The report describes the delivery of services to the mentally retarded in the states of California, Colorado, North Carolina, Ohio, and Washington. Reported are such data as number of residents in state institutions and per 100,000 population, number of 24-hour care community placements, enrollees in special education programs and sheltered workshops, and costs of each. A program model is presented and used as a gauge of the effectiveness of state programs. No one state ranks consistently high or low in all categories of service. Rather, a high-low randomness is evident among the states and among departments and agencies in any one state. Following a discussion comparing the planning, coordination, and organization of services in the five states, each state program is examined. The following topics are covered as they relate to services for the mentally retarded: demographic data, local governments and districts, revenue and expenditures, state organization, planning and planning coordination, legislation, and the various types of services provided (residential institutions, community centers, day care sheltered workshops, rehabilitation, medical services, social services, special education, and others). (KW)