Child care workers may derogate youth in order to restore their own sense of justice and may do so only when they feel organizationally and personally unable to help the youth. The relationship between child care workers' sense of power (both in their agencies and to help youth) and their perceptions of the youth was examined for a sample of 171 child care workers employed in 6 public and 6 private child care agencies. Subjects completed a questionnaire about their agencies, jobs, and the youth with whom they worked. Youth (N=98) completed a comparable instrument. Analyses revealed reliable relationships that substantiated a positive association of perceived organizational power and a personal sense of efficacy with favorable perceptions of the youth and external attributions for their problems. Child care workers who felt able to impact the lives of youth reported favorable impressions; those who tried but were frustrated in their efforts or ineffective tended to derogate. Workers who reported similarities between themselves and the youth tended to feel more powerful and assumed that the youth could be helped. The findings suggest that interventions designed solely for youth may be insufficient to improve conditions in juvenile justice. (NRB)