This federally-funded center (NRC) was established by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau. It is the home of Caring for Our Children, National Health and Safety Performance Standards: Guidelines for Out-of-Home Child Care, Third Edition. 2011. This key national reference document is regularly updated online. It provides widely-used standards, rationale, and evidence for guidelines for out-of-home child care. While it is available in print, the version on the Internet is most up-to-date.  NRC staff maintains a network of national experts to review proposed updates and respond to questions about the standards. 12/2016