Youth gangs are a recognizable phenomenon in the Racine (Wisconsin) community. They are showing signs of becoming more entrenched with identifiable leadership and territory and of increasing reliance on drug trafficking and identifiable cliques within each gang. Interviewing, field observation, and survey research were some of the techniques that were utilized in the Youth Needs Assessment study. An examination of employment and educational activities, health and welfare programs, counseling and referral programs, sports and cultural activities, recreational facilities, community center programs and services, and juvenile justice programs available to the youth in Racine revealed the common themes of competition for scarce resources, the lack of interagency collaboration, limited vision in the approaches used to obtain funding, an intervention approach was taken rather than a preventative one, and the need for new, creative, and imaginative innovations in youth programs. 57 references, 126 tables, and 3 appendixes.