The analysis compares "oranges to oranges," as costs are recorded and reported according to a uniform formula agreed upon by all the relevant State agencies. State operational cost per day for most criminal justice programs did not increase significantly; and in some cases declined when compared to the 1995-96 figures. Findings show that the most costly criminal justice program is juvenile incarceration; in 1998 the cost per day per juvenile housed in a Texas Youth Commission institutional facility was $110.11. In 1997 the cost per day for juvenile community supervision was $7.55. In 1998 the cost per day increased to $8.44; this is the least expensive intervention in the juvenile justice system. The cost per day for adult confinement went from $39.51 per day in 1996 to $38.71 per day in 1998, a 2-percent decrease. Meanwhile,the average daily population of Institutional Division facilities increased by approximately 2.4 percent. The decrease in the cost per day can be attributed to higher levels of operational capacity and system facilities that are less expensive to operate. The operational cost per day per offender housed in jail facilities operated by the State in 1998 was $31.07, compared to the average contract cost per offender housed in privately operated State jail facilities of $29.69. The least expensive criminal justice intervention was adult community supervision. In 1997 the cost per day for offenders supervised by community corrections departments was $1.88 and $1.92 in 1998. For the same years, the cost per day for supervising parolees was $2.34 and $2.60 respectively. Extensive tabular data