This early childhood education text was designed to help students and child care staff become effective advocates for the improvement of quality, salaries, and working conditions in child care programs. Unit I provides literature on the issues affecting the child care field and focuses on strategies to improve salaries and working conditions. Articles on the teacher shortage, the impact of high staff turnover on children, and employer-supported child care contribute to a picture of current child care. Unit II covers: (1) state and federal labor laws; (2) substitutes and in-home caregivers; (3) strategies for improving relationships among staff and between parents and staff; (4) the special stresses of various kinds of child care; (5) the health and safety concerns of child care staff; and (6) unions. Unit III provides information on salary schedules, health coverage, and pension plans. Also considered are various center policies, such as those regarding personnel, substitute and volunteer procedures, and evaluation, and ways to implement these policies. An instructor's guide outlines learning objectives and offers suggestions for class discussion and activities for each part of each unit. Organizational and information resources are listed. (RH)