The goal of Child FIRST is to decrease the incidence of emotional and behavioral disturbance, developmental and learning problems, and abuse and neglect among high-risk young children and their families. The Child FIRST model is based on the most current research on brain development, which shows that extremely high-stress environments (including poverty, maternal depression, domestic violence, abuse and neglect, substance abuse, and homelessness) are “toxic” to the developing brain of the young child. The presence of a nurturing, consistent, and contingent parent-child relationship is able to buffer and protect the brain from these damaging insults.