One of the major reasons many children do not receive efficient, effective health care is that much of public spending for child health services has been funneled through categorical funding programs. The Child Health Initiative provided an opportunity to learn how different communities would approach improving child health services through "decategorization" of child health funds. This report describes the lessons learned from nine community programs and provides a profile of each program. The introduction discusses the structure of publicly supported health programs, the increasing numbers of children with multiple health care needs, and the Child Health Initiative. Section 2 summarizes lessons learned from implementation within an environment of cost-containment measures: (1) fragmentation of child health services is a real barrier to effective health care; (2) fragmentation of child health services can be reduced; (3) significant child health financing reforms are difficult to achieve and are best pursued in conjunction with service delivery innovations; (4) it takes time to demonstrate improvements in child health services; (5) the use of expert, specialized technical assistance can facilitate real innovations in established child health program; (6) a relatively small investment can result in a significant community initiative to improve child health; and (7) communities will eagerly embrace an effective family-centered care coordination program for children. Section 3 profiles the nine community programs, describing the services provided, the population served, and financing information. The report concludes with contact information for the projects and members of the advisory committee and program staff. (KB)