THE COUNCIL OF STATE GOVERNMENTS, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE ACADEMY FOR CONTEMPORARY PROBLEMS, UNDERTOOK A PILOT FEASIBILITY STUDY IN ILLINOIS, NORTH CAROLINA, AND TEXAS TO DETERMINE THE ACCESSIBILITY, RETRIEVABILITY, AND RELIABILITY OF CERTAIN TYPES OF DATA ABOUT ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH THE INTERSTATE PLACEMENT OF CHILDREN. A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT QUESTIONS WERE EXPLORED THAT PERTAINED TO THE NUMBER AND TYPE OF CHILDREN INVOLVED, CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH THEY WERE PLACED, TOTAL COST OF PLACEMENTS, LEGALITY OF THE PLACEMENT PRACTICE, AND EFFECTIVENESS OF INTERSTATE COMPACTS AND LICENSING LAWS INTENDED TO SAFEGUARD THE RIGHTS AND WELL-BEING OF CHILDREN. MAJOR TASKS IN THE STUDY WERE A LITERATURE SEARCH, THE SELECTION OF STATES FOR DETAILED EXAMINATION, THE DETERMINATION OF APPROPRIATE INTERVIEWEES AND PROCEDURES FOR IDENTIFYING THESE PERSONS AND OBTAINING THEIR COOPERATION, THE IDENTIFICATION OF DATA ELEMENTS RELEVANT TO THE STUDY, AND THE CREATION OF SURVEY INSTRUMENTS. THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES OF CHILDREN WERE INCLUDED IN THE STUDY: DELINQUENCY, STATUS OFFENSES, DEPENDENCY, NEGLECT, ABUSE, MENTAL ILLNESS, EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE, AND EDUCATIONAL NEEDS. CATEGORIES OF CHILDREN EXCLUDED IN THE STUDY WERE ADOPTION, MENTAL RETARDATION, DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES, PHYSICAL HANDICAPS, AND OUT-OF-STATE CHILDREN ARRESTED AND CONFINED FOR LOCAL CRIMES OR ON COURTESY WARRANTS. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT A NATIONAL STUDY OF INTERSTATE PLACEMENTS INCLUDE THE COLLECTION OF INFORMATION ABOUT COURT-ORDERED AND OTHER FORMS OF INVOLUNTARY PLACEMENTS IN CHILD CARE FACILITIES AND RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT CENTERS. POLICY INTO STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT PRACTICES CONCERNING THE USE OF INTERSTATE COMPACTS, FUNDING RESOURCES, AND LICENSING STANDARDS SHOULD ALSO BE INITIATED. APPENDIXES CONTAIN THE TEXT OF THE INTERSTATE COMPACT ON THE PLACEMENT OF CHILDREN, INTERSTATE COMPACT ON JUVENILES, AND THE INTERSTATE COMPACT ON MENTAL HEALTH; STATUTORY CITATIONS OF COMPACTS AND OTHER LAWS; AND DIGESTS OF THE CASE STUDIES OF FEDERAL AGENCIES THAT ARE INVOLVED IN SENDING JUVENILES OUT OF STATE, AND TO ILLINOIS, NORTH CAROLINA, AND TEXAS. (DEP)