The report of the Illinois commission on Children focuses on the need for developing a comprehensive service plan for emotionally disturbed (ED) children (birth through 21). Emphasis was placed on a continuum of services from prevention to treatment. Findings and recommendations are listed on seven topics (sample suptopics in parentheses): children in need of services (there are no reliable data on the number of ED children in the state); public awareness and support of programs (only 46% of 112 agencies had programs to inform the public of the needs of emotionally disturbed children); legal mandates (there is a lack of specificity regardng legal responsibility for planning, coordinating, or insuring the provision of mental health services for minors); planning for a continuum in Illinios community programs); roles and responsibilities of public and private agencies (there is a lack of a statewide, comprehensive plan agreed upon by both public and private agencies); personnel preparation (state laws and job specifications regarding minimum training are ambiguous and non-specific); and evaluation, accountability, and dissemination (data are collected on a departmental, agency, or institutional level with minimal crossover among departments at the federal/state/community level). Chief among recommendations is a proposal for legislation to create a separate Division for Mentally Ill and Emotionally Disturbed Minors within the Department of Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities. (CL)