A survey of public concerns about the state of children, child care systems, and the need for political action was conducted with a sample of 2,009 parents with young children and 2,041 without young children. Findings indicated that most Americans believe children in the U.S. are neglected and that the situation has grown worse. Americans are concerned about the way children under six are cared for while their parents work. They are convinced that the time has come to formulate a national child care policy. By a three to one margin, the public favors federal legislation dealing with child care issues. However, the public is about evenly divided on the issue of paying for new federal expenditures to implement programs called for in new legislation. The public believes that parents must be given the opportunity to choose the way their young children are cared for. Public views on policy formation, governmental role, provider salaries, employer role, care for children of mothers on welfare, and financial assistance to the poor using child care are also reported. This document provides a summary and complete reports of the survey. The summary report discusses background factors, patterns of child care, and the mandate for child care in the United States. The complete report describes the study and reports findings. Appendices include a description of the methodology, 141 pages of tables, and the questionnaire. (RH)