This ERIC Digest provides an overview of school-age child care (SACC) programs and suggests reasons for their growth. Discussion points out that escalating interest in SACC has paralleled the raising numbers of children left on their own, and that educators are only the latest in a parade of civic and professional groups which have gone on record as opposing the growing phenomenon of latchkey children and supporting the expansion of child care for school-age children. While research is suggestive rather than conclusive, educators recognize that the way children spend the hours out of school has always been an important aspect of their development. High quality SACC programs provide children with a comfortable environment and a great deal of freedom to move about and choose activities. These programs have a balanced schedule that includes child- and teacher-directed time, as well as opportunities for children to be in large or small groups or concentrate on something by themselves. Ingredients of successful SACC for older children include community service, a chance to earn money, and an understanding of the adolescent's heavy involvement in peer culture. (RH)