Information on early childhood learning and increasing demand for child care services have placed a spotlight on the need to improve the quality of early education and care in the United States. This report focuses on five factors tied to the success of military efforts to develop an exemplary model of quality and affordable care in the Military Child Care System (MCCS) that are relevant to civilian programs. The five factors discussed in the report are: (1) training and education of child care providers; (2) linkages between training and compensation; (3) subsidies to assure affordable costs for parents; (4) licensing and accreditation standards to improve quality; and (5) inspections and oversight to establish accountability within the system. The report notes that although revamping the MCCS was not easy, effective change strategies were accomplished based on four basic tenets: (1) child care is a fundamental workforce issue; (2) standards are established and enforced; (3) the child care workforce is trained as professionals; and (4) program costs are shared among parents and employer. (Contains 15 references.) (KB)