In response to disturbing trends in child poverty levels, leaders in business and philanthropy collaborated to address the problems faced by children and families, concluding that to improve the education of children, the larger family issues of poverty, health care, and social services must be addressed. As part of this effort, across the United States, diverse groups of people began to form partnerships in order to develop new ways to address the problems of children and families. "Hand-in-Hand" is one of the first national efforts to study these community partnerships. In early 1994, with funding from the Metro United Way (MUW) of the greater Louisville, Kentucky area, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation, this study was undertaken by Kentucky Youth Advocates (KYA), a multi-issue, multi-strategic child advocacy group. Basic information about 13 private-sector (rather than government) partnerships was gathered through interviews, and questions were raised and answered concerning their success. Two categories of results were analyzed: organizational or internal outcomes, and programmatic or family-focused outcomes. The study focused on the following aspects of partnerships for children and families: (1) why and how they form; (2) population and geographical areas on which they focus; (3) how they assess community needs; (4) what issues they choose to address and how they address these issues; (5) measurable outcomes; and (6) strengths and weaknesses. While the 13 sites indicated an exciting mix of innovation and creativity, the findings also showed the following: (1) partnerships initially raised unrealistic expectations about what could be accomplished; (2) partnerships failed to take into consideration that many citizens will filter out concerns for "other people's children"; (3) many partnerships corrected their initial approach to include more indigenous groups; and (4) programmatic solutions should not substitute for sound public policy. Appendices include the summary of methodology, the survey instrument, map of the United States showing sites studied, and a selected bibliography. (BGC)