As the American population ages, society has grown more concerned about using older adults' skills and experience so they remain active, contributing members. Noting that work in child care for appropriate older adults is both natural and timely, this manual provides practical, concrete steps for implementing the guidelines of the Productive Employment of Older Adults in Child Care Project. The manual is divided into 8 chapters that provide the practical information needed to develop a child care environment with productively employed older workers. Following the introduction, chapter 2 presents the rationale for the project. This chapter shows how older adults can address major needs of young children and provide an ideal child care labor force. Chapters 3 through 8 discuss issues related to productive employment of older adults in child care, including: (1) recruiting and hiring; (2) orienting older workers; (4) preparing the staff for the older worker's first day; (5) matching the older adults with classrooms and child care staff; (6) training older workers; (7) developing career ladders; (8) building coalitions and networks; and (9) developing a dissemination and publication plan. Appendices include the guidelines for the Productive Employment of Older Adults in Child Care Project, child development-associated functional areas, a bibliography and practical resources, and a description of the project's field test sites. (Contains 17 references.) (AA)