Research on the local implementation of national policies offering youth employment focused on "high-risk" youth in Seattle, San Francisco, and Clark County, Washington. Data from structured interviews with young people, front-line workers, and local administrators were analyzed using "backward mapping" (going from behavior to delivery-level practice and structure to policy). The picture of young people's entry into the labor market that emerged was characterized by a relatively high degree of movement between school and work, a relatively low degree of reliance on school as a means of entrance to the labor market, and a relatively high reliance on significant individuals rather than institutions or organizations. Front-line workers manifested an underlying tension between developmental and instrumental views of their jobs. Their work involved a high level of individual interaction with young people and coworkers in their own organizations but virtually no contact with people performing similar jobs in other organizations. They had a relatively informal work environment and perceived themselves as having limited control. Perceptions of policy and organization changed significantly as one moved from front-line workers to administrators in delivery organizations and to local government administrators of Federal employment programs. Two surprising research findings were organizational stability and the small effect of structure on delivery-level work. (YLB)