This bulletin presents key findings from the Survey of Youth in Residential Placement (SYRP) that describe the characteristics of youth in placement. Specifically, this bulletin focuses on the youth's demographic characteristics, current and prior offenses, current disposition, family and educational backgrounds, and expectations for the future. SYRP's findings are based on interviews with a nationally representative sample of 7,073 youth in custody during 2003, using audio computer-assisted self-interview (ACASI) methodology. Researchers analyzed answers from all youth in custody and assessed differences among subgroups based on their age, sex, and placement program (i.e., detention, corrections, community based, camp, or residential treatment). When other studies offered corresponding data about youth in the general population, researchers compared those findings to the SYRP results for youth in custody. Many of the topics covered in this bulletin will be familiar to juvenile justice researchers and practitioners. However, SYRP results extend current information and provide new perspectives. This discussion highlights several issues where the findings underscore, clarify, and enlarge current understanding of the characteristics and backgrounds of youth in custody. (Contains 1 figure, 4 tables, and 7 endnotes.)