The human service functions of community colleges are extremely diverse, and few are common to all institutions; however, community colleges share certain characteristics which distinguish them from other organizations providing human services. Among these is the degree to which colleges must interact with and be influenced by the laws and regulations of state and federal governments. Government requirements result in a need for coordination and cooperation and detract from the community college's flexibility in establishing operational objectives. Another distinguishing characteristic of the community college is its emphasis on the inherent value of the service as well as the cost of service. Finally, community colleges have unique organizational structures, which are sensitive to changes in bureaucracy and expenditures. One approach used by community colleges to increase their flexibility in developing innovative human services programs is cross-subsidization, whereby revenues and resources of successful programs are used to support programs that are not self-sustaining. The extent to which this practice should be allowed to support activities such as needs assessment and training is an important issue, involving considerations such as fairness, demands of funding agencies, line-item budget restrictions, and decentralized decision making. If human service programs are to receive continued funding the price will be creative budgeting and fund raising, innovative programs, careful selection of target populations, and interagency coordination. (KL)