An experimental evaluation of a school-based program for children at risk: Wisconsin early intervention

Abstract

This article describes the nature and effectiveness of Wisconsin Early Intervention (WEI), a social development program for rural elementary school children. Incorporating a social learning formulation of child and family dysfunction, program services included social skill groups and parent/teacher consultation for referred kindergarten through 4th-grade students at two schools. Services were evaluated experimentally with random assignment of 78 children from School A to Full Service (parent/teacher consultation, social skills groups) or Partial Service (parent/teacher consultation) and 49 children from School B to Partial Service or No Service conditions. Full services resulted in decreased depression relative to partial services, based on standardized interview data. However, multidimensional ratings obtained from parents, teachers, and WEI staff consistently indicated that children's competencies and behavior, regardless of service group, improved during the course of the program. Explanations for these results and the importance of experimentally evaluating community-level interventions are discussed.