These are preliminary results from analyses of the Illinois child care subsidy program administrative records from January 2004 through December 2007 focused on the (in)stability in subsidy spells and of child care providers. First, we calculate the length of both subsidy spells and gaps between spells. We also examine the proportion of children who cycle back onto the program after a subsidy exit. We provide a descriptive picture of how these patterns vary by child characteristics (gender, race/ethnicity, and age), seasonality, and provider type. Next, we present results from a Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis of the probability of exiting the subsidy program by number of months in the program. Finally, we focus on child care providers, examining a range of measures of child care provider instability, including total number of unique child care providers, changes in providers within subsidy spells, and changes in providers between subsidy spells. (author abstract)