This report contains findings of a nationwide study of youthful offenders tried in adult courts. Data were gathered from more than 3,000 counties for the year 1978. The report is organized into six chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the study and explains its methodology and the background of the problem (covered in more detail in Appendix A). Chapter 2 reviews the treatment of youth in adult courts over the past 30 years, while chapter 3 presents an overview of the results of the legal research and includes a survey of state statutes for prosecuting youth in adult courts. In chapter 4, a summary of the results of the national census are presented. This chapter indicates the total number of youth prosecuted in adult courts in 1978, showing how many youths entered adult courts through each legal mechanism in each state and each county. Chapter 5 summarizes the findings of 10 on-site case studies (the full texts of which can be found in five volumes containing 50 state and 2 federal profiles). The final chapter presents the numerous conclusions of the study and raises a number of policy issues. (KC)