The research used data from the Program Development and Evaluation System, a system of outcome evaluation that tracks youths in Philadelphia’s juvenile justice system. The participants were 1,875 first-time juvenile offenders committed to some type of delinquency treatment program during 1998-99, plus a group of youths with two or more prior arrests. Chi-squared automatic interaction detector analysis compared the relative effects of different factors on the likelihood of commitment to in-home versus out-of-home settings. The factors included sociodemographic factors; family functioning as indicated by domestic assault, parental drug abuse, and other factors; child functioning as measured by the youth’s history of drug abuse, mental health problems, or special education; situational factors in terms of the youth’s behavior since the arrest; and offense-specific factors. Results revealed that half the first-time offenders committed to programs were placed in residential settings and that the first-time offender’s history of drug abuse was the strongest predictor of a disposition to a residential placement. Results also revealed that child and family functioning were crucial factors in program decision making for first-time offenders, but were less important in decision making for juveniles with prior offenses. However, the treatment modalities of specific program commitments for first-time offenders often did not match the needs presented by the juvenile at the point of disposition. Figures, tables, and 33 references (Author abstract modified)