Home visits by nurses to low-income single mothers seem to be an anti-crime program that works. In two studies -- one in Elmira, N.Y., and another in Memphis, Tenn. -- the results were similar: fewer of the mothers were arrested, and there was less child abuse and less reliance on welfare among the visited mothers than among poor unmarried mothers overall.

The visits began during pregnancy and continued while the first-born children were young. The Memphis study, reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, began in 1990. The Elmira study followed up on a program of home nursing visits begun in 1977.

• Women who received the home nursing visits had 69 percent fewer arrests, 46 percent fewer reports of child abuse or neglect, and 44 percent fewer behavioral problems linked to drug or alcohol abuse.

• Also, the visited mothers received 30 fewer months of welfare.

• By the time the children reached age 2, they were less likely to have been injured or hospitalized, and mothers were less likely to have pregnancy-induced high blood pressure.

The Elmira program cost about $7,000 per mother over two and one-half years. The visiting Elmira nurses discussed nutrition, prenatal care and child development, among other issues.

In the Memphis project, the nurses focused on prenatal health, parenting skills, birth control, education and job skills.

Researchers involved in the two projects are debating whether expanding such programs on a large scale would produce the same results. The dedication of the professionals involved might be difficult to duplicate if such projects were administered by vast public agencies rather than under local control, they caution.

Source: AP, "Nurse Visits Helped Poor Single Mothers Later, Studies Show," New York Times, August 27, 1997.