This report describes some of the ethical and practical problems experienced by a group of mental health consultants attempting to initiate a primary prevention mental health program in a three-county area of North Carolina. Project Early Aid was designed to implement a program model that would upgrade both the interpersonal and physical environments of young children attending day care centers. It quickly became apparent to the consulting team that their values in regard to positive mental health were often discrepant from those of the caregivers who may or may not be reflecting shared values of a particular community. The resulting suggestions of the group on how to begin a primary prevention program include: (1) clarification of the belief systems concerning behavioral-emotional functioning of children to the consultants themselves, to coprofessionals, and to community members; (2) encouragement of the consumers' articulation of long-term goals and belief systems; (3) understanding of the historical factors at work in a community that have led to the establishment of and change in such belief systems; (4) a differentiation of those values which are widely shared and those which are idiosyncratic to certain persons or subgroups; and (5) an attempt to capitalize on points of convergence, while openly discussing divergent issues. (CS)