ECP: Enhancing Psychosocial and Academic Development in Elementary Schools.

The Early Childhood Prevention Project (ECP) is an innovative effort to integrate psychosocial and educational approaches for promoting children's healthy development in elementary school. ECP takes a holistic approach to the prevention of academic and psychosocial problems and the promotion of students' educational and interpersonal development. A collaborative systems model is employed. The primary objectives of the project are described under headings of service, training, and staff development. Four central activities are diagramed as the "Pyramid of Prevention Services": (1) whole-classroom interventions; (2) small academic and social skills groups; (3) pair counseling to foster friendship-making skills; and (4) individual tutoring and mentoring. Service activities are carried out by master's level interns, and an innovative intern-training model is an integral part of the project. ECP aims to create a new breed of social service professional, one who integrates educational, social, and developmental objectives into innovative multi-disciplinary, multi-modal programs. ECP program evaluation focuses upon the participant's qualitative experience of the process of the project and investigates the personal meaning of participating in the project for each of the involved groups. Changes in the intern program in response to evaluation findings are reported. (EMK)