This paper discusses the characteristics of three community-based early childhood care and development support programs: the Community Mothers Program of Dublin, Ireland; the Maternal and Infant Health Outreach Workers Program of Tennessee; and the Mothers Inform Mothers Program of the Netherlands. The paper considers the general characteristics of successful programs, the method of peer group home visiting, the role of stakeholders of the program, program evaluation findings, the role of programs in the prevention of child abuse, and strengths and weaknesses of such programs. The paper concludes that these programs have a powerful potential for empowering parents. (Contains 20 references.) (JPB)