National survey of community residential facilities: a profile of facilities and residents in 1977.

In 1977, a national mail survey of all community residential facilities (CRFs) for mentally retarded persons throughout the United States was conducted by the staff of the Developmental Disabilities Project on Residential Services and Community Adjustment at the University of Minnesota. The results of 4,427 participating facilities were summarized in this report. Demographic information on facility size, location, ownership, and reimbursement rates was presented as well as general characteristics about the residents and their movement trends. The impact of the deinstitutionalization movement for mentally retarded persons was substantially verified by the results of this survey: between 1973 and 1977, the number of CRFs doubled. Wide variations in facility size and the extent to which states use community living arrangements to serve mentally retarded people were two notable trends confirmed by the survey results.