This monograph describes the rationale for the Conference-Research Sequence in Child Care Education Project and reports the outcomes of the project's initial conference. The three-year project is designed to encourage communication among child care educators on a national level by soliciting information and disseminating outcomes of the project. An assessment of current needs in the educational preparation of child care workers and results from a small national survey of the interests and needs of child care educators are presented. Summaries are provided of conference discussions on five topics: scope of the child care field, structure of child care education, curricular guidelines for child care education, research needs in child care, and networking in child care. The final section of the report analyzes some of the major issues raised at the conference concerning child care education for the 1980s. Appendixes include an annotated bibliography of background papers, a partial list of organizations related to child care, and a list of organizations currently involved in credentialing efforts for child care. (Author/JA)