The Bipartisan Policy Center recognizes the value of high-quality child care environments on children’s development. To help states move forward in defining high-quality child care facilities, BPC has developed model improvement standards for existing center-based child care facilities, which is detailed in the following pages. States can use these as a model for better understanding the quality of child care facilities and to guide future investments. States and communities can also use these best practices to create self-assessments so providers themselves can understand their own strengths and gaps in quality, as well as how to prioritize their own facility improvements. (author abstract)