AWARE OF THE INABILITY OF EXISTING PROCEDURES TO YIELD QUANTIFIABLE DATA ON THE IMPACT OF CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, THE PROGRAM EVALUATION AND REVIEW DIVISION OF THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE CONCEIVED AND DEVELOPED INDICES OF ABUSE, NEGLECT, AND SEXUAL ABUSE. THESE INDICES WERE DEVELOPED FROM LISTS OF INDICATORS FOUND TO CORRELATE WITH PHYSICAL SIGNS OF ABUSE AND NEGLECT. CURRENTLY, 134 INDICATORS ARE USED IN THE FORM OF A MULTIRESPONSE CHECKLIST, AND THEIR PRESENCE OR ABSENCE IS NOTED FOR EACH CHILD WHEN THE CASE FIRST IS RECEIVED AND AGAIN AT CASE CLOSURE OR AFTER SERVICES HAVE BEEN DELIVERED FOR A SPECIFIED PERIOD. A REGIONAL STUDY REVEALED THE EMOTIONAL, SOCIAL, AND ECONOMIC INDICATORS ASSOCIATED SYSTEMATICALLY WITH THE PHYSICAL INDICATORS OF ABUSE, NEGLECT, AND SEXUAL ABUSE. ON THE BASIS OF THIS INFORMATION, THE EVALUATORS CAN CONSTRUCT THE INDICES FOR A PARTICULAR STUDY. BY COMPARING INDICES CHECKED AT DIFFERENT TIMES IN THE PROCESS OF SERVICE DELIVERY, IT CAN BE DETERMINED IF THE SERVICE IS HAVING AN IMPACT. THE INDICATORS ARE USED ALSO AS A DIAGNOSTIC TOOL IN PROVIDING A MEANS OF QUANTIFYING FAMILY PROBLEMS THAT USUALLY ARE ASSESSED SUBJECTIVELY. THE INDICATORS ARE USED IN TRAINING NEW WORKERS TO RECOGNIZE ABUSE AND NEGLECT. THE LIST OF INDICATORS IS TOO LONG TO INCLUDE IN THE REPORT AND THE PROCESS OF IMPLEMENTING AN EVALUATION USING THIS APPROACH IS TOO COMPLEX TO DELINEATE PRECISELY. THE ARTICLE, HOWEVER, IS CONSIDERED A USEFUL INTRODUCTION TO AN APPROACH DEVELOPED TO IDENTIFY PROBLEMS AND MEASURE IMPACT IN PROTECTIVE SERVICES. A FEW REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (RCB)