Deinstitutionalization at a large facility: a focus on treatment.

A large state facility wanted to close and move everyone into the community. Staff wrote a behavioral plan for each resident. They added daily checks to make sure the plans were followed.

The paper tells the story of the change. It does not give numbers or test results.

The authors say the shift worked. People received personal teaching programs instead of one-size-fits-all routines. Staff kept watching the data and fixed problems quickly.

Matson et al. (2004) later showed one man moving from an institution to a real job after a simple DRA-DRO plan. Their single case gives the hard numbers the 1992 story lacks.

Friedman (2021) tested the same idea with adults who have both IDD and mental-health needs. Adding tailored supports raised community success. The 1992 paper planted the seed; Carli grew it into evidence.

Capaldi (1992), written the same year, drew a six-step blueprint for turning any residence into a learning place. Perel (1992) is the field report that proves the blueprint can be lived.

You can copy the game plan: write an ABA curriculum for every person, train all shifts, and run daily fidelity checks. No extra grant needed—just tight teamwork and data. The later studies show the same recipe still works for dual-diagnosis clients and competitive jobs.