THE TRI-CITY EARLY SCHOOL-FAMILY DIVERSION PROJECT IS A FAMILY COUNSELING AND DIVERSION PROGRAM WHICH HAS BEEN FUNDED FOR 2 YEARS BY THE ILLINOIS LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMISSION AND WHICH OPERATES IN 5 NORTHERN ILLINOIS TOWNSHIPS. NONIDENTIFIABLE CASE DATA WAS COLLECTED ON SCHOOL ABSENCES AND USED TO DETERMINE SCHOOL DISTRICT LOSSES OF STATE AID WHICH IS DEDUCTED FROM ALLOCATIONS BASED ON ATTENDANCE VARIATIONS. PROJECT YOUTH WERE ABSENT FOR AN AVERAGE OF 10.38 DAYS DURING THE SCHOOL SEMESTER FOLLOWING INTAKE INTO THE PROJECT, WHILE YOUTH RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO A CONTROL GROUP AVERAGE OF 15.32 DAYS, WHILE CONTROLS WERE ABSENT FOR AN AVERAGE OF 27.9 DAYS. THE COST SAVINGS ANALYSIS INDICATED THAT THE TRI-COUNTY PROJECT SAVED THE LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS AN AVERAGE OF $35.30 PER SEMESTER FOR EACH YOUTH ACCEPTED INTO THE PROJECT. TABULAR DATA AND CHARTS ARE INCLUDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)