A case study evaluated the effectiveness of the Even Start family literacy project, which integrates within a single continuum of service three formerly separate curricular components: adult education, early childhood education, and parent education. A series of case study interviews were conducted over a 4-year period with 11 adult participants in the Even Start program administered by the School Board of Alachua County in Gainesville, Florida. At the study site, Even Start was a constituent program of the Family Services Center (FSC), a facility jointly operated by the school district and the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, Florida's chief social welfare agency. Results indicated: (1) participants contrasted favorably their help-seeking experiences at the FSC with previous experiences at headquarters of agencies that now outposted workers to the FSC; and (2) for many participants, making the effort to comply with classes and workshops distracted them from a previous existence which was isolated and directionless, and gave them the occasion to draw comfort and guidance from others who were further along in their journey toward self-sufficiency. Results also indicated five stages in participants' growth in self-respect which culminated in an enlarged sense of personal efficacy: regenerated self-esteem, self-confidence, speaking up, involvement, and governance. Findings suggest that family-centered early intervention programs like Even Start represent an important mechanism for attaining the first and fourth of the Goals 2000--all children ready for school, and every adult literate and able to compete in the work force respectively. (Contains 13 references.) (RS)