This manual was designed to assist concerned individuals and organizations within communities in New Mexico to develop and plan effective school-age child care programs. Emphasized are the first steps in initiating and implementing school-age child care in a community. Chapter I discusses the need for school-age child care programs and the planning process. Chapter II focuses on needs assessment, resource analysis and making decisions on which population to serve. Getting the program off the ground is discussed in chapter III. Contents range from developing a program philosophy to obtaining a sponsoring agency and initial funding, site selection, regulations and licensing, and recruitment and publicity. Overall program planning and day-to-day planning are extensively discussed in chapters IV and V. Explored are program implementation, hours of operation, personnel, hiring, staff development, staff evaluation, personnel policies and procedures, salaries and compensation, budget, program policies and procedures, parental involvement, evaluation, the changing families of today, the school-age child, setting up the environment, schedules and routines, guidance and discipline, special problems of school-age children, and summer programs. Activities are described in chapter VI. The seventh and concluding chapter lists sources of additional information and organizational resources. (RH)