In 1986, the Ounce of Prevention Fund undertook an ambitious project: creating and operating a family support program for young families with infants and toddlers in the Robert Taylor Homes public housing development in Chicago. The program was the outreach function of the Center for Successful Child Development (CSCD). The CSCD, a comprehensive, community-based, early childhood development and family support center, was designed to help all service-area children from conception to age 5, emphasizing the critical first 3 years. The program became known as the Beethoven Project because all of the children were expected to later attend the nearby Beethoven Elementary School. This report describes the CDSC and the Beethoven project, as well as a fifth-year assessment of the effectiveness of the program. Chapters in the report are: (1) "Overview," discussing goals, the community role, and a description of CSCD's programs and services; (2) "The Retrospective Analysis: Assessing the First Five Years," focusing on participants, staff, professionals, paraprofessionals, community needs, and cultural and environmental influences on parenting behavior; (3) "Violence and Its Effects"; (4) "Important Lessons and Unresolved Issues," detailing seven "lessons" learned from aspects of the CSCD; and (5) "Summary and Conclusion," defining the Center's success. This section describes how the comprehensive services offered have had an important impact in a variety of areas, including economic self-sufficiency for many parents, improved health care for children, and improved relationships between parents and their children's school. (BGC)