DISCRETION WAS DEFINED AS THE DECENTRALIZATION OF ADMINISTRATION AND POLICYMAKING. A SURVEY OF THE LITERATURE ON POLICY IMPLEMENTATION SUGGESTS TWO GENERAL PERSPECTIVES WHICH DESCRIBE HOW ANALYSTS HAVE LOOKED AT THE IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS. THE COMPLIANCE PERSPECTIVE IMPLIES A DIFFERENTIATION OF FUNCTION BETWEEN THE UPPER AND LOWER LEVELS OF THE BUREAUCRACY, WITH FEDERAL ADMINISTRATORS RESPONSIBLE FOR POLICY IMPLEMENTATION. THE COLLABORATIVE PERSPECTIVE SUGGESTS THAT PUBLIC AND PRIVATE INTEREST GROUPS AND POLITICIANS, AS WELL AS GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATORS, SHARE IN POLICYMAKING AND IMPLEMENTATION. TO TEST THE CENTRAL THESIS, A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS WAS CONDUCTED OF FIVE YOUTH SERVICE BUREAUS (YSB'S) IN THREE OHIO CITIES BASED ON INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM INTERVIEWS WITH YSB PERSONNEL, USING A STANDARDIZED QUESTIONNAIRE, BUREAU RECORDS, AND CENSUS DATA. THESE PROGRAMS WERE SELECTED BECAUSE THE OHIO STATE PLANNING AGENCY IS DECENTRALIZED IN STRUCTURE AND IN PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION. THERE ARE NO STATE ADMINISTRATIVE STANDARDS FOR YSB'S. THE MONITORING/EVALUATION SYSTEM IS DESCRIBED AS INDIVIDUALIZED, WITH THE POSSIBILITY FOR LOCAL DISCRETION IN YOUTH SERVICE BUREAUS. IT WAS OBSERVED THAT CONTEXTUAL VARIABLES WERE MORE OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH VARIATIONS IN BUREAU PERFORMANCE THAN ORGANIZATIONAL VARIABLES. OF THE CONTEXTUAL VARIABLES, IT WAS HYPOTHESIZED THAT COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE AUTONOMY WERE MOST IMPORTANT. BECAUSE THE YSB PROGRAM IN THE STATE OF OHIO IS CHARACTERIZED BY DECENTRALIZATION OF POLICYMAKING AND ADMINISTRATION, THE COMPLIANCE PERSPECTIVE WAS NOT USEFUL FOR ANALYSIS. IT IS INFERRED THAT OTHER DISCRETIONARY PROGRAMS MAY NOT BE ANALYZED USING THIS PERSPECTIVE AND THAT ANY CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF THE IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS THAT USES A COMPLIANCE PERSPECTIVE IS NOT COMPREHENSIVE ENOUGH TO ANALYZE ALL PUBLIC PROGRAMS. THE FIELD STUDY WAS ALSO THE BASIS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS ON IMPLEMENTING THE OHIO STANDARDS FOR YSB'S, COMMENTS ON DEVELOPING A PROGRAM MODEL FOR THE YSB, AND SUGGESTIONS ABOUT STUDYING OTHER COMMUNITY-BASED PROGRAMS. THE APPENDIX CONTAINS A DISCUSSION OF THE FIELD SURVEY. A FIVE-PAGE BIBLIOGRAPHY IS INCLUDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)