Background: This paper reports on some of the findings of a large-scale survey (n = 852) of family members and support staff of adults with intellectual disabilities receiving community living services in British Columbia, Canada, concentrating on comparison of outcomes across four types of community residential settings: group homes, family model…

The survey found that of the 1,389 mentally retarded persons living in community supervised residential settings in Southwestern Ontario, 49 percent received some type of psychoactive drug. Specifically, 23 percent received anticonvulsants; 14 percent, neuroleptics; 5 percent, sedative/hypnotics; 3 percent, antidepressants; 3 percent,…

The majority of 177 British Columbia residents surveyed in neighborhoods with and without group homes for mentally handicapped persons reported favorable (36 percent) or neutral (48 percent) attitudes toward group homes in residential neighborhoods. More respondents in neighborhoods with group homes (42 percent) than without (29 percent) favored…

The article describes the work of the Canadian Association for Community Living which advocates replacing institutional commitment with community living for the retarded. A Community Living Resources Fund, provided by the federal government on an interim basis, to assist provinces in replacing institutions is proposed. (DB)

Recounts the experiences of a social worker in a typical normalization project and then at L'Arche--a community of group homes for the mentally retarded, "assistants," and their families. Emphasizes friendship in an approach to rehabilitation services based on the premises of experiential education. (SV)

Life experiences of 18 people with severe mental retardation are reported 4 years after their deinstitutionalization from Tranquille, a facility in Kamloops, British Columbia (Canada). Four themes are identified and discussed: planning and grouping people, leadership, community integration, and social networks. Quality of life had improved for 13…

This report discusses outcomes of a Canadian initiative to assist in the deinstitutionalization of persons with intellectual disabilities in Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. The projects were managed through a partnership in each province including representatives from Human Resources Development…

This study investigated the community adjustment of individuals with mental retardation who were former residents of the Manitoba Development Centre (MDC) in Canada. The study explored the combined effects of personal factors, residential factors, and neighborhood attitudes on community adjustment, to identify the best set of predictors of…

The study of 742 older persons (above age 45) with a developmental handicap residing in either community or institutional settings in Alberta, Canada, found those residing in congregate care settings had significantly higher frequencies of health impairments. Persons residing in the community had significantly better independent living skills and…