Permanency planning for adults with mental retardation living with family caregivers

Permanency plans made by 100 family caregivers of adults (age 30 and over) with mental retardation living at home were described. Also examined were the effects that the individual's functioning level, caregiver characteristics, support resources, and perceptions of burden had permanency plans. Logistic regression analyses indicated that the individual's functioning level, caregiver characteristics, and support resources predicted preference for placement in a residential program, whereas only the caregiver's characteristics predicted whether families had made financial arrangements for their relative. Implications for service provision to family caregivers were discussed.