This paper provides a summary of a Home Start Followup Study (HSFS) which was initiated in 1976. An attempt was made to examine the durability of gains made as the result of families' (parents and their 3- to 5-year-old children) participation in the program. In addition, the study was designed to determine whether program duration (one versus two years) had a lasting effect on parents and children as measured approximately two years after the conclusion of the Home Start demonstration. The HSFS's sample consisted of 199 Home Start, 46 Head Start, and 137 comparison group families (families who were eligible for but did not participate in the program). Three sets of comparisons were conducted: (1) Home Start families versus the comparison group families; (2) Home Start families versus Head Start families; and (3) Home Start families who had participated in the program for one year versus a group of Home Start families who participated in the program for two years. Five measures were used to determine the longterm impact of the program on participants. Four of the measures were standardized tests for children and one was a personal interview with parents. Results indicated that: (1) while math and reading performance of the Home Start first graders was lower than the national average, the Home Start second graders were comparable with respect to the national norm; (2) no significant differences were found on any of the children's outcome measures between the Home Start and the Head Start groups; (3) no differences were found between the one-year and two-year Home Start groups; and (4) most families were pleased that they had been involved in the program and indicated that the activities concerning the child and learning about child growth and development had been most important for them. (Author/MP)