Conceptualizing early intervention from a public health perspective

Theories of child development tend to be rational rather than empiric and lack clear guidelines for deciding which services should be included in an intervention program. This article presents a model based on a public health approach that is empirically driven with correspondence rules relating the independent to the dependent variables. The Linda Ray Intervention Program will be used to illustrate the public health approach to intervention design that also incorporates aspects of child development theories. The program was designed to provide a total service intervention for infants exposed to cocaine in utero from low socioeconomic status, inner-city neighborhoods.