Pioneering Steps (and Fumbles) in Developing a Federal Preschool Intervention

Abstract

Unlike the planners of the federal Head Start program, those who design interventions today have a wealth of knowledge available about meeting the needs of young at-risk children. Experience has shown that goals must be clear and realistic, the program must be comprehensive and involve each child's family, and services must be of high quality and last long enough to be beneficial. Efforts must be expended on research and evaluation both to fill the need for accountability and to inform service improvements. Basic and applied research each have valuable contributions to make to the intervention field and to the construction of effective social policies.