Visits were made to selected respite care and crisis nursery programs in order to describe the programs and services they offered to families of young children with special needs and to learn more about the families who used the services and the staff who provided them. The visits to 10 crisis nurseries and 24 respite care programs resulted in interviews with 175 families and 203 staff. Sites were chosen to represent a variety of service delivery models; geographic areas; and urban, rural, and suburban communities. The study found that interviewees from the crisis nurseries were likely to be single, divorced, or separated women; White or African American; and not working outside their home, while respondents from respite care programs were more likely to be White married women who worked full-time. Both mothers and fathers using respite care services had higher levels of education and better jobs than did parents using crisis nurseries. Families using crisis nurseries were more likely to feel they had little control over their lives, to be out of work, to have financial problems, and to be dissatisfied with family functioning. Respite care workers were happier with their jobs than were those working in crisis nursery settings. An appendix provides copies of the interview forms. (Contains 10 references.) (JDD)