Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities

Residential Services Initiative

Many developmentally disabled individuals live in community-based residences that are overseen by the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD). Individuals who want to live in such residences are placed on a waiting list by OMRDD. In an effort to reduce excessively long waiting times, in 1998, OMRDD implemented a five-year program that was intended to increase the number of residential beds in every region of the State. We found that this program was successful, as significant numbers of residential beds were added in all 13 regions of the State. Moreover, OMRDD’s targets were met or exceeded in 10 of the 13 regions, and the statewide target of 4,900 additional beds was exceeded, as a total of 5,075 additional beds were made available for residential placement. We also determined that the waiting list for residential placements, which had contained inaccurate information in the past, now appeared to be accurate.

For a complete copy of Report 2004-S-79 click here.
For a copy of the 90-day response click here.