The Southwest Institute for Developmental Disabilities conducted surveys of families of people being served at two state schools and of employees of those schools about expected school closures. All 871 families, guardians, or primary correspondents with families members at the Fort Worth (FW) or Travis (T) State Schools as of March 31, 1992 were…

The Southwest Institute for Developmental Disabilities conducted surveys in 1993 and 1994 of families of people being served at two state schools and of employees of those schools about expected school closures. The two employee surveys explored attitudes about downsizing and closure, morale, and job satisfaction. In 1993, 803 employees at the…

This newsletter theme issue focuses on the need to accelerate the closing of institutions for people with mental retardation. Articles are by both current and former residents of institutions and by professionals, and include: "The Realities of Institutions" (Tia Nelis); "I Cry Out So That I Won't Go Insane" (Mary F. Hayden); "Trends in…

This Policy Research Brief summarizes longitudinal national statistics on the number and characteristics of persons with mental retardation and related conditions living in state institutions, their movement into and out of those institutions, the costs of state institutions, and the growing numbers of closures of these institutions. Findings are…

This report describes the closure process for Brandon Training School, Vermont's only public institution for people with mental retardation and developmental disabilities, until it was closed in 1993. The report was developed through a review of documents and interviews with state administrators, local program directors and staff members, former…

The superintendent (1975-85) of the Mansfield (Connecticut) Training School, officially closed in 1993, reviews the history of that institution for people with mental retardation. The failure of the institution to provide a normal lifestyle and the superintendent's support for deinstitutionalization of all Mansfield residents and integration are…

This paper considers implications of the findings of the Texas Performance Review concerning mental retardation services, in light of decreasing numbers of students at state schools and budgetary restraints on major investments in both institutional operations and community service programs. The paper concludes that Texas should consider closing…

In 1978 a complaint was filed by New Hampshire Legal Assistance against Laconia Developmental Services, New Hampshire's only public institution for children and adults with developmental disabilities. The decision from the Federal district court judge in August 1981 ordered the state to devise a plan for: institutional improvement; development of…

This case study shares the perspectives of two individuals who worked from within Laconia Developmental Services (a state institution in New Hampshire for people with developmental disabilities) to close it. One individual was institutional superintendent and the other served as a liaison officer among the state government offices, Laconia…