describe the development of an alternative intervention model, to examine its salient processes, to provide a test of its relative effective­ ness, and to give a description of its systemic impacts. The process described was based on the notion that improvement in our approaches to troubled youth lies in a systematic examination of the efficacy of innovative models. As the reader is probably aware, the history of inter­ ventions with troubled youth is more a record of failure than success. Thus, the search for alternatives is extremely critical. The book proceeds as a detailed research monograph. The first four chapters describe the historical and theoretical antecedents of the devel­ opment of the research program. Chapters 5 through 11 describe re­ search on the efficacy of alternative intervention approaches for delin­ quent youth, research on the impact on nonprofessional change agents, an attempt to integrate contemporary theoretical propositions about de­ linquency causation and the effects observed, and research examining the systemic consequences of providing innovative interventions to de­ linquent youth. The final chapter integrates the findings with contempo­ rary work and provides suggestions for future work.

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