Eleven essays assess the juvenile detention system and offer system improvement strategies. The essays indicate that juvenile detention facilities for youth who have been arrested and are awaiting trial tend to be overcrowded, inadequately staffed, and expensive to operate. The essays further show that juvenile detention has received less attention than training schools, diversion, and other aspects of the juvenile justice system. Policy, research, and practice perspectives on juvenile detention are offered that highlight the need to detain high-risk youth and provide less costly and less restrictive alternatives for low- risk youth. Strategies for reforming the juvenile detention system are discussed that focus on intake criteria, length of stay, confinement conditions, and the role of the judiciary. Essay topics specifically explore national trends in juvenile detention and determinants of juvenile detention rates and describe juvenile detention practices in California, Florida, and Pennsylvania. References, tables, and figures