This study examined issues of communicative control for residential program staff and eight individuals with deaf-blindness and mental retardation. For six of the subjects, communication was initiated and dominated by others in the environment. Rate of communication with other residents and visitors was extremely low. Implications for…

British residential care staff (n=143) were given scenarios describing tasks they might carry out and asked what would happen if they did or did not do them. Although a majority reported consequences from managers or coworkers, a large minority did not. The tasks for which most reported consequences were administration. (Contains references.)…

Background: This study presents data on the characteristics of the Camberwell Cohort, 25 years after they were first assessed in the 1970s [Wing & Gould (1979) "Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia" vol. 9, pp. 11-29]. It also presents data on changes over time which adds to that presented in Beadle-Brown et al. ["Journal of Intellectual…

Obesity and its related health problems in people with intellectual disabilities were examined, focusing on differences related to their place of residence. The prevalence of obesity was higher in older women living in community group homes than in the same age group of women living in institutes or among the general population. Hyperglycemia,…

The document reports results of a survey involving 4,427 community residential facilities (CRFs) for mentally retarded individuals. The report is divided into four major sections: Part I includes a review of the status of CRFs prior to the 1977 survey; Part II describes the methods and procedures used in conducting the survey; Part III presents…

The book reviews trends and developments in residential services for mentally handicapped persons. The first section deals with basic changes in the number of institutionalized residents (including detailed statistics on numbers and costs per patient for each state), the origin and nature of institutionalized models (architectural and historical…

A national survey of Residential Care Home programs revealed that most facilities were family owned and operated. A provider survey revealed that homes regulated by departments of health were more institutional than were homes regulated by integrated, social service departments. Elderly residents had high satisfaction. (Author/ABB)

Board games called Games of Rapport are being developed at the University of Alberta. The first, "Angels and Devils," is designed for play by nursing home residents. Results of a study involving "Angels and Devils" show that board games are useful in communicating rehabilitative objectives and sources of conflict. (Author/BEF)

New York City Administration for Children's Services agencies were surveyed about problematic sexualized behaviors (PSB) of children within the child welfare system. Results revealed that almost all agencies reported PSB within their foster boarding home and residential treatment centers. A majority of agencies perceived PSB to be a significant…

Explored hypothesis that the quality of care received by the elderly in a residential facility is related to the ownership of the facility. Evaluated 300 facilities using the Multiphasic Environmental Assessment Procedure (MEAP). Results indicated that nonprofit facilities (n=44) provided a more comfortable setting, higher resident control and…

Compared a professional foster-care program and two specialized programs in Cook County, Illinois, with kinship and nonrelative-family foster homes. Found that professional and kinship foster care consistently outperformed specialized and nonrelative care in stability, sibling placement, care restrictiveness, and proximity to child's community of…

Comparison of residential care staff in England and Germany showed that, in the care industry, England has a training framework that is not yet widely used. Despite its strong vocational policies, Germany has none. Care assistants are not expected to have formal skills and rarely participate in training. "Emotional labor" is undervalued…

Family care of the elderly is key to the long-term care system, and its importance has led to an abundance of research over the past two decades. Several methodological and substantive issues, if addressed, could create even more targeted and interpretable research. The present review critically examines methodological topics (i.e., definitions of…

This article focuses on the ways in which patterns of marriage and fertility shape older people's involvement in community groups and their support networks. The data are from Australia, Finland, Germany, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Findings show that childless older adults, regardless of…

This study examines the characteristics of Texas youth designated as "most difficult to place" recipients of service under the "Exceptional Care Pilot Project" (N = 46). Findings include, among others, high levels of comorbid psychiatric disturbance (greater than 3 diagnostic groupings), physical (78.3%) and sexual (88%)…