This report contains the findings and recommendations of a review of the residential services system for South Dakota adults with developmental disabilities, based on site visits, interviews, and an analysis of documents and materials. The policy analysis report examines how South Dakota could implement a…

This handbook is intended to help people with disabilities gain an understanding of their options in deciding where to live and with whom to share their lives. The focus of the book is on people seeking housing options in Illinois, but the book is designed to be applicable elsewhere. Chapter 1 outlines the importance of many components of…

This report outlines emerging paradigms of service for mentally retarded adults emerging from a nationwide search for innovative programs and practices. It was prompted by the consistent finding of a Pennsylvania longitudinal study that mentally retarded school completers tend to live indefinitely with parents or guardians. The study found the…

Learning disabilities among adults are more prevalent than was once believed, although estimates of numbers are difficult to make. Problems faced by adults with LD include difficulties with academic and information processing and adult life adjustment. Many adults with LD exhibit strengths that enable them to compensate for their disabilities and…

The purpose of Project COMPETE is to use previous research and exemplary practices to develop and validate a model and training sequence to assist retarded youth to make the transition from school to employment in the most competitive environment possible. This project working paper lists vocational goals and objectives that individuals with…

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…

Discussed are current practices and promising approaches in the development of community-based living arrangements for children and adults with psychiatric or developmental disabilities. Problems with current systems include a lack of safe, affordable housing; lack of consumer choice; inflexibility; lack of a coherent, clear ideology; failure to…

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, provides the legislative basis for programs and activities that assist individuals with disabilities in the pursuit of gainful employment, independence, self-sufficiency and full integration into community life. This report is intended to provide a description of accomplishments and progress made under…

A database was assembled from data collected on all people served by the Developmental Disabilities divisions of Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming, including state institutions and state-funded programs (n=5,928). Information included provider expenditures associated with each individual, allocations made by individual reimbursement rates,…

This reports presents results from a review of 38 published studies that measured behavioral outcomes associated with the movement of people with mental retardation from public institutions to community residential settings. Results demonstrate strongly and consistently that people who move from institutions to community settings have experiences…

Federal Medicaid long-term care regulations do not require states to offer home and community-based service (HCBS) alternatives; rather, they are offered at the discretion of each state. The two most significant Medicaid HCBS programs are the Medicaid 1915(c) HCBS waiver programs and the Medicaid Title XIX personal care services (PCS) optional…

The need to teach functional mathematics to students with learning disabilities to prepare them for independent living is explored. The article discusses questions teachers should ask themselves in reviewing their mathematics curricula, ways to implement a functional math curriculum, and the application of mathematics skills to life-centered…

A study investigated two cohorts ((n=16) and (n=15)) of graduates (1993-99) from a state residential school for individuals with visual impairments in the areas of employment, living arrangements and finances, postsecondary education, leisure activities, and usefulness of high school experiences. More Cohort 2 participants were working full time…

In response to Horner and others (EC 232 976), this paper contrasts the constricted life of their adult son (who has mental retardation, autism, and emotional problems) when he lived in a group home and worked at a sheltered workshop where aversive techniques were used, with his present life with nondisabled housemates and competitive employment.…

Examined consequences of vision loss among older adults. Respondents reporting visual decline were older than those reporting good vision, but not different in any other demographic characteristic, use of formal support and health services, or activities of daily living (ADL) functioning. Controlling for age and sex, vision loss was associated…