POLICY AND PROGRAM ISSUES INVESTIGATED INCLUDED THE MEANING OF 'COMMUNITY-BASED' AND THE 'COMMUNITY-BASEDNESS' OF ALTERNATIVE PROGRAMS, THE NATURE OF CONTROL EXERCISED OVER YOUTH, THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROGRAMS, PROGRAM NETWORKS FOR SERVICE DELIVERY, QUALITY CONTROL AND ACCOUNTABILITY, AND WHETHER PROGRAMS ARE REPLACING OR ONLY SUPPLEMENTING INCARCERATION. SITE VISITS WERE MADE TO TWELVE, WITH PROGRAMS BEING ASSESSED ACCORDING TO POINT OF INTERVENTION, CLIENTELE, STAFF, ADMINISTRATION AND FUNDING, DAY-TO-DAY OPERATION, AND INTERACTION WITH THE JUVENILE JUSTICE PROCESS. STUDY FINDINGS REVEALED THAT COMMUNITY-BASED PROGRAMS APPEAR TO BE SERVING A SUPPLEMENTIVE RATHER THAN AN ALTERNATIVE ROLE; IN EIGHT OF TWELVE SITE VISITS, PROGRAMS WERE FOUND TO BE DEALING WITH 'SHALLOW END' OFFENDERS WHO MORE THAN LIKELY WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN INCARCERATED ABSENT A COMMUNITY-BASED PROGRAM. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT EXPLICIT POLICY DECISIONS AND CLOSE MONITORING OF POLICY IMPLEMENTATION ARE REQUIRED IF COMMUNNITY-BASED PROGRAMS ARE TO, IN FACT, SERVE AS ALTERNATIVES TO INCARCERATION. THE APPENDIX CONTAINS SUMMARIES OF SITE VISITS AND DISCUSSIONS OF ALTERNATIVES-TO-INCARCERATION PROGRAM RESEARCH DESIGN AND EVALUATION DESIGN ISSUES.