Assessing the psychosocial environment of halfway houses for the retarded

The Community-Oriented Programs Environment Scale (COPES) was used to assess the psychosocial environment of two halfway houses for the mentally retarded. Residents of the houses were individually asked each question and the staff completed the same scale. Results showed general agreement between staff and residents, suggesting that the retarded were adequately able to describe their treatment program. The results were meaningfully graphed on the existing norms for the mentally disturbed.