The state of Connecticut initiated a statewide program of systematic needs assessment for children's mental health services in 1986-1987. A stratified random sample of children ages 6 to 11 was drawn from registration lists of all public, private, and parochial schools. Of 79 schools, 56 were sampled, and 54 agreed to participate in the survey. Questionnaires were distributed with six phases of notification and follow-up for parents, and three for teachers. Parents (N=822) and teachers (N=501) completed questionnaires covering such areas as demographic and social characteristics; emotional and behavioral symptomatolgy; perceived need for services and service utilization profiles; barriers to treatment; and academic data on school performance. The results indicated that 11 percent of parents in this inner city population reported at least one barrier to treatment, with the most commonly cited barrier being that the parent did not know how to obtain services for their child, followed by cost of services. A second set of descriptive analyses examined the profile of treatment barriers among children who were screened as potentially needing mental health services. At least one barrier to treatment was reported by parents for 30 percent of children who were screened as needing mental health services. Lack of knowledge about services and cost were the most frequently reported barriers. The results suggest that there are distinct different treatment barriers experienced by different high-risk populations in the inner city. (ABL)