This publication is a collection of representative presentations from a conference on school-age child care which took place in 1979 at Wheelock College, Boston, Massachusetts. The book is divided into four sections. Part I, the Introduction, explores the differing needs of children in school-age child care programs, and discusses the way children's needs must be taken into account by personnel planning and developing child care programs. Part II focuses on issues identified as areas of interest and concern by practitioners during the planning stages of the conference. Issues discussed in this section include the critical elements of effective school-age child care, parent and staff cooperation, money management, and the practitioner's role in the evaluation process. Different types of existing school-age child care programs are described in Part III. These include the First Avenue After-School Day Care Center for low income children in New York City; the St. Louis Child Care Services; the the Brookline After-School Special program; and an after-school center in an industrial park. Also included in this section are portions of a workshop discussion about the role of family day care for school-age children. Part IV, the Conclusion, offers a summative discussion of program and policy issues concerning school-age day care centers. (Author/MP)