A Rand Corporation study of nine early intervention programs found that participants in most had higher long-term school achievement than similar children who did not participate. Some helped keep children out of special education, and made it less likely that they would become delinquents, spend time in an emergency room or depend on welfare.
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A few studies indicate that the parents of participating children can also benefit from early intervention programs, particularly when they are specifically targeted by the intervention.
Although these programs represent varied approaches to early intervention, they fall into one of three broad approaches (see the accompanying table). Programs in the first group concentrate primarily on providing parent education and other family supports through home visiting or services provided in other settings.
Interventions with better-trained caregivers and smaller child-to-staff ratios appear to offer more favorable results. Well-designed early childhood interventions have been found to generate a return to society ranging from $1.80 to $17.07 for each dollar spent on the program.
Well-designed early childhood interventions have been found to generate a return to society ranging from $1.80 to $17.07 for each dollar spent on the program.