This report describes the characteristics and activities of family day care networks and their role in providing professional support to family day care providers. The introduction explains the rationale for these networks and focuses on the work conducted by Child Care, Inc., in New York City, to develop them. Chapter 2 provides a background to family day care networks by elaborating and differentiating among other strategies that also seek to promote professionalism in family day care. The efforts undertaken by Child Care, Inc., to develop the networks is described in chapter 3. These methods involve choosing neighborhoods, identifying organizations that would sponsor the networks, and designing a network development package that will guide the organization in establishing the network. Chapter 4 provides a detailed account of the structure of the networks, their purposes, and the variety of services they provide. The perspective of the providers is taken into consideration in chapter 5, which answers questions such as: Why did the providers join networks?; What services did they expect to receive?; and Why did they decide to become certified or registered? Chapter 6 discusses four factors that influence the success and viability of family day care networks: (1) training and regulation of providers; (2) size and scope of networks; (3) stable funding; and (4) education of parents and public. The report concludes with the view that community-based networks are a promising mechanism for assisting with new and experienced child care providers. (BAC)