Data from the first year of a developing plan to implement a bilingual/bicultural mental health service network within a large urban Latino metropolis were gathered from Manos de Esperanza, a Spanish speaking family outpatient/crisis clinic funded by the Van Nuys Community Mental Health Center. First year of planning evolved from a community assessment strategy integrated within an evaluation of program accessibility catchment area-wide. Strategies ranged from the use of 50 key informants to utilization review of 150 human service and mental health agencies in the San Fernando Valley. Client statistics indicated an increase in utilization by Latinos of mental health services since the clinic's development. Major factors involved in planning and developing a mental health service program for urban bilingual/bicultural families were structural in nature and related to the availability, accessibility, and acceptability of services in terms of the Latinos' sociocultural needs. Language and communications were the primary barriers to accessibility. Factors influencing utilization patterns included geographic location, availability of bilingual/bicultural professional and paraprofessional staff, cost for services, and understanding of informal and formal Latino helping networks existing within Latino communities. If services were communicated and available in the population's language, then self referral increased from within the community. (NQA)