The process has called on many people to learn a lot in a short time-about children's services, about planning, about evaluation and accountability.

There have been many battles-over who would sit on the county commissions, over methods for deciding on a plan, over who would get the money. "Whenever there is money involved, there are competing interests. Everyone thinks their issue is the most important," says Santa Cruz Prop. 10 Executive Director Rafael Lopez.

Counties struggled with conflicting goals: a careful, inclusive planning process vs. getting money out the door fast; concentrating resources on those most in need vs. creating a universal system of support for young children; spending money on media campaigns vs. direct services for kids.

Despite all efforts to include community input in Prop. 10 plans, some people were left with the feeling, as one parent put it, that "you had to be in the know" to participate. Parents were involved "to varying degrees," said one executive director.

Questions came up over "conflict of interest." Were some children's service providers pushing too hard for their own programs? Were county officials trying to use Prop. 10 money to pay for services the county should be providing? Is too much of the money going to county agencies? Too much going to certain areas or ethnic groups?

Another controversial issue is the creation of a Prop. 10 "infrastructure." Is it using up too many resources? Does the Prop. 10 plan make use of existing infrastructure as much as possible? Or is more training and coordination needed to integrate services into a real network of support for families?