Child strengths have been recognized as an important variable in clinical d
ecision making. In the present study, data were gathered on 270 children to
determine how psychiatric symptoms, functioning, risk behaviors, and child
strengths contributed to decisions about placement and intensity of servic
es. Symptoms, functioning, and risk were found to be significantly related
to child strengths,and children in homelike settings were found to possess
significantly higher levels of strengths than children in nonhomelike setti
ngs. A series of logistic regression models demonstrated that child strengt
hs were significantly associated with child placement, even after accountin
g for the effects of age, race, and level of risk. The data reveal an order
ly relationship between child strengths and placement at varied levels of s
ymptoms and risk.