Two institutions initiated a long-term National Child Care Research Program in 1990. The program has two components: (1) examining the comprehensiveness of services offered by licensed center-based child care; and (2) documenting the development of children in licensed center-based child care. This publication reports the results of the first phase of the research program. Data were collected on 1,480 children in 122 child care centers in 15 states. Information on child, family, teacher, and program characteristics was gathered by telephone interviews. Children's mathematics, science, and reading abilities, and social skills were assessed in the classroom by developmental assessment scales. Initial assessments occurred in the fall and winter of the school year, and progress assessments the following spring. The survey results indicated that the child care programs offered an array of educational, cultural, and health-related services to children and their families; and established extensive community networks. The assessment results indicated that there were marked increases in children's abilities from the initial to the progress assessment. A series of appendixes presents the findings in tabular and graphic form. (BC)