The development of 10 preschool children who attended the Southeast Kansas Demonstration Child Development Center was compared with the development of 10 preschool children who did not attend a child care center to ascertain the value of the center's program. Both groups were tested with the Denver Developmental Screening Test at the beginning and end of a 10-month period and with the Walker Readiness Test, Forms A and B, at the end of the period. Subjects in the experimental group came from low-income and middle-income families, while subjects in the control group came from families in all income brackets. At the end of the study the average reading readiness score of children in the experimental group was not significantly higher than that of the control children. The experimental group showed an increase in overall growth and development during the 10 months, but it was not significantly greater than the increase among control children. (BRT)