Montgomery County Children's Services, which provides public child welfare services in Dayton, Ohio, has instituted a family resource system to better serve and reduce the number of black children placed in foster care. The agency is mandated to receive and investigate child abuse and neglect complaints and to provide support services. The system is organized around three levels of objectives: (1) to meet emergent needs and link families with basic resources such as food, clothing, and shelter; (2) to enhance families' abilities to tap into existing resources (such as information referral and counseling) and to assist in families' use of community educational, social, and concrete income services; and (3) to educate the community about the needs of vulnerable children and their families with the objective of developing innovative assistance approaches. This document provides a brief description of the agency and lists activities conducted to achieve the agency's mandate, obtain necessary community support, and re-orient the child welfare system toward a family support system. Direct service efforts and community education and involvement efforts are described, and the family resource system and the rationale for system development are discussed. Data on service provision from 1978 to 1985 are reported along with a comparison of costs in substitute care from 1978 through 1983. The text notes that client studies suggest a family resource system is a cost-effective approach to reducing the use of substitute care. (RH)