This report presents highlights of a seminar which focused on solutions emerging at the local and state level to keeping troubled families together. Comments by these panelists are summarized: Elizabeth Cole, a consultant to many family preservation projects; Kristine Nelson, a researcher on the social work faculty of the University of Iowa; Bill Purcell, a legislator in the Tennessee House of Representatives and Chairman of the Select Committee on Children and Youth; and Frank Farrow, a director for children's services at the Center for the Study of Social Policy and former Director of Social Services in Maryland. These topics, discussed at the seminar, are summarized: (1) the goals of family preservation; (2) sources of growing interest in family preservation; (3) negative effects of out-of-home care; (4) influence of the family therapy movement; (5) key characteristics of family preservation services (FPS); (6) three models of family preservation services; (7) definitional and design issues in FPS evaluation; (8) information from evaluations already conducted; (9) mainstreaming FPS; and (10) the future challenges of FPS. A background report which discusses the previously mentioned topics as well as the history of child welfare reform and permanency planning is included. A reference list of 51 items and a list of 11 organizational resources are also included. (ABL)