Barbara Stone from Wilkes Community College (North Carolina) provides recommendations derived from a survey of old age care facility residents, administrators, educators, and community officials concerning deficiencies in their care unit program. Debbie L. Floyd describes Scott Community College's (Iowa) consumer model for credit options for human…

Identifies the components of a supportive community environment for older people. Examines alternative residential types, their impacts on the elderly, and the extent to which they provide the optimal functioning conditions of environmental "Challenge" and "support." (Author/MJL)

Families care for their elderly even when the burden is enormous, suffer guilt when institutionalization becomes necessary, and maintain contact after institutionalization. Policies must be developed to reduce premature institutionalization, help families cope with the process when it becomes necessary, and provide institutional care to those…

If the proposition is accepted that service agencies occupy unique environments, then single organism research designs (such as ABAB) and multiple baseline designs may provide more valuable information than currently accepted research methodologies. (Author/MH)

Thirty-three schools responded to a survey of 87 schools providing residential services for deaf, blind, and multihandicapped hearing-impaired individuals. The survey, focusing on characteristics of caregivers and systems of residential care, found great diversity among salaries, qualifications, and upgrade systems, although job titles were…

Examines the relationship between resident characteristics and time participating in activities. For the 2,672 nursing home residents studied, measures of resource use, cognitive abilities, depression, sense of initiative/involvement, activity repertoire, location preferences, and gender were all found to be significant in explaining the amount of…

This paper provides an overview of demographic characteristics of direct-service personnel in Melbourne community residential units for intellectually disabled individuals. Many are found to be relatively inexperienced participants in the workforce, and most are young, single females. Implications of these findings for quality of care and staff…

Based on case studies of a Dutch adult-education organization and an Irish residential center for mentally handicapped people, this article discusses some implementation dilemmas that occur when organizations face challenging innovations. Conflicting pressures for centralization and local autonomy in implementation activities and for unified and…

Discusses the growing waiting lists for residential services for persons with developmental disabilities due to the increase of individuals needing services, increased longevity, low service creation in the past, and because services have become more compatible with what people want. Recommendations for reducing waiting lists are provided. (CR)

Summarizes changes in out-of-home placements of children and youth with mental retardation since the implementation of the Supplemental Security Income program and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act entitlements. The statistics show a decrease from 90,942 children in residential settings in 1977 to 25,842 children in 1997. (CR)

Explores the value of telephones as intervention with parents (N=47) whose adolescent children were in residential treatment. When sessions included therapists, adolescent residents, and parents, parents perceived the greatest benefit in helping family communication and functioning. Parents were also most satisfied when family telephone therapy…

This Dutch study compares the behavior of staff (N=136) toward demented patients in residential homes with five expert recommendations for dealing with dementia. Results show that staff carried out the recommendations of encouraging activity, establishing effective communication, and not changing the patients' routine, but the staff tested and…

Describes a transition in a mature Special Care Unit for Alzheimer's patients, where patient mix had become too diverse for intended programming. Since the patients were unable to become involved in premove planning and preparation activities, preparation of staff substituted for the involvement of residents. Improved discharge policies maintain…

Seventy-two members of staff working in children's residential units in a local authority were surveyed to elicit their experiences and evaluations of working with child mental health professionals. While the majority of staff held few or no formal educational qualifications, they emerged as an experienced group, with a level of confidence in…

While the benefits of participating in care or medical decision making are widely reported, research on decision-making participation preferences usually reveals some portion of individuals who do not want to be involved. Data collected through structured, in-person interviews with 100 residents of six long-term care (LTC) facilities in Victoria,…