The Houston Parent-Child Development Center Project

Abstract

The Houston Parent-Child Development Center was developed to assist low-income, Mexican-American families in helping their children to do well in school and to foster intellectual and social competence. The program was designed to provide a wide range of educational and support services, to deliver these services in ways that were responsive to the families' poverty, and to be sensitive to their culture. Evaluation of the program has demonstrated success in reducing the incidence of behavior problems and enhancing school performance five to eight years after completion of the program. Ways of disseminating key aspects of the program are discussed.