The Even Start program was implemented to improve the educational opportunities of U.S. children and adults by integrating community early childhood education and adult education for parents into a unified family literacy initiative. This document is the final project report of the National Evaluation of the Even Start Family Literacy Program, a 4-year effort designed to describe types of Even Start projects that were funded, the services provided, the collaborative efforts undertaken, and obstacles to implementation that were encountered. The 13 chapters discuss: (1) program background; (2) program design and evaluation; (3) in-depth descriptions of several participating literacy projects; (4) characteristics of program participants, projects, and staff; (5) participation in and amount of services; and (6) assessing effects of Even Start on participants. Effects discussed were those on children, parent literacy, parenting skills, and family life. Program cost is discussed, and a summary and conclusions of the evaluation are also presented. This summary notes that Even Start produced some positive short-term effects on children and adults, although those effects vary greatly across projects. On average, the resulting gains were no greater than those that similarly motivated families would obtain from locally available services. For Even Start to have a larger effect, the program would need to provide services more intensively. (Contains 72 references.) (JW)