Some of the key concepts of the President’s Panel set the course for developments for decades:
Institutional care should be restricted to those whose specific needs can be met best by this type of service. Institutions are one facet in a continuum of care.
No child or adult should remain in residential care any longer than necessary.
If and when the child or adult is ready for return to the community, adequate resources and services for his support should be made available. It may not be wise or possible for some to return to their own families, hence the importance of developing foster or boarding home placements, or homes for small groups similar to those in several European countries.
Responsibility for the care of persons returned to the community should not be relinquished by the institution until assistance is assured from some other sources; efforts should be made to see that community services are made available to him before he leaves.
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