This report documents the proceedings of a symposium on education and care of young children from birth to 10 years of age. Participants included state policymakers, key educators, and public and private service providers from Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The report contains the symposium agenda, edited remarks of three general session presenters, presentation highlights of the 12 concurrent sessions, and biographical sketches of the presenters. General session presenters described a vision for the first decade of life, explored the shaping of a state-level children's policy agenda, and discussed the crisis of at-risk children and families. Concurrent sessions were devoted to: (1) qualities of effective parent education, support, and involvement; (2) kindergarten entry, placement, and processes; (3) public education's leadership role in preschool for the handicapped; (4) the case for developmentally appropriate practices; (5) federal initiatives for young children and their families; (6) policies for teen parents and pregnancy prevention; (7) long-term effects of preschool program quality; (8) characteristics of a high quality school-age child care program; (9) state initiatives for the care and education of young children (specifically, Kentucky and Virginia); (10) the state's role in assuring high quality practices for 4-year-olds; (11) the early childhood care and education work force; and (12) economic realities and funding options. (RH)