This background briefing paper synthesizes current thinking and practice on the issue of latchkey children and school-age child care (SACC). The paper defines the problem of latchkey children; reviews related literature and programmatic responses to the problem; reports responses of four southern states; and points out implications for policy initiatives. The term "latchkey children" refers to children in self-care or sibling-care during a significant portion of their out-of-school hours. The literature review focuses on the number of latchkey children, origins of the trend, research findings on risks of self-care, children's fears, boredom and other emotional effects, television as surrogate parent, self-esteem and susceptibility to peer pressure, school performance, sexual experimentation, and depression. The review of programmatic responses to the problem discusses attempts to get children into SACC and attempts to reduce risks to latchkey children. Qualities of good SACC programs are pointed out. Seven implications for policy initiatives are discussed, including the responsibility of educators, the need to involve many community sectors, sharing costs of interventions, needed state and federal legislation, use of existing professional expertise and community resources, diversity of solutions, and the relation between primary and back-up solutions. A brief bibliography of related readings is provided. (RH)