This paper presents an example of "optimistic research," a qualitative approach which focuses on positive interventions helpful to practitioners, in this case an examination of programs successfully integrating people with severe disabilities. The study evaluated 40 programs through site visits which focus on observation, interviews, and collection of relevant materials. The study stressed the importance of asking the right question, not the empirical "Does it work?" but the moral questions of "What does integration mean and how can it be accomplished?". Agencies are therefore selected for evaluation who are nominated as doing an outstanding job of integrating persons with disabilities. Agencies selected included agencies supporting children with severe and multiple disabilities in natural, adoptive, or foster families, and agencies focused on alternatives to group homes for adults with severe disabilities. This positive approach results in a high level of cooperation from agency staff and allows preparation of a case study of each agency which includes an overview, a description of innovative approaches, and a discussion of problems faced by the agency. The approach has resulted in findings concerning the sociology of acceptance of persons with deviant attributes. Includes 21 references. (DB)