Evaluating the impact of deinstitutionalization on the lives of mentally retarded people.

The evaluation of the impact of deinstitutionalization should be based upon a thorough analysis of the sociocultural values inherent in the movement and should reflect the nature of the relationship between evaluation research and social policy formation. This review of current evaluation practice indicates a general failure to provide information relevant to the agendas of policy makers and service consumers due to the investigation of a restricted range of outcomes, inattention to the ecological context of behavior, and a range of methodological weaknesses. Promising directions in measuring quality of life and pertinent environmental variables were discussed.