Deinstitutionalization

Deinstitutionalization is the shift from large residential institutions toward community living and services for people with disabilities. It changes where support is provided and how people participate in ordinary community life.

Community integration: The participation of people with disabilities in ordinary community settings, relationships, and activities. It is a central aim of replacing institutional residence with life in the community.
Community-based services: Supports delivered where people live and participate, rather than in segregated residential institutions. They provide practical assistance after institutional care ends.
Disability rights movement: A movement seeking equal rights, accessibility, and full participation for people with disabilities. Its organizing challenged segregation and demanded community inclusion.
Institutionalization: The placement of people in institutions where residence and daily life are organized under centralized control. It is the residential system deinstitutionalization seeks to replace.
Independent living: A disability-rights movement and approach emphasizing autonomy, self-determination, and control over support. It reframes support around disabled people’s choices rather than institutional routines.
Personal assistance services: Paid or unpaid help with daily activities, enabling a person to direct their own life. Flexible assistance can replace tasks once bundled into institutional routines.
Ed Roberts: An American disability-rights activist who helped establish the Berkeley Center for Independent Living. His work advanced community-based support and disabled-led services.
Group home: A shared residence where a small number of people receive varying levels of support. Group homes can provide community residence, but may retain congregate routines.
Supported living: A model providing individualized assistance to people with disabilities in homes of their choosing. It offers a residential alternative to congregate institutional settings.
Supported decision-making: A practice in which people receive help understanding choices while retaining authority over their decisions. It offers an alternative to substituting institutional or guardian decisions for personal choice.

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