In 1988, Rhode Island passed legislation to promote comprehensive drug abuse prevention programs through the formation of municipal coalitions or task forces. A multi-method research design was used to evaluate these coalitions that included a mailed survey to 350 coalition members, personal interviews with 35 coalition leaders, telephone interviews with 105 key community informants, and an examination of archival documents. The programs were evaluated in terms of resources, initial mobilization, organizational structure, capacity for action, planning, and implementation. It was found coalitions that "took care of business" in terms of building their own capacity were more likely to be viewed as producing community change. Specifically, coalitions that did a better job in developing a task-focused social climate, in increasing perceived skills of members, and in forging more extensive links with community organizations were more likely to be rated by community leaders as producing effects. 16 references, 2 tables, and 1 figure