COMMUNITY LIVING FOR ADULTS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL-DISABILITIES - A HOUSING AND SUPPORT APPROACH

This article reports on a multisite qualitative research study designe d to better understand how the selected organizations support adults w ith developmental disabilities in community life. In particular, the s tudy investigated the five characteristics potentially critical for se rvice reconfiguration from a facility-based residential services model (e.g., group home, supervised apartments) to a housing and support ap proach (i.e., supporting adults to live in their own homes). Semistruc tured interviews and observations were conducted with informants at a purposeful sample of five agency sites In New Hampshire, Minnesota, Ca lifornia, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. The results indicated the follo wing target areas for further research and applied change strategies: the distinctions between the theoretical and practical frameworks of c ommunity integration? and independent living, personal changes in the relationship of individuals with each other in daily life, structural changes on the part of agencies and service systems, and ''community'' changes in acceptance, stigma, and power relationships. The author di scusses the implications of these findings for further service develop ment and research in community living for people with developmental di sabilities in the United States.