Deinstitutionalization has been the hallmark of public policy for people with intellectual disabilities within many countries in the developed world for the past 40 years. Although within Britain deinstitutionalization is set to be completed by the end of 2008, beyond the simple closure of hospitals, the success of this initiative can at best be…

An emphasis on the outcomes of health and social care services has become increasingly apparent within public policy in the United Kingdom. Alongside this, working in partnership has been a key theme, despite a relatively underdeveloped evidence base. Of central importance, however, must be whether directives toward partnership working are…

The Indian Institute for Cerebral Palsy (IICP) has been providing education and other services in Kolkata, Eastern India, for children and young adults with cerebral palsy and related disabilities for over 30 years. IICP started by providing education for just two children, and was highly dependent on western expertise. Described is the history of…

Many families provide lifelong support to their relative with an intellectual disability. However, relatively little information is available for national populations on the characteristics of the people for whom these families care and the supports they receive or need. A database of all persons in receipt of intellectual disability services has…

In the Islamic Republic of Iran, considerable stigma is attached to the presence of a family member with intellectual disabilities, and even in Iran's new constitution, a word with traditional, negative connotation has been retained to refer to persons with intellectual disabilities. While two government organizations have recently become involved…

In the Republic of Zambia, an estimated 256,000 persons have some form of disability, and of these, 5.4% have intellectual disabilities. Even now, traditional beliefs about the etiology of intellectual disabilities persist and considerable stigma is attached to the presence of persons with intellectual disabilities who are often excluded from…

The prevalence of intellectual disability (ID) in Poland is estimated at 47.8/10,000 among the population aged over 15 years. Although progress has recently been documented in the development of more positive attitudes toward integration of people with disabilities in society, social distance toward those with ID is persistent. Several Acts of…

The closure of institutions and relocation of people with intellectual disabilities to community living has been the focus of many nations' intellectual disability policies in the past three decades. The author studied the relocation of 58 people from a large institution to 11 small group homes in several Australian communities. Organizational…

Formal developmental disabilities services are often underutilized, especially by low-income African-American families. This study examined the basis for interactions and service use preferences of African-American woman who cared for an adult female child with a disability. Diverse African-American perspectives were observed by analyzing the…

The aim of this study was to assess how the introduction of new service policies in the United Kingdom--such as person-centered planning and the active development of support networks--was impacting the lives of carers of people with intellectual disability from South Asian backgrounds. Using a semistructured interview schedule, 19 families of…