Facts about public residential facilities for the mentally retarded in the United States introduce the following subjects: personal reactions by an American and by a Scandinavian visitor to typical state institutions for the retarded; the history of U.S. institutions and the theoretical constructs of role and role perception; service concepts which have been successful or feasible innovations including proposals for the improvement of institutions, a presentation of the normalization theoretical construct underlying much of the Scandinavian legal and service structure, continuum of services for the institutionalized retarded, and small, special service residential facilities; and four model service programs located in the urban-metropolitan area of Copenhagen, the rural geographical area of Malmohus County in Sweden, the urban-rural area of Essex County in England (with emphasis on developmental services for severely retarded children and vocational services for retarded adults), and in the State of Connecticut. Proposals of new solutions considered are the importance of viewing residential facilities as human service settings, and a human service system based on a cost-benefit rationale. Also considered are a translation of theoretical notions into concrete proposals and a judgment of these proposals as to their feasibility and priority. (LE)