“…The ultimate result should be an effective system that identifies the correct youths for intervention, provides them with appropriate evidence‐based interventions, delivers services with strong fidelity, and engages in ongoing monitoring of all aspects of the system. Substantial progress has in fact been made in each of these areas—sophisticated tools and practices now abound in the areas of risk assessment (Andrews, Bonta, and Wormith, ; Taxman, ), diversion of low‐risk youth (Lux, Schweitzer, and Chouhy, ), structured decision making with dispositions (Baglivio, Greenwald, and Russell, ), the systematic evaluation of intervention programs (Lipsey et al., ), and the use of meta‐analytic techniques to summarize and disseminate results (Lipsey, ). Thus, it is now commonly recognized that the nation's approach to juvenile justice is increasingly informed by research evidence (see Bishop and Feld, ).…”