The first in a series of papers by the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation on policy issues in early childhood care and education, this report describes the status of early childhood care and education in the United States in the 1980s, with emphasis on publicly funded programs. First presented are data from the October 1980 Current Population Survey, considered the best available data source for obtaining a national picture of early childhood care and education in the U.S. Discussion focuses on the number of young children in the U.S., preprimary enrollment of 3- to 5-year-olds, growth in preprimary enrollment, child care and maternal employment, hours of early childhood program operation, preprimary enrollment and socioeconomic status, and preprimary enrollment and geography. Federal and state programs for young children are reviewed. Discussion of federal programs centers on the national Head Start program, federal funding for child care, tax credits for child care, compensatory education, and educational programs for handicapped children. Discussion of state programs concerns kindergarten and prekindergarten programs. (RH)