The author reviews trends in court decisions on right to treatment for handicapped persons, and examines resolved and unresolved issues involved in the Supreme Court's decision on Youngberg v. Romeo, which she suggests is narrow and ambiguous, and will only minimally affect institutionalized retarded persons. (CL)

Opinions of the Supreme Court are presented on the case of Youngberg v. Romeo, in which the mother of a mentally retarded institutionalized adult petitioned for her son's rights under the Due Process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to safe conditions of confinement, freedom from bodily restraints, and habilitation. (CL)

Research conducted in an institutional living environment during times when program activities were minimal and clients were typically inactive showed that empirically based toy selection, construction, and modification, and environmental engineering to ensure convenient and constant material availability increased Ss' active engagement with toys.…

A program is described in which institutional staff were successfully trained to use behavioral principles with severely retarded aggressive adults. Group training (self-care instruction, token economy, social skills and activity programing) as well as individualized training are described along with such organizational aspects as team structure…

The paper reviews research on behavioral staff management strategies in institutions for developmentally disabled persons, considering procedural effectiveness of four approaches: antecedent, contingency management, self-control, and multifaceted interventions. Methodological problems in the research are noted, along with needs for research on…