Background: Peers living in the same group form important interaction partners for people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD). Given the severity of their disabilities, direct support persons (DSPs) play a significant role in facilitating interactions between these peers. This study explores the spontaneous interactions…

This National Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center for the Education of Children and Youth Who are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk (NDTAC) practice guide examines the principle that quality education services are critical for youth involved with the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. This principle asserts that, to address the…

Background: Individuals with severe disability exiting school are likely to be enrolled in day activity and sheltered workshops at least as often as in supported employment. Such facilities are often staffed by paraprofessionals who may not have the skills to engage clients in meaningful activities. This article describes a 3-phase staff training…

Patterns of career development in the field of child and youth care are reexamined in relation to roles that involve working directly with children in specific settings as well as in relation to roles that involve working indirectly in support of children through working with other adults, be these parents, other caregivers or professionals. Other…

Traditional clinical professions, as well as the emerging child and youth care profession, have focused primarily on the welfare of identified clients. While the personal and professional well-being of practitioners has long been addressed in the training and supervision of human service workers, serious efforts to identify problems confronting…

The article identifies factors that enhance the quality of life for mentally handicapped senior citizens and describes a successful day program designed as an alternative to segregated institutional placement. (PHR)

Research has documented important interplays between the diagnostic characteristics of residents in group care centers and the functioning of staff teams responsible for the delivery of services. Factors that impact on the quality of working life satisfactions and frustrations are variable over time and may originate from within the team, the…

Group care centers are established to provide a range of living, learning, treatment, and supervisory opportunities for children and young people who, for a variety of reasons, need alternative, supplementary, or substitute care. It is important, therefore, that group care centres establish an organizational climate, ethos, or culture of caring…

For the past two decades, economic influences have significantly impacted the provision of health and welfare services for children, young people and their families in communities around the world. The dynamic of cost has reshaped both the nature and provision of group care services, promoting de-institutionalization and transforming the nature of…

A national sample of 370 older persons with mental retardation in 235 facilities (foster care, small group homes, large private facilities, and state-operated facilities) was surveyed. Information is presented on resident characteristics, day program participation, services received, and differences in programs and services by facility type. The…

A case study is presented of Westport Associates, a corporation in Westport, Massachusetts, which operates small group homes for formerly institutionalized men and women with severe disabilities. Westport Associates was founded to create the antithesis of an institution, to treat residents as individuals worthy of respect, and to offer residents…

As mandated by Illinois Public Act 84-1291, this report identifies the service needs of persons with autism, recommends service models, and offers a plan of action to ensure delivery of appropriate services within resources available. Three primary themes are emphasized: a need for intervention at the earliest point in time for persons with…

Attention is drawn to important themes thought likely to influence the continuing development of group care services for children and young people in the decade ahead. These include a poorly educated workforce, autonomous training, multi-disciplinary approaches, centres of excellence, diversified programs, new trends and issues shaping the future,…

Community residences for small groups of people and day activity programs designed to increase functional levels for severely multiply handicapped persons with visual problems, are proposed as the only viable, humane alternative to institutionalization. Sources of funding for these goup home and day activity programs, which cost the same as…

Detailed information is provided about the characteristics, needs, and service arrangements of 370 elderly persons with mental retardation living in 235 residential facilities operated or licensed by state developmental disabilities agencies. Representative national samples of foster care homes, small group homes, large private facilities, and…