IT IS POSTULATED THAT THE ISSUES OF DEFINING BEHAVIORS AND DECIDING WHO IS TO BE TREATED AND FOR WHAT MAY IN LARGE PART BE BASED ON ARTIFICIAL DISTINCTIONS AND SOCIAL POLICY DECISIONS. IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK, THE CHILD CARING SYSTEM DIVIDES RESPONSIBILITY FOR VIOLENT YOUTH INTO TWO STATE AGENCIES, THE DIVISION OF MENTAL HYGIENE (DMH) AND THE DIVISION FOR YOUTH (DFY). NEITHER AGENCY HAD THE SERVICES TO MEET THE NEEDS OF ADJUDICATED VIOLENT AND MENTALLY DISORDERED YOUTHS. THIS SERVICE GAP EVENTUALLY LED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COURT RELATED UNIT (CRU), A PSYCHIATRIC ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT UNIT FOR THESE YOUTH. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE CRU REMAINS TO BE ESTABLISHED. HOWEVER, THE CRU EXPERIENCE AND OTHER STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT DELINQUENCY AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY ARE FREQUENTLY INTERTWINED DESPITE THE BUREACRATIC SYSTEM OF CONVENIENCE WHICH OFTEN SEPARATES THEM. YOUTHS ADMITTED TO THE CRU, ALTHOUGH REPRESENTING A HARDCORE AND APPARENTLY INCORRIGIBLE SEGMENT OF THE DELINQUENT POPULATION, DO RESPOND TO INTERVENTION AND TREATMENT TAILORED TO THEIR SPECIFIC DIAGNOSIS AND INDIVIDUAL NEEDS. ALTHOUGH THERE IS A TENDENCY SIMPLY TO DISMISS SEVERELY AGGRESSIVE AND SOCIALLY DEVIANT YOUTHS AS JUVENILE DELINQUENTS, THEY CAN OFTEN BE HELPED. SEVERAL DESCRIPTIVE CASE REPORTS OF CRU YOUTHS ARE PRESENTED TO ILLUSTRATE THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN THE SOCIODYNAMIC AND PSCHODYNAMIC INFLUENCES THAT DELINQUENCY CATEGORIZATIONS NEGLECT OR INACCURATELY DEFINE. DEFINING DELINQUENTS AS ENVIRONMENTALLY DETERMINED OR UNSOCIALIZED AND FOCUSING ONLY UPON THE ASOCIAL CONFLICT OF THE YOUTHS' BEHAVIOR MAKES COMPREHENSIVE INTERVENTION IMPOSSIBLE. A GLOBAL APPROACH TO TREATMENT IS THE ONLY ONE WHICH HAS ANY CHANCE OF SUCCESS WITH THESE YOUTHS. FRAGMENTED APPROACHES BASED ON SIMPLISTIC CATEGORIZATIONS AND LABELS INEVITABLY LEAVE GAPS IN THE DELIVERY OF A CHILD-CARING SYSTEM AND WILL LEAVE LARGE SEGMENTS OF THE CLIENT POPULATION UNSERVED OR IMPROPERLY TREATED. TO BE EFFECTIVE, THE CHILD-CARING SYSTEM MUST HAVE AS ITS BASE COORDINATED AND COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAMS INCLUDING FOLLOWUP AND AFTERCARE WHICH ARE BASED ON CAREFUL AND RELEVANT PLANNING, INTERVENTION, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND REALISTIC CONCERN. REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (JAP)