Presentations of findings from ongoing juvenile diversion projects focus on the potential unintended negative consequences of these programs, particularly the widening of the net of involvement with juvenile justice. Recommendations range from decriminalizing status offenses to making efforts to overcome current implementation problems. The use of existing community programs to prevent and control delinquent behavior is examined critically, based on self-reports from adolescents in two parts of Boston. The practical, conceptual, legal, and moral issues involved in defining and selecting serious juvenile offenders are discussed, with emphasis on the problems of targeting efforts on this group as a simple solution to juvenile crime. Findings from studies of chronically violent juvenile youths and of the effects of treating antisocial youths in integrated groups composed mainly of prosocial youths are presented. The shift from the social reform model to the deterrence model in programs addressing gang violence is explored, with emphasis on interagency conflicts that have thwarted the implementation of the deterrence model. Figures, data tables, chapter reference lists, and author biographies are provided. For individual papers, see NCJ 92347-53.