This Monograph presents a longitudinal investigation of child development and family well-being during the first decade of life for children with Down syndrome, motor impairment, or developmental delay of uncertain etiology. The findings suggest that changes in selected policies and practices can improve outcomes for children with disabilities and their parents

Penny Hauser-Cram (Ed.D., 1983, Harvard Graduate School of Education) is professor of developmental and educational psychology at the Lynch School of Education, Boston College. Her research focuses on longitudinal studies of children and families and on change in children's developmental processes. She is an associate member of the MacArthur Network on Successful Pathways through Middle Childhood. She was a teacher of young children and is author of Early Education in the Public Schools (with D. E. Pierson, D. K. Walker, and T. Tivnan) (1991) and numerous publications on the development of children with developmental disabilities.

Marji Erickson Warfield (Ph.D., 1991, Brandeis University) is assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Her work has focused on evaluating early intervention and other educational and support programs for young children and their families, investigating the development of children with disabilities and the adaptation of their families, and examining the impact of parenting a child with disabilities on balancing work and family roles. Her publications include "Employment, parenting, and well-being among mothers of children with disabilities," Mental Retardation (2001), as well as several articles on the cost-effectiveness of early intervention services and the well-being of parents raising a child with a disability. She is the principal investigator of an NICHD-funded study entitled "Two-earner families of children with disabilities."

Jack P. Shonkoff (M.D., 1972, New York University School of Medicine) is dean of the Heller Graduate School and Samuel F. and Rose B. Gingold professor of human development and social policy at Brandeis University. His work focuses on early childhood health and development, and the interactions among research, policy, and practice. He has served as chair of the Board on Children, Youth and Families and the Committee on Integrating the Science of Early Childhood Development at the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine. He is a member of the MacArthur Foundation and McDonnell Foundation Research Network on Early Experience and Brain Development, and co-editor (with Deborah Phillips) of From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development and co-editor (with Samuel Meisles) of the second edition of the Handbook of Early Childhood Intervention.

Marty Wyngaarden Krauss (Ph.D., 1981, Brandeis University) is associate dean for faculty and professor of social policy at the Heller Graduate School at Brandeis University. She is also the Director of the Starr Center for Mental Retardation at the Heller Graduate School. Her research focuses on family caregiving for persons with developmental disabilities over the lifespan and on health policy issues affecting children with special health care needs. She served as Chairperson of the MA Governor's Commission on Mental Retardation for six years. She has authored numerous publications on the well-being of families of persons with mental retardation and other disabilities.

In collaboration with:
Aline Sayer (Ed.D., 1992, Harvard Graduate School of Education) is senior research scientist at the Murray Research Center, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies, Harvard University. She is a developmental psychologist with interests in statistical modeling of individual growth. Her methodological interests include the incorporation of measurement models into hierarchical linear models and latent growth curve models. Her substantive interests include examining the predictors of adolescent alcohol expectancies and the influences of preschool quality on child outcomes. She is co-editor (with Linda Collins) of New Methods for the Analysis of Change (2001).

Carole Christofk Upshur (Ed.D. 1975, Harvard Graduate School of Education) is professor of public policy at the University of Massachusetts, Boston and director of the public policy Ph.D. program. Her work focuses on the planning and evaluation of services for vulnerable children and families and encompasses policy analysis and evaluation research on a range of issues affecting communities at risk. Among her publications are The government-nonprofit relationship: Towards a partnership model for HIV/AIDS prevention in the Latino community _(Letona, Mills & Upshur, in press); and Significant health issues among Massachusetts racial and ethnic minorities: A policy paper prepared for the Division of Medical Assistance (Upshur, Cortes, Chan, Turner, Besozzi & Mas, 1998).