This paper discusses public policy implications of viewing day care as a support service to families. The paper begins with a presentation of various rationales to justify government involvement in day care services, several possible roles to be played by government (direct subsidy, delivery of services, regulation), and a generalized government perspective that unites a broad range of services and policy arenas. It is observed that if government involvement in day care is intended to provide support service to families, it is necessary first to examine how families make day care decisions. The second section of the paper presents the factors that may influence family decisions regarding use of day care. This discussion, which includes a mixture of hypotheses and research findings, is described as a tentative formulation. Policy implications are presented in the third section. The implications are based on two assumptions: (1) that enhancing family functioning is the dominant rationale for government involvement, and (2) that the second section is a reasonable portrayal of day care decision making. It is argued that parental ability to choose among types of day care and specific facilities should be as unfettered as possible. (Author/RH)