This collection of seven reports explores the changes in children's services that have been brought about by efforts to limit local spending and taxation, and by unfavorable economic changes. The four states chosen for analysis--California, Massachusetts, Michigan, and New Jersey--represent contrasting economic circumstances and several different versions of the tax limitation movement. Each report, presented as a chapter in the collection, examines changes in tax burdens and expenditure levels, changes in the decision-making process concerning children's services, and the direct and indirect outcomes of budget reductions on families and children. Chapter 1, "Children's Services in an Era of Uncertainty" (Elliott A. Medrich and Victor Rubin) outlines the development of children's services in the United States, discusses the effects of recent demographic and economic changes, and reviews the other reports. Chapter 2, "The Tax Limitation Movement of the 1970's: A National Perspective" (C. S. Benson and P. Weinstock), provides an empirical overview of tax limitation efforts and their actual effect on revenues and expenditures for all states. Chapter 3, "Keeping Up With California: The Impact of Massachusetts' Proposition 2-1/2 on Local Children's Services" (K. E. Kim), documents, through case studies, the diversity of responses to revenue loss among the state's towns and cities. Chapter 4, "Responses to Local Fiscal Stress: Privatization and Coproduction of Children's Services in California" (V. Rubin), analyzes the changing relationships between governmental and non-governmental services in Oakland (California) against the background of similar changes across the state. Chapter 5, "Children's Programs in an Era of Scarce Resources" (C. E. Van Horn, S. Fuhrman, and S. Massart), and Chapter 6, "Children in a Fiscally Distressed Environment: The Case of Michigan" (J. Boulet), combine local case studies with an exploration of the changing relationships between state and local budget-making in New Jersey and Michigan, respectively. Chapter 7, "Fiscal Containment and the Expendable Curriculum" (J. S. Catterall), focuses on how a set of programs in the eight largest school districts in California have been affected by budget constraints. Each report includes extensive statistical data and a list of references. (Author/FMW)