During fiscal 1978, the National Runaway Youth Program funded 166 runaway youth programs which have provided services to over 32,000 runaway youth and their families in 48 States, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and Guam. Seven demonstration grants were awarded to programs funded under the Runaway Youth Act to enable them to address more comprehensibly the needs of youth and families in crisis. The administrative structure within the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was strengthened to increase the capability for providing better services under the Runaway Youth Program. A management information system was established to provide a data base of empirical information on runaway youth served by the programs, and the National Toll-Free Communications System was funded to serve runaway and other homeless youth, as well as their families. Further, intraagency and interagency agreements were developed to expand services under the National Runaway Program. Model regulations were also developed, consistent with Operation Common Sense, which eliminated inefficient and unnecessary reporting requirements, rules, and regulations within the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. The National Runaway Youth Program was identified as one of the foci for the Major Initiative Tracking System, which requires a quarterly review. Emerging trends are discussed, and tabular and graphic data are provided. (Author summary modified)