In order to achieve the expectations for children's learning stipulated by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, greater attention needs to be given to child care policy and funding. This report details a study examining strategies in seven states that have integrated early education program standards in child care, by directly tying standards to funding. The strategies examined are: the delivery of state prekindergarten (Georgia, New Jersey, and New York) and Head Start (Ohio, Oklahoma, and Oregon) in child care settings, and the use of contracts that require standards for child care providers (California). The report is organized into four sections. Section 1 discusses why program standards are critical to meeting raised goals for education and why child care must be part of this strategy. Section 2 presents findings from a group of states in which program standards and oversight of child care centers that participate in these early education initiatives (both prekindergarten and Head Start) clearly exceeded those of the basic state licensing rules. This section also showcases California's experience with child care contracts as an example of the potential of this strategy. Section 3 describes how Georgia funded the integration of a state prekindergarten program into child care. Section 4 recommends goals for policy and future research. The report notes that perhaps the greatest barrier to integrating high program standards in child care is financial--with budget crises forcing many states to make policy changes that reduce access to child care subsidies--and cautions that reductions in early care and education investments will lead to greater costs in the long run. Appended are program standards by state. (Contains 86 endnotes.) (KB)