Information in this booklet is drawn from the 1990 report, "Who Cares for America's Children? Child Care Policy for the 1990s," which presented the recommendations of the National Research Council's Committee on Child Development Research and Public Policy. The committee consisted of a panel of experts in the fields of pediatrics, public policy, business, labor, education, child care delivery, child development, economics, and other social sciences. Part I of the present booklet summarizes the panel's findings and describes the relation of the new federal Child Care and Development Block Grant program (P.L. 101-508) to the panel's work. Part II describes the aspects of child care that determine its quality and provides information on state regulation of child care services and professional standards for early childhood programs. Topics include: federal tax credits; expansion of Head Start; state grant programs; characteristics of high quality child care; and professional guidelines for quality. Discussion of structural aspects of quality covers group size, staff-to-child ratio, caregivers, qualifications, stability and continuity of caregivers, structure and content of daily activities, space and facilities, and regulation of family day care homes. Contains 7 references. (LB)