Most research in psychotherapy has focused on adult clients, while child psychotherapy has been comparatively neglected. To identify predictors of outcome in psychotherapy for children, the relationship between several client, therapist, and economic variables was examined. Subjects were 268 children and their families who had completed treatment at a community mental health center. Information was collected from case files and independent ratings of outcome. Previous treatment emerged as the strongest predictor variable, with the presence of such experience positively affecting the duration of therapy, the number of sessions, and improvement for the child; previous treatment was unrelated to the improvement of the family. Clients of the staff therapists showed more improvement than clients of interns. For the child, therapy was less successful when he/she lived with remarried parents. For the family, improvement ratings were higher for single parent families. Other predictors of outcome were the amount of fee paid and the referral source. (JAC)