Young people are facing greater risks to their current and future health and social development, as shown by involvement of younger and younger children in risk-taking behaviors. This volume emphasizes developmentally and contextually appropriate prevention service delivery models and identifies state-of-the-art, empirically based strategies to strengthen the environments in which children develop. The nine chapters review ways to strengthen the family, child-care systems, early childhood education, school-based health and mental health services, and community-based mental health programming. The importance of theory-guided evaluation to clarify the process of program implementation is explored, and strategies are highlighted for disseminating programs effectively. The chapters are: (1) "Introduction and Overview: Prevention Services--From Optimistic Promise to Widespread, Effective Practice" (Weissberg, Kuster, and Gullotta); (2) "Policy Efforts To Enhance Child and Family Life: Goals for 2010" (Zigler and Finn-Stevenson); (3) "Defining and Implementing School Readiness: Challenges for Families, Early Care and Education, and Schools" (Kagan and Neuman); (4) "Schools and the Enhancement of Children's Wellness: Some Opportunities and Some Limiting Factors" (Cowen); (5) "Mental Health Services for Children and Adolescents" (Rotheram-Borus); (6) "Improving Access to Health Care: School-Based Health Centers" (Dowden, and others); (7) "Evaluation of Prevention Programs for Children" (Valente and Dodge); (8) "Making Prevention Work" (Gottfredson, and others); and (9)"Reinterpreting Dissemination of Prevention Programs as Widespread Implementation with Effectiveness and Fidelity" (Elias). (SD)