Begun in October 1972 as a result and demonstration project, the Alternative to Foster Care Program (ATFCP) grew out of the concern in the Seattle American Indian community over the separation of Indian parents from their children in foster care. ATFCP was to explore the development of means by which Native American families, faced with the threat of child separation, could be assisted in maintaining custody of their children. A residential treatment and referral program, ATFCP consisted of two interlinked program components: residential and outreach. Originally designed to provide families with behavioral techniques of child and self-management, the ATFCP shifted to offering community education, legal and welfare advocacy, and assistance with concrete service needs. Staff were trained toward a case-management and crisis-intervention approach. The staff acted as case coordinators, assessing the individual families' goals and needs and attempting to meet them through appropriate referrals or advocacy. Covering the period from October 1972 through December 1974, this report discusses: the need for an alternative to foster care for Native Americans; program start-up and formation difficulties--changes in operating goals and objectives, assumptive errors regarding needs, and staff training, morale, and turnover; methods of data collection for evaluation; the ATFCP's components; and program costs. (NQ)