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Adult (age 30) educational, economic, and social-emotional adjustment outcomes were investigated for participants in the Abecedarian Project, a randomized controlled trial of early childhood education for children from low-income families. Of the original 111 infants enrolled (98% African American), 101 took part in the age-30 follow-up. Primary indicators of educational level, economic status, and social-adjustment were examined as a function of early childhood treatment. Treated individuals attained significantly more years of education, but income-to-needs ratios and criminal involvement did not vary significantly as a function of early treatment. A number of other indicators were described for each domain. Overall, the findings provide strong evidence for educational benefits, mixed evidence for economic benefits and little evidence for social-adjustment outcomes. Implications for public policy are discussed.

65 families with children at risk for cognitive difficulties were randomly assigned at the time of the child's birth to 1 of 3 groups, 2 intervention and 1 control. For the most intensive intervention group, family education was combined with a center-based educational day-care program; the less intensive intervention group received the home-based family education program only. To assess the cognitive performance of children, The Bayley Scales of Infant Development were administered at 6, 12, and 18 months; the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test at 24, 36, and 48 months; and the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities at 30, 42, and 54 months. On each test after the 6-month assessment, scores of children in the educational day-care plus family support group were greater than those in the other 2 groups. No cognitive intervention effects were obtained for the family education group. Group effects were not obtained for measures of either the quality of the home environment or parent attention.

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