Presents an inner city early intervention program based on a social competence conceptualization. Key elements of the school-based program and an evaluation are described. The program focuses on children's competencies and problems in assessment, intervention, and evaluation. Ratings by teachers indicated interventions improved competencies, but…

Relative to children in the attention-placebo and waiting-list control, skills-training children demonstrated increased skill in a role-play situation, a greater verbal knowledge of how to interact with peers, and more initiation of peer interactions in school. (Author)