Persons With Mental Retardation and Related Conditions in Mental Retardation Facilities: Selected Findings From the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey

This report presents selected statistics gathered on residential facilities designated as mental retardation facilities and their residents as part of the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey Institutional Population Component (NMES/IPC). In addition to presenting a general background and overview of NMES — the design of NMES/IPC, data available from it, limitations evident within its sample frame, and some cautions derived from these limitations — it discusses previous efforts to conduct surveys representing persons residing in mental retardation facilities. The report presents NMES statistics on mental retardation facility characteristics and their residents. Data are summarized according to three recurring groupings of facilities: operation and size; facility certification and size; and size alone. Tables of findings and a brief discussion of each are included. There is also a brief examination of alternative methods of using the population estimates that may compensate for certain limitations and resulting underestimation of the population of small mental retardation facilities for a more realistic picture of mental retardation facilities and their residents in 1987. The report ends with a brief "Summary and Conclusions" regarding the NMES study and the relevance of its findings to current issues in residential services for persons with mental retardation and related conditions. [100 PDF pages]