This article describes the Child Development and Parenting Program (CDP), a preventative child abuse program that assists single women who are pregnant or have preschool children to cope constructively with the problems of single parenting. The short-term goals of the program, i.e., providing education in child development and parenting skills and meeting the social and emotional needs of the mothers, are presented as means to achieve the long-term goal of preventing child abuse and neglect. The client population, single women at-risk for child abuse, is described and referral methods are noted. Weekly group meetings, in which staff and volunteers provide a group support system to diminish environmental, psychological, and social stresses associated with child abuse, are reviewed. Innovative techniques are discussed, including provision of meals, creation of a family atmosphere, facilitation of maternal-infant bonding, and utilization of multiple community resources. An evaluation of the 64 women referred to CDP over a 2 year period is included, reflecting the absence of abuse or neglect when the mother entered the program during pregnancy. (NRB)