This paper reports on the progress of eight Chicago-based community initiatives designed to redefine social services and broaden social responsibility for the development of children and families. The paper has three sections describing: (1) general background on the children, youth, and families initiative; (2) early lessons from an initiative in progress; and (3) across communities: the roles of the sponsor, the evaluator, and learning. Specific topics covered in these sections include: (1) the purposes and possibilities of an infrastructure and creating a governance entity and process; (2) specific aspects of governance, developing and linking services, and access to services; and (3) the relationships and roles of sponsors within foundations, defining outcomes, balancing objectivity and engagement, process versus outcome evaluation, and the value of the learning process. The paper also includes information on related research from the University of Chicago's Chapin Hall Center for Children and on Chapin Hall's Comprehensive Strategies Forum on Handsnet. (JW)