This paper presents some practical ideas for providing social services through local programs for young children. Identified and evaluated are educational, health, and social services, (viewed as essential components of a responsible child care system) and the efforts of the large national demonstration programs (Head Start, Parent-Child Centers, and Follow Through). Chapter 1 presents some of the key policy decisions confronting planners of early childhood education programs and highlights the many 'value dilemmas' implicit in the decision-making process. Chapter 2 outlines the ways in which supportive services (health, nutrition, psychological, and social) can contribute to the realization of program goals. Chapter 3 offers suggestions and examples to social workers for promoting a program of partnership between the family and the school. Chapter 4 provides a description of child care in Sweden, and Chapter 5 documents, in the form of a log, the process involved in one project director's attempt to introduce and promote organizational innovation. This guide is designed for use by persons who must plan local programs, who must review proposals for such programs, and especially for people newly entering the social service professions and who are particularly concerned with day care and early childhood education. (CS)