The current controversy about using results as a way of assessing the success of efforts to improve the lives of children and families, and of shifting to a results-based accountability system, has given rise to hope, fear, and confusion. This paper sets out some of the issues in the shift to results-based accountability and identifies a startup list of outcome measures with annotations on their use. The first section describes what is at stake in the shift toward results-based accountability and identifies the benefits of such a move. The second section discusses the risks, which can be recognized and minimized, involved in making the shift. Community goals and their relationship to results-based accountability are discussed in section 3. Guidelines for starting the shift to results-based accountability are highlighted in the fourth section. The fifth section provides an overview of the new issues raised by results-based accountability, including who decides on the desired outcomes, who is responsible for achieving those outcomes, the goal of process measures, the role of cost-savings measures, and the relationship between results-based accountability and evaluation research. Next steps for results-based accountability include continuing work to make a startup list more useful; new work to increase the significance of what is being measured; and new work to identify intermediate indicators. Products available from the Improved Outcomes for Children Project, which works with states and local communities undertaking reform of educational and human services systems, are also listed. (LMI)