The purposes of this working paper are to analyze the changes in the family which necessitate substantial out-of-home care for Wisconsin's preschool and school-age children, and to propose a plan for action promoting high quality child care in the 1980s for these children. Section I documents changes affecting the family over the last thirty years, such as increases in mothers in the work force, divorce, and one parent families, which have led to the rapid growth of out-of-home care of preschool and older children. Section II explores the latest research on the effects of day care on child development. Based on the research, three conclusions are drawn: (1) there are no significant differences in the development of children of working and non-working families; (2) high quality child care can have lasting, positive effects on children; and (3) public support for high quality care is cost-effective. Section III sets forth eight principles for building a quality child care system and recommends actions to meet each principle. These recommendations call for parental access to high quality child care facilities, a sliding scale of fees for families enrolled in child care programs, a range of child care options for parents, an upgrading of the present quality of child care programs, adequate wages and working conditions for child care employees, the mainstreaming of handicapped children into the programs, regulations to ensure the health and safety of children in the programs, and the implementation of a state child care unit to plan and develop child care policies and programs. (Author/MP)