Determinants of community placement of institutionalized mentally retarded persons.

A systematic examination of the decision process used when deinstitutionalizing mentally retarded persons was undertaken to determine what criteria, if any, institutional review teams employed when making placement recommendations. A multivariate analysis of variance and a discriminant analysis revealed that demographic and Adaptive Behavior Scale (ABS) measures varied significantly with placement recommendations for skill development homes, group homes, small intermediate facilities, and large intermediate facilities. In general, higher functioning residents were placed in less restrictive settings. Specific differences among residents placed in skill development homes and group homes were examined. Implications for preparing institutionalized residents for community placement were drawn and directions for future research outlined.