This paper advances a framework for conceptualizing the professional status of day care personnel and describes training options for such personnel. The conceptual framework consists of a historical review of day care providers and discussions of the desirability of the service provided by day care centers and the knowledge base required of day care personnel. The discussion aims to provide a perspective for understanding the current status of day care personnel and the dilemmas surrounding current training options. It also highlights the complexity of the day care system and the impossibility of finding easy answers to the problem of staff training and certification. The four approaches to the training of day care personnel reviewed are: (1) in-service training programs; (2) competency-based training models; (3) baccalaureate training programs; and (3) community college diploma or certificate programs. While each of the training options has different professional status implications, the lack of specificity which exists in most state or provincial regulations does not ensure any differentiation in job role, status, or pay, for levels of training. To date, there is little direct evidence of the impact of different content and levels of training on staff behavior or developmental outcomes for children. There are 111 citations. (RH)