This report describes Minnesota's thirteen Council on Quality Education (CQE) Early Childhood/Family Education programs from the perspective of external evaluation researchers. Data were obtained from personal on-site interviews with 40 program staff members; personal interviews with 40 local program Advisory Board participants and local school officials; telephone interviews with 127 parent participants; and direct observations of 24 program activities. The report is largely descriptive, although clearly labeled interpretations have been included to provide an external perspective on the implementation of the CQE programs. The report is written in two parts. The first and major part attempts to provide an overview of all 13 programs, to identify and describe patterns that cut across programs, and to paint an aggregate picture of the total CQE early childhood/family education effort. Program components, strengths and weaknesses, staffing, effectiveness, justification and rationale, CQE's role and parent's perspectives on the program are discussed. The second part of the report very briefly overviews site-by-site variations. (Author/RH)