The New Orleans Parent-Child Development Center (NOPCDC) was funded four years ago to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a model of parent education. The ultimate goal was to prevent the effects of poverty on human development. The parent education program was designed to increase the mother's knowledge and understanding about child development and to change her parenting behavior toward her child in ways which, theoretically, should lead to the development of competence in her child. NOPCDC developed and tested two alternate models of parent education, a Center-based program and a Home-Visit program. The Center program included several treatment elements which the Home-Visit Model did not. The major instrument for evaluating changes in optimal mother behavior was the Mother-Child Interaction Scale, an observational procedure. Child development was measured through a battery of standardized and more discrete tests of cognitive abilities. Results from both the pilot wave and the first experimental wave, including Center, Home-Visit, and comparison groups, indicated that the Center model was extremely effective in aiding mothers to become effective enhancers of child development. The Center children began to diverge developmentally relative to the control children approximately one year after the mothers showed improvement. (Author/JM)