This book presents reviews and analyses from a variety of disciplinary perspectives that place American and Canadian family day care in a historical, demographic, social, and economic context. The 15 chapters are: (1) "Family Day Care: Issues and Information Needs" (Donald Peters and Alan Pence); (2) "Historical Perspectives on Familial and Extrafamilial Child Care: Toward a History of Family Day Care" (Judith Auerbach and Gary Woodill); (3) "The Changing Demographics of Family Day Care in the United States" (Sandra Hofferth and Ellen Kisker); (4) "Family Day Care in a Sociological Context: Data from the Canadian National Child Care Study" (Alan Pence and others); (5) "An Introduction to the Economics of Family Home Day Care" (Steven Barnett); (6) "Research Perspectives on Family Day Care" (June Pollard and Jan Fischer); (7) "Family Day Care for Infants and Toddlers" (Carollee Howes and Laura Sakai); (8) "Family Day Care and Children with Disabilities" (Penny Deiner); (9) "The Physical Setting: Ecological Features of Family Day Care and Their Impact on Child Development" (Susan Golbeck); (10) "Dimensions of Parent-Provider Relationships in Family Day Care" (Douglas Powell and Gail Bollin); (11) "Training and Professionalism in Family Day Care" (Susan Kontos and others); (12) "Models of Family Day Care and Support Services in Canada" (Irene Kyle); (13) "Models of Family Day Care and Support Services in the United States" (Joe Perreault); (14) "Assessing Quality in Family Day Care" (Richard Clifford and others); and (15) "Future Policy and Research Needs" (Arthur Emlen and Elizabeth Prescott). Each chapter includes references. (TJQ)