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In this important work, Joan Lombardi, one of Americas foremost experts on child care, shows how our current system is not meeting the needs of America's families and describes a vision for redesigning this system to promote healthy child and youth development. Both as an expert and as a parent, the author guides the reader through the problems that face the current child care system and outlines the possible solutions. Drawing on the most recent innovations from across the country, she offers fresh ideas for improving the quality and availability of child care, both for young children and those in after school programs. From renewal of welfare reform to the administration's efforts to promote literacy, debate at both the state and federal levels about child care will continue for the foreseeable future. Joan Lombardi shows how to bridge the gap between early education and child care by taking advantage of the hours that children spend in care to encourage child and youth development and by creating a system of program and community supports to improve quality. The author, Joan Lombardi served as the first Associate Commissioner for Child Care in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services where she was responsible for the direction and leadership for the nation's child care assistance program. Prior to that, she served as the staff director for the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Head Start Quality and Expansion. She currently serves as an advisor to a number of national foundations and organizations including Zerotothree, and the Center for Law and Social Policy in Washington D.C.