Prepared as part of an effort to attain minimum quality standards for Brazilian day care centers, this document focuses on day-to-day provision of day care services for children from birth to 6 years old as well as broader day care administrative concerns. The first version of this document was prepared as part of a training project for day care professionals in Belo Horizonte, and was financed by the Vitae Foundation. Since 1994, this revised version has received the support of the Ministry of Education and Sports. Part 1 of the document contains principles for the organization and internal operation of day care centers that can be used by those in daily contact with children. The 12 guiding principles are listed, and for each major guideline a separate page provides more specific information as to how the principle can be carried out in practice. Part 2 lists eight guiding principles for setting up policy norms and guidelines, programs, and funding systems for day care centers, whether or not the centers are government-funded, in a format similar to that used for Part 1. An 8-item bibliography is included. (DR)