The use of the Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG) in combination with other funding has been an important factor in the development of initiatives to expand and improve child care services in rural areas. Based on their personal knowledge, a technical advisory group and experts recommended states with innovative, unique, and successful approaches to rural child care. During the summer of 1993, two-person teams visited Kentucky, Montana, North Carolina, and Oregon to interview child care program staff about innovative practices for providing child care in the rural areas of these states. In each of the four states, the team interviewed the state child care administrator and staff involved with local rural child care initiatives. The teams obtained information on the state child care program's background and evolution as well as specific information for use in other possible state profiles. Six recommendations included: (1) family child care may be the most effective way to increase the supply of rural child care; (2) involving existing community organizations builds trust; (3) supporting resource and referral agencies can help improve rural child care; (4) financial incentives can overcome barriers to training in rural communities; (5) assuring that training for child care is accessible requires creative solutions; and (6) rural child care can both contribute to and benefit from broader economic strategies. (A list of rural child care resources is appended.) (DR)