The American mental retardation service system

Abstract

Significant changes have occurred in the United States in the last 30 years relative to the delivery of services to mentally retarded people. This paper explores the development of community service options in the United States since the late 1950s. The development of these new services is viewed relative to concerns with both deinstitutionalization and normalization. From the vantage point of the mid-1980s, the paper also explores the importance of information on the continuum of care cycle of mentally retarded individuals throughout the life cycle as an important guide to the understanding of how the American mental retardation service system functions.