The Comprehensive Services Program of Palm Beach County, Florida, was an ambitious and innovative effort to improve the school readiness of low-income children in Palm Beach County by identifying needs early and providing early intervention services to support physical, cognitive, and emotional health and development. Services were delivered to preschool children (ages 0-5) enrolled in accredited child care facilities. The core component of the program was identifying and facilitating referrals to needed professional services by engaging with families and service providers. The model incorporated the following elements in its design: early identification, screening, and assessment; case management of referrals to treatment services; family support and counseling; and technical assistance to child care providers on behavior and health/safety issues.

This report highlights findings from a three-year implementation study of the program. As is often the case with innovative programs that are as broad in scope as Comprehensive Services, numerous challenges to its implementation were encountered over the three years of this study. Overall, the program made substantial progress toward engaging child care center directors and teachers, community partners, and children and their families in its services. However, initial findings suggest that the program had a limited impact on the school readiness of children who were enrolled in subsidized child care at the centers it served in its first years of operation. This evaluation was funded by the Children's Services Council of Palm Beach County, Florida.