NCJ Number
119301
Date Published
1986
Length
74 pages
Annotation
This document summarizes studies addressing the most often expressed fears about the effects of group homes on neighborhoods in which they are placed.
Abstract
Forty varied works spanning the United States are reviewed. Seventeen of them deal exclusively with facilities for the mentally retarded and developmentally disabled, five with the mentally ill and seven with facilities serving both, plus another specific population such as the elderly, dependent and neglected children or ex-offenders. These studies all indicate that communities have great fears about persons in need of supervision living in their neighborhood. They generally feel more negatively about "offenders" than they do about those with disabling conditions, but they are anxious about all. The greatest expressed fears are that the presence of group homes will cause property values to decline, neighborhood crime to increase, and the quality of life to deteriorate. Every study except one reports no concrete evidence to support these negative attitudes. Addendum.