"Data Trends" reports present summaries of research on mental health services for children and adolescents and their families. In the article summarized in this "Data Trends" the authors compare outcomes for two groups of children and adolescents receiving mental health services either under a system of care arrangement, or under more traditional community mental health center arrangements. Specifically, they examine whether a system of care, which is designed to enable interagency collaboration and provide integrated services, is associated with reduced involvement in the juvenile justice system (study 1) and reduced expenditure (study 2). These data indicate that a range of factors influences the links between types of service received and outcomes. The benefits of integrated services may vary for different groups, and may be particularly important for children most likely to commit serious offenses. The authors propose that a better understanding of the costs of services requires more sophisticated models that can take account of possible cost-shifting among systems providing services for children and adolescents with mental health needs. (Contains 1 table.) [This "Data Trends" presents a summary of: (1) Foster, E. M., Qaseem, A. & Connor, T. (2004). Can better mental health services reduce the risk of juvenile system involvement? "American Journal of Public Health," 94, 5, 859-865. (2) Foster, E. M. & Connor, T. (2005). Public costs of better mental health services for children and adolescents. "Psychiatric Services," 56, 1, 50-56.]