The assessment focused on the way in which programs measured clients' needs and provided services matched to those needs. The report highlights the range of programs available to service women of different characteristics, the extent to which the services that women needed most were provided in each program, how services were brokered, and the way in which various treatment programs were coordinated. The treatment programs described here were selected by TASC; clients were predominantly black and poor, and had limited education, vocational, and coping skills. The most interesting finding is that there exists in the Chicago area a system of drug treatment for these women, even though in many cases it might be insufficient. The programs provide treatment for basically the same women at different stages of their lives and their drug abuse careers. The programs interact and cooperate with each other in terms of providing specialized services to referred clients. The programs are currently joined together in informal coalitions that are likely to grow more formal and self-conscious. 21 notes