This document is part of a series of monographs on community-based services for children and adolescents who are severely emotionally disturbed. The series is the product of a national study of community-based service approaches which identified over 200 programs serving emotionally disturbed children and included visits to several programs representing a variety of service delivery approaches. This volume begins with a presentation of a model system of care, along with principles for service delivery. A review of crisis services is then presented, focusing on: history; philosophy and goals; characteristics; variables such as hospital affiliation, integration with a larger network of services, and staffing credentials and patterns; specific services such as referrals, intake, evaluation, assessment, crisis intervention, and follow-up; linkages; clients; staffing; resources; evaluation; and major advantages and challenges. Three programs are then described in detail, including: Adolescent Crisis Team and Respite House (Quincy, Massachusetts); Children's Crisis Intervention Service (Sicklerville, New Jersey); and Huckleberry House (Columbus, Ohio.) One-page profiles of 15 other crisis service programs complete the volume. References accompany the first two chapters. (JDD)