This report summarizes a 3-year review of reports of child abuse and neglect in New York State's mental hygiene facilities. The study determined that greater efforts are required to ensure protection of those children who were "repeat" alleged victims and who, as a group, were involved in 400 of the 850 reports to the State Central…

A study compared the effectiveness of computer-assisted reading instruction to that of a direct teaching model. Nineteen adult male inmates from Windham School System's Ellis II Unit (located in Texas) special education classrooms served as subjects. The subjects were divided into two groups each of which spent one hour a day on reading. One group…

This study attempted to define the current bases for physical exercise and activity for healthy older adults and to use those data as a basis for developing physical exercises and activities for older adults with mental impairments. An 8-week exercise program was developed and evaluated to determine its effect on satisfaction and quality of life…

The report summarizes 27 research studies which examined the attitudes and perspectives of parents of currently or formerly institutionalized people with mental retardation concerning movement from institutional to community placements. Several trends were evident. Parents whose offspring were living in institutions at the time of the survey were…

This document describes the Virginia Department of Correctional Education's (DCE) Transition Program, which assists juvenile offenders in making the transition from one school program to another. The student is moved from the community to a detention home school, then to the Department of Youth and Family Services Reception and Diagnostic Center,…

Many studies have followed the living and work situations of discharged mental patients in the community. To add to this knowledge base, a study of 52 chronic inpatients was conducted over a 3 1/2 year period to examine the effects of deinstitutionalization on the living situations and vocational status of long-hospitalized patients. The patients…

Although research has demonstrated the potentially salutary effects of peer support among older persons, salutary peer support and significant interpersonal bonds are often lacking within the confines of a nursing home. A program was designed to train nursing home residents to serve as peer counselors for newly-admitted residents in an effort to…

In designing and implementing a program to meet the educational and vocational needs of mentally retarded adults, the role of client involvement in curriculum decision-making was recognized. Two groups of clients were formed to provide input to staff. The Student Government of Continuing Education and the Worker Relations Council afforded clients…

This speech, presented at the "Symposium for the Advancement of Non-Aversive Behavioral Management" by the counselor to the Attorney General and Assistant Attorney General from the U.S. Department of Justice, supports the view that use of aversive procedures on institutionalized severely handicapped individuals is inappropriate. The 14th…

While an increased awareness of the dehumanizing and organizationally self-defeating qualities of residential institutions has fostered a movement toward community-based care, little research has been done to measure the "institutionality" of the alternate settings. As a part of a larger study aimed at describing alternative settings for…

To facilitate normalization and deinstitutionalization of mentally retarded individuals, a three-phase assessment/prescription system has been developed to correspond with a concept of community integration as a series of successive transfers from (1) a restricted environment through (2) a specialized program-oriented rehabilitation and to (3) the…

Self-disclosure (SD) is considered an important part of psychotherapy and an essential ingredient of psychological health. The difference between self-reported SD (how much a patient said he disclosed) and observed SD (how much a therapist said the patient disclosed) was investigated to examine the effects on psychotherapy outcome. Adult…

This model of a deinstitutionalization program begins with a definition of juvenile delinquency and historical antecedents of current juvenile justice approaches. The extent of juvenile delinquency is noted, and the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act is reviewed. The deinstitutionalization model is presented as a residential program…