Background: We examined the influence of the organizational environment on challenging behaviour in people with intellectual disabilities to increase understanding of the quality of support services for people with intellectual disabilities. Method: Twenty-one professionals and managers from four specialized Dutch disability service organizations…

Social climate of residential alcoholism programs was assessed using Community-Oriented Programs Environment Scale (COPES). COPES perceptions were independent of patient background, psychosocial functioning, and alcohol-related characteristics. In conjunction with previous research, results indicate perceptions of social climate of treatment…

Unitization--placement of institutionalized mentally retarded persons from a common geographical area into a series of living arrangements in the same residential area--is discussed in terms of its implications and meaning for the social worker and the resident. (Author/IM)

Based on a paper presented at a convention of the National Association for Retarded Children (Detroit, 1968). (RJ)

To determine critical deficiencies in institutional reform related to accreditation, data from surveys conducted by the Accreditation Council for Facilities for the Mentally Retarded were analyzed. Identified were critical standards with which significant proportions of the facilities surveyed did not comply, formulated was an…

A questionnaire survey intended to clarify the status of educational arrangements in Illinois institutions serving disturbed, delinquent or predelinquent, or dependent/neglected children. Information on patterns of service, potential needs for specially trained teachers and related professional personnel were related areas of interest. (CS)

The handbook on residential institutions, for professionals and students in the field of mental retardation, attempts to interpret the institution as a part of the culture which it serves, avoiding emotional responses but suggesting formulas for change. Characteristics of contemporary institutions for the mentally retarded are examined and…

Examines factors associated with abuse of children in residential child care institutions including: failings in staff recruitment, training, and supervision; ineffective management and accountability; development of inappropriate institutional cultures; public ambivalence toward children in care; slow response to threats posed to children in…

Treatment practices developed to meet the needs of white children are said not to be adequate for blacks. Differences between the blacks and whites which are said to have a bearing on treatment needs are identified. Program modifications beneficial for black children are suggested. [Available from The Avenue Publishing Company, 18 Park Avenue,…

Reconciled are the current philosophy of normalization (providing patterns and conditions of everyday life) and the growth of behavior-shaping strategies as the bases of the institutional care and program of the severely mentally handicapped. (KW)

This guide is designed to help families identify and explore common questions, concerns, and dilemmas as they consider the advantages and drawbacks of raising a child with severe physical disabilities at home or arranging for care in a residential program. Chapters address: (1) options for the care of children with severe physical disabilities in…

Reviewed is the movement toward deinstitutionalization of handicapped children in terms of the sources of pressures toward deinstitutionalization, alternatives, effects of institutional experience on children, and possible consequences of the movement. Pressures discussed are those deriving from the assumed negative effects of institutionalization…