RECIDIVISM DATA WERE DEVELOPED BY TRACKING YOUTHS EITHER RELEASED DURING THE LAST SIX MONTHS OF 1970 FROM A STATE-OWNED OR STATE-SUPPORTED INSTITUTION FOR JUVENILES OR PLACED ON PROBATION DURING THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 1971. ANY OF THESE YOUTHS WHO WERE AGAIN REFERRED TO A JUVENILE OR CRIMINAL COURT IN THE STATE BY DECEMBER 31, 1973, WERE CONSIDERED RECIDIVISTS IF THE COMPLAINT AGAINST THEM WAS SUBSTANTIATED. TO CONTROL FACTORS THAT MIGHT BIAS THE RESULTS, INFORMATION ON SELECTED OFFENDER CHARACTERISTICS (E.G., AGE, RACE, NUMBER OF PRIOR REFERRALS, ETC.) WAS OBTAINED. THIS EVALUATION ASSUMED THAT EACH COMPONENT WAS EQUALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REHABILITATION OF SIMILAR TYPES OF JUVENILES SO THAT DIRECT COMPARISONS COULD BE MADE BETWEEN THE RECIDIVISM RATES OF THE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS WITHIN ANY PARTICULAR CATEGORY OF THE CONTROL VARIABLES. FOR THE MALE STUDY POPULATION, NO CONSISTENT PATTERN OF STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES COULD BE FOUND AMONG THE RECIDIVISM RATES OF THE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS; THIS LED TO THE CONCLUSION THAT NO COMPONENT OF THE JUVENILE CORRECTION SYSTEM IN PENNSYLVANIA IS ANY MORE EFFECTIVE THAN ANY OTHER AT REHABILITATING JUVENILES. THERE WAS SOME EVIDENCE, HOWEVER, THAT PARTICULAR INSTITUTIONS WERE MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN OTHERS AT REHABILITATING JUVENILES. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)...BDS