The future of school-linked adolescent health centers cannot be determined without further evaluation. The recent development of school-linked health centers stems from concerns about the special health needs of adolescents. Currently there are 125 school-based and school-linked centers in operation. Characteristics include the following: (1) most are located in or near urban high schools with high concentrations of minority youth; (2) most provide primary health care, assessment and referral services, diagnosis and treatment of minor injuries, health education, and counseling; (3) almost half prescribe but do not dispense contraceptives, and about 21 percent dispense contraceptives; (4) most visits are for physical examinations, acute illnesses, and minor emergencies; and (5) reproductive health care accounts for less than 25 percent of the services provided. The centers are often held to standards that far exceed those for other forms of health care, because of the expectation that their link with schools would influence a broad range of social and behavioral outcomes. Evaluation results are preliminary, but findings indicate that parents support the centers and that adolescents utilize them. Major barriers to expansion include the following: (1) lack of stable funding; (2) limited number of well-designed evaluation studies; and (3) opposition on religious or philosophical grounds to the provision of reproductive services. Issues for future evaluation studies and policy considerations are included. A 65-item list of references is included. (FMW)