This study, a monitor of four experimental training programs in the field of social policy planning, has as its purpose to assess program development and outcomes and to relate any significant findings useful in educational program development for social policy professionals. The programs are discussed at two levels: individually in terms of their own objectives, curriculum, faculty, performance, and self-evaluation; and collectively in the larger context of university education and the city planning professions. The four programs are located at universities in Puerto Rico, Florida, North Carolina, and California. Two types of training programs, instrumental and clinical, are differentiated, and the associated strengths and weaknesses of each general type are analyzed. The assessment observes that the programs have not constituted major advances in graduate planning education, nor fully met their own objectives. It is argued that the programs reflect a consistent pattern of thinking regarding the nature of social structure and social problems that carries with it an implicit orientation to the status quo. The appendices list illustrative course listings and program sequences. References are included. (Author/KSM)