This guide assists public and private agencies in establishing family support programs for low-income families. The guide is based on the experience of two projects, Child Survival/Fair Start for Children (1982-89) and High/Scope Parent-to-Parent Dissemination Project (1979-84). Chapter 1 defines family support programs and describes their common components and how to make them operational. Chapter 2 provides a brief history of family support programs. Chapter 3 describes how the guide is organized. Chapter 4 discusses the philosophical, operational, and financial mandates of a proposed program. Chapter 5 sets out the options for identifying clients, goals, and objectives. Chapter 6 describes three formats for basic services to be provided. Chapter 7 describes timing of services provided to families. Chapter 8 covers content of activities and intervention techniques used with families. Chapter 9 covers qualifications, role, and responsibilities of staff. Chapter 10 discusses how the family support program fits within the context of programs offered by a sponsoring agency. Chapters 11 through 16 cover: staff recruitment and selection; staff development and training; supervision and monitoring; family recruitment; creating ties with families; and coordination within and across agencies. Chapter 17 summarizes the stages and strategies of program implementation. Chapter 18 presents guidelines and procedures for designing the evaluation. Chapter 19 surveys the mechanics of collecting and analyzing survey data and obtaining support of staff and family. Chapter 20 concludes the guide with information on how to use the evaluation results to strengthen and improve the program and ensure necessary outside support. Contains 54 references. (TM)