A study was conducted to determine whether the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) is fulfilling dual public health and primary care missions of its Child Health Clinics, which provide services to 78,000 New York City children every year. Among the services provided by Child Health Clinics are health examinations for school and day care enrollment, treatment for typical childhood illnesses, and education of the child and family regarding prevention and illness management. This study was undertaken in the context of significant shifts in the health care field. Interviews and site visits were conducted at 19 Child Health Clinics and 5 pediatric divisions of other clinics operated by the HHC. Study findings show that the overall administrative support for the clinics is, with some exceptions, strong, and that the clinics provide a range of primary care services on a day-to-day basis regardless of insurance status. Many clinics now serve adolescents. Most clinics provide some assistance in securing insurance coverage. Findings also show that clinics could be a source of health care for more children in foster care. Many clinics run out of supplies and medications, and many do not make home visits. In some cases, clinics may be under-utilized, and in other cases, there are significant equipment and structural problems. System oversight and planning need strengthening so that clinics can provide the public health and primary services New York's children need. Seven appendixes contain the field study questionnaire, a table of data about the clinics, a list of task force members, maps of the clinic and other primary services sites, and a table outlining numbers of clinic users from 1993 through 1998. (SLD)