This Child and Adolescent Service System Program (CASSP) project implemented by the Division of Children and Youth Services of the Mississippi Department of Mental Health aimed to develop a community-level program to increase knowledge about the effectiveness of different community strategies for the development of improved systems of care for children and adolescents with, or at risk of, serious behavioral/emotional or mental disorders. Two communities were selected for the 3-year project, and coordinating and planning teams were established, comprised of school district, health department, social services, juvenile court, mental health, and family representatives. Evaluation of the first year of the project revealed that it had accomplished the following: (1) financing strategies in the two targeted counties were developed; (2) interagency agreements were signed by major child-serving agencies; (3) family empowerment activities were implemented; (4) local-level CASSP coordinators provided in-service training to local teams from the two counties, in the areas of family crisis intervention, respite care, and therapeutic foster care; and (5) services available at the community level for targeted children were developed. Plans for second and third year evaluations are discussed. (Contains 12 references.) (JDD)