Information was gathered from 1986 to 1988 through questionnaires, site visits, and a literature review. Findings showed that common characteristics of crisis services included their availability 24 hours a day, their goal of averting hospitalization, their focus on short-term services, their small size, and their involvement of the family to the extent possible. The services included crisis telephone services, walk-in intervention, mobile crisis outreach services, and crisis residential services. The intake process was a critical part of crisis services. The programs varied in terms of their hospital affiliation, integration with a larger network of services, and staffing patterns and credentials. Individual program descriptions and profiles, figures, and appended list of programs responding to the survey.