent) were informally disposed. The largest single category of outcomes was informal adjustment without supervision. Only 23.7 percent of all referrals were formally adjudicated by a court. Appendixes present further data on juvenile court referrals by circuit and county and Missouri's Statewide Juvenile Information System form. 15 tables and 11 graphs