Managing local government opposition to community-based residential facilities for the mentally disabled

"Prior Notification" policies have elicited fears of community opposition from agencies who have adopted a "low profile" approach in locating community-based residential facilities. Nevertheless, data from a survey of New Jersey community care providers indicate that local government officials express less opposition when informed of the proposed location and invited to meet with the provider. Arranging to meet with local officials is most important when neighbors have leadership, since officials express more intense opposition when neighbors invite them to a meeting. The literature has already established the fact that meeting with neighbors can facilitate mobilization and thereby engender more intense opposition, both from neighbors and from local officials. Hence, the available evidence suggests that providers should meet with local officials to discuss the community care program but should attempt to deal with neighbors individually. This strategy is compatible with the policy of "prior notification" adopted in New Jersey.