An overview of the present shortage of day care facilities in the United States is presented in this speech. Statistics cited on the number of working mothers with children under the age of 6 and the number of day care licensed homes and centers show that the shortage of licensed day care facilities is much more acute than it was five years ago. Also, there are a great number of mothers who are ineligible for subsidized day care, but whose incomes are too low to buy good private care. Government programs provide day care for only 2% of the migrant children who need it, and for only about 10% of the children at poverty or near poverty levels. Mothers in federally sponsored work training programs are often unable to continue participation because of lack of child care. It is recommended that over the next five years a goal be set for provision of developmental day care services for at least 2 million additional children, merely to catch up with the current need. Participation of the clothing industry, some hospitals, and some governmental departments in providing day care for children of their employees and the growing emergence of franchised day care systems are discussed. [Filmed from best available copy.] (NH)