Abuse of persons with mental retardation: characteristics of the abused, the abusers, and the informers.

Data from confirmed incidents of abuse in public residential facilities were analyzed. Among the findings were that the number of confirmed incidents of abuse were relatively small, that direct care staff members committed and reported most incidents of abuse, and that most incidents of abuse occurred on the second shift. Abused residents were similar to the general resident population on basic demographic variables, but more abused residents were in the upper IQ and adaptive behavior levels. Abuse committers were more often males than females. Some tentative recommendations were given for reducing resident abuse in public residential facilities.

AIDS and state developmental disability agencies: a national survey.

A survey of state developmental disability agencies was undertaken in October 1987 regarding AIDS policy development, education, and training and service provision. Of 44 states responding to the 27-item questionnaire, only 21 had formal AIDS policies. Policies varied considerably from state to state. Twenty-five of the responding states include information on AIDS in their staff training curriculum, with such training more likely to be provided to institutional staff than to community-based staff. Only 10 states reported AIDS prevention to be part of their client training programs, with training more likely to be found in institutional settings. Eleven states reported HIV positive cases, with such cases found more often in institutions than in community settings. Several states reported some type of segregation of HIV positive individuals. Policies, educational programming, and services to meet the special needs of persons with developmental disabilities are called for.

Wyatt v. Stickney: a consent decree.

On September 22, 1986, Judge Myron Thompson issued a consent decree in the Wyatt v. Stickney litigation. The settlement occurred 14 years after Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr. rendered his landmark decision in this case. The consent decree included termination of the court's active supervision of the state's mental health system, termination of the receivership, and termination of the court monitor's powers. The state agreed to adhere to Wyatt standards, maintain Title XIX accreditation, continue deinstitutionalization efforts, and develop an internal advocacy and quality assurance program. Mechanisms are also to be put in place to apprise the plaintiffs' attorneys of progress in these efforts.

Wyatt v. Stickney: a historical perspective.

A decade after Federal Judge Frank M. Johnson rendered the Wyatt v. Stickney decision in 1972, the case was again scheduled for a hearing in January, 1983. Many of the same issues which were before the Court in the previous decade were again considered in the present hearing. The issues presently before the court include (a) the plaintiffs' motion for diversion of general fund and oil and gas lease funds to the Department of Mental Health for operations, (b) defendants' request for termination of the receiver-ship under which the Department presently operates, (c) plaintiffs' motion for removal of the governor as receiver and appointment of a new receiver; and (d) defendants' motion for modification of the injunction to withdraw the Wyatt standards and substitute Title XIX standards. Since the original ruling, significant changes have occurred at both the national and state levels that will effect the outcome of Wyatt. The historical antecedents of this case must be carefully scrutinized in order to understand the decision which will be rendered. What decision is ultimately rendered in the Wyatt hearings of 1983 will no doubt have a significant effect on services to the mentally retarded throughout the United States.