The booklet presents papers from a December 1982 workshop on specific problems in caring for ventilator-dependent children (children with respiratory distress due to prematurity, low birth weight or developmental immaturity). Following excerpts from the keynote address by C. Everett Koop, the U.S. Surgeon General, model programs from Pennsylvania, New York, and Illinois are described. A mother of a ventilator-dependent child with multiple birth defects presents the parents' viewpoint. Recommendations from 10 work groups combining parents, professionals, policymakers and others focus on organizational and financial considerations. Among recommendations made are for developing regional systems of care, developing model standards for quality assurance, and incorporating principles of care for children with disabilities into format education curricula. (CL)