In recent years, social programs for the poor have lost the support of the American public. This book describes some of the very best programs and documents their benefits, demonstrating that we can, in fact, make substantial progress in the fight against educational failure, family dissolution, violent crime, substance abuse, unemployment, and poverty. Each program is presented and examined with care and clarity, having passed a candid, rigorous, and often skeptical search. Following an introductory chapter, each of the book's chapters presents a description and formal evaluation of a single program. The programs offer at least one of the following: extraordinarily large benefits per dollar of cost; unusually convincing evidence that the program delivers substantial benefits, regardless of cost; convincing evidence of long-term effects; evidence of cost-effectiveness on a national scale; and new hope of making progress to solve seemingly intractable social problems. The chapters are as follows: (1) "Building on Success" (introduction) (Jonathan Crane); (2) "Success for All: Achievement Outcomes of a Schoolwide Reform Model" (Robert E. Slavin, Nancy A. Madden, Lawrence J. Dolan, Barbara A. Wasik, Steven M. Ross, Lana J. Smith, and Marcella Dianda); (3) "Reading One-to-One: An Intensive Program Serving a Great Many Students While Still Achieving Large Effects" (George Farkas); (4) "The Chicago Child-Parent Center and Expansion Program: A Study of Extended Early Childhood Intervention" (Arthur J. Reynolds); (5) "High/Scope Perry Preschool Program Effects at Age Twenty-Seven" (Lawrence J. Schweinhart and David P. Weikart); (6) "Enhancing the Life Course for High-Risk Children: Results from the Abecedarian Project" (Craig T. Ramey, Frances A. Campbell, and Clancy Blair); (7) "The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children" (Barbara Devaney); (8) "Preventing Adolescent Substance Abuse: Lessons from the Project ALERT Program" (Phyllis L. Ellickson); (9) "Preventing Adolescent Drug Abuse through Life Skills Training: Theory, Methods, and Effectiveness" (Gilbert J. Botvin); (10) "Models of Community Treatment for Serious Juvenile Offenders" (Patricia Chamberlain and Kevin Moore); and (11) "Are Welfare Employment Programs Effective?" (Lawrence M. Mead). Each chapter contains references. (HTH)