Considering the rapid growth in the number of community-based programs, especially in North America and Britain, they have been disproportionately under-researched. This paper outlines some of the primary problems of high in-program failure rates and the effective delivery, operation and evaluation of these community-based programs. It asks that research focus on failure-related issues, especially on contributing factors, secondary prevention measures, early predictive devices and primary prevention. About 30 references. (Author abstract modified)