The purpose of this study was to investigate critical independent living skills for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who live in the community and common reasons individuals lose their residential placement. Participants included residential specialists from 26 states who worked at small group homes and supported apartments. A paper-based survey was mailed to 1000 randomly selected residential specialists using a proportional stratified sampling procedure; 280 completed surveys were used for data analysis. Descriptive statistics, chi square analyses, and a content analysis procedure were used to analyze the findings. The majority of residential specialists rated 13 skills as critical. Significant differences in perceptions of critical skills emerged based on type of residence (i.e., group home, supported apartment). The most common reasons reported for losing a residential placement were behavior concerns and medical issues.