Several studies have suggested the importance of parent education in the prevention of incompetence. The child development and day care movements offer programs that show promise for preventing the incompetence associated with culturally deprived children. But many of these programs lack the elements necessary to break the cycle of poverty: (1) strong parent education components in child development and rearing; (2) high parent and community involvement in programming; (3) well-trained staff in child development and early childhood education; and (4) structured and concrete programs of language development that combine the cognitive, emotional, and motivational components of learning. The Bernalillo County (New Mexico) Mental Health/Mental Retardation Center is beginning a program in child development to foster the optimal development of preschool children through training their parents in child development, education and child rearing. A child development team consisting of a child development specialist and a child development associate will be assigned to work with each of 6 neighborhood mental health teams. The child development team will work closely with other children's agencies to foster normal development and make early identification of children with problems. The program will also develop a resource and training center to provide materials and training sessions for staff, other agencies, and parent groups. (KM)